Young Poets Inspire Opera, Opera Inspires Young Poets
On a hot summer morning, the Brooklyn Library's Dweck Auditorium is filled with children (along with their parents and a few other adults) craning their necks to watch five of their fellow students, one by one, take the stage and recite poetry. Not just any poetry, but their own. Poetry that talked about loving Brooklyn, about hating Brooklyn, about being shy, about being ambitious, about looking good in a dress, about living large in a mansion. Moments after these five students, ranging in ages from 6 to 13, had finished reading - some shyly, some proudly, all bravely - they took their seats and all watched as mezzo-soprano Nicole Mitchell and pianist Kelly Horsted walked on the stage. A few seconds later they heard the poetry again, this time expressed in powerful song.
This was I Hear America Singing, the initiative by American Opera Projects and the Walt Whitman Project to transform the words of ordinary Americans into opera, and its first two song cycles composed by Gilda Lyons - "Songs from the F Train," premiered in June 2009, and "Songs from the A Train," premiered on this summer morning July 19, 2010 at the Dweck Auditorium, with all but one of the six young poets in attendance.
Among the enraptured faces was Mr. Jim Vogel, Spokesperson for State Senator Velmanette Montgomery whose district covers a huge swath of Brooklyn from Ocean Hill to Fort Greene and down to Sunset Park. Mr. Vogel was proud to tell everyone that these young poets were to going to be recognized by the NY State Legislature for their hard work and inspirational voices. The students smiled to learn how far their voices had traveled and how many people had been listening. (And to learn how politics work. They would have been officially presented with this recognition that morning in the form of a framed Proclamation... but Albany first had to complete their months-delayed budget.)
Later, their writing mentor Angeli Rasbury asked the students to express themselves yet again, but this time with a focus on what they felt when they heard Ms. Mitchell, a Brooklyn native herself, sing.
When I hear Nicole Mitchell sing, I hear a talented opera voice in my ears. I feel very happy to hear her beautiful voice singing, letting all her emotions out. I hear and see the birds flying high. I hear the crickets singing and the butterfly flying joyfully through the sky. When I hear Nicole Mitchell I look back in the days when black people were slaves singing and working hard to get their freedom. I imagine Nicole back there in time singing to her freedom, singing when will she be free. When I hear that song it makes me feel proud of black people, of how far we have come, to this stage right now. When I hear people like Nicole Mitchell, my day keeps getting better and better. - Rood Dorestil, 13 years old
When I hear Nicole Mitchell sing, I feel happy and think I’m in heaven. I hear trees whistling in the breeze. When I hear Nicole Mitchell, I can imagine different colored flowers moving slowly from side to side. When I hear Nicole Mitchell sing, I am joyful. I feel like a red leaf. When I hear Nicole Mitchell sing, I feel like I am in beautiful, lush Barbados. I feel Nicole Mitchell is a beautiful singer. When I hear Nicole Mitchell sing, she sounds excited to be alive. When I hear Nicole Mitchell sing, I feel free. When I hear Nicole Mitchell sing, I feel like a pretty slave who has been freed. - Aliah Gilkes, 10 years old
master tell me i'm his slave no i say i'm a flow of music i'm not a slave don't believe such foolishness of your white community i hear the the voices of opera and feel the beat of opera i hear the piano of the flat boards that used to be teeth the loud voices saying you go girl that my people is pure music! - Eva Taylor, 9 years old
This is only the beginning of I Hear America Singing. In the 2010-11 season AOP will branch out with new performances and new songs. There are many voices yet to be heard. Visit www.operaprojects.org throughout the year to discover when and where to hear them.