{"id":1654,"date":"2012-06-06T07:07:53","date_gmt":"2012-06-06T11:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=1654"},"modified":"2012-08-17T10:34:44","modified_gmt":"2012-08-17T14:34:44","slug":"the-atlanta-opera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/06\/the-atlanta-opera\/","title":{"rendered":"The Atlanta Opera"},"content":{"rendered":"

EM’s List<\/a> Member<\/strong>
\nFolk Tales and The Atlanta Opera
\n[This post is by EM’s List Editor\/Curator,<\/strong> Stephanie Moore<\/a><\/strong><\/em>]<\/p>\n

\"\"The Atlanta Opera<\/a> has been a part of the arts and culture scene in Atlanta, Georgia since 1979. This year they commissioned their first opera, Rabbit Tales.<\/em> A contemporary, one-hour children\u2019s opera, Rabbit Tales<\/em>, does not just retell the \u201cBr\u2019er Rabbit\u201d stories, it weaves together characters and ideas from Native American, Cajun, and African folktales. The score for this opera also contains a mixture of styles with hints of blues, folk, and even standard opera repertoire.<\/p>\n

The Atlanta Opera collaborated with The Wren\u2019s Nest, a community center and historical museum on the Westside that was home to Joel Chandler Harris\u2019s family from 1845-1908, to create an opera that addresses history, community, nature, and diversity. Emmalee Iden, The Atlanta Opera\u2019s Education Director, connected with Atlanta-based playwright Madeleine St. Romain and Atlanta-based composer Nicole Chamberlain to write and compose this opera making the entire production process a local endeavor. An important factor for this production was audience involvement. Throughout the opera, audience members were asked to sound like gusts of wind, clap, and even cluck like chickens. This connection to the story not only helped keep students interested, but also engaged the adults in the storytelling. This allowed EVERYONE to be a part of the opera.<\/p>\n

The Atlanta Opera originally created Rabbit Tales, <\/em>as part of their ongoing school tours <\/em>to connect Kindergarten-5th<\/sup> Grade students with opera. However, due to the enthusiastic response of the community to the world premiere at The Wren\u2019s Nest in October 2011, the company added four public performances to the touring schedule. Rabbit Tales<\/em> toured the state of Georgia and presented over 60 performances in schools and community spaces throughout the 2011-2012 season creating dialogue about community and diversity.<\/p>\n

Another children\u2019s opera addressing community, collaboration, and diversity has been set for the 2012-2013 season.\u00a0Stone Soup: An Operatic Fable in One Delicious Act,<\/em> based on the children\u2019s fable, will be part of the community and school education program at The Atlanta Opera. Following the success of Rabbit Tales<\/em>, this opera will also include community performances to encourage dialogue about what makes a happy community.<\/p>\n

By illustrating that opera is another mechanism for storytelling and not just an \u201celitist\u201d art form for the symphony hall, The Atlanta Opera has opened the doors for continued community dialogue and engagement.<\/p>\n

Rabbit Tales Study Guide<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0————————<\/p>\n

And one last plug: I will be in San Antonio this week for the Americans for the Arts Annual Conference. AftA is sponsoring a book signing for me. Building Communities, Not Audiences<\/em><\/a> will (at last) be on sale. It is my understanding that the signing will take place at 4:00 pm on Friday, June 6 at CenterStage. I’d love to see you there.<\/p>\n

Engage!<\/p>\n

Doug<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo:\"Attribution\"\"Share<\/a> Some rights reserved<\/a> by mattlemmon<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EM’s List Member Folk Tales and The Atlanta Opera [This post is by EM’s List Editor\/Curator, Stephanie Moore] The Atlanta Opera has been a part of the arts and culture scene in Atlanta, Georgia since 1979. This year they commissioned their first opera, Rabbit Tales. A contemporary, one-hour children\u2019s opera, Rabbit Tales, does not just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[12,13,17,31],"class_list":{"0":"post-1654","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-ems-list","7":"tag-arts","8":"tag-community-engagement","9":"tag-examples-2","10":"tag-mainstreaming","11":"entry","12":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-qG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1339,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/04\/ems-list\/","url_meta":{"origin":1654,"position":0},"title":"EM’s List","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"April 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"In Bimodal Engagement, I intimated that there was a plot afoot at Engaging Matters to spread the word about great examples of arts and community engagement activities. The form the plot will take is a recognition list called EM's List (Engaging Matters: EM. Maybe not clever but, for me, easy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EM's List"","block_context":{"text":"EM's List","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/examples\/ems-list\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/StephanieMooreColor.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1931,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/09\/citizen-musician-initiative\/","url_meta":{"origin":1654,"position":1},"title":"Citizen Musician Initiative","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"EM's List Member Citizen Musicians [This post is by EM's List Editor\/Curator, Stephanie Moore] Citizen Musician Initiative: Chicago Symphony Orchestra Who are Citizen Musicians? Musicians from the concert hall to the living room utilizing their talent and passion to improve the quality of life in their community: this idea is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EM's List"","block_context":{"text":"EM's List","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/examples\/ems-list\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/music-on-the-the-lake-a28314776-300x203.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1675,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/07\/shakespeare-festival-st-louis\/","url_meta":{"origin":1654,"position":2},"title":"Shakespeare Festival St. Louis","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"July 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"EM's List Member Shakespeare in the Streets of St. Louis [This post is by EM's List Editor\/Curator, Stephanie Moore] Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, founded in 2001, can be spotted in the schools, in the streets, and in the parks of St. Louis, Missouri. Through a variety of educational workshops and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EM's List"","block_context":{"text":"EM's List","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/examples\/ems-list\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2082,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/11\/leap-into-community-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":1654,"position":3},"title":"Leap into Community Engagement","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"November 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"ArtsEngaged in Illinois ArtsEngaged is coming to Illinois! I will be presenting my workshop Mainstreaming Engagement for the Illinois Arts Council, the Illinois Arts Alliance, and Illinois\u2019 Local Arts Network on Thursday, November 15 (Oak Park, IL) and Friday, November 16 (Peoria). Thursday, November 15, 2012 9:30 am - noon\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EM's List"","block_context":{"text":"EM's List","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/examples\/ems-list\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Chopsticks-300x174.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1431,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/04\/mca-chicago\/","url_meta":{"origin":1654,"position":4},"title":"EM’s List: Museum of Contemporary Art-Chicago","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"April 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"EM's List Member A Community Engagement Residency [This post is by EM's List Editor\/Curator, Stephanie Moore] The mission of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago positions it as an innovative and compelling contemporary art center where diverse audiences can experience works and ideas of contemporary artists as well as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EM's List"","block_context":{"text":"EM's List","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/examples\/ems-list\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Bean-Chicago.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1839,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2012\/09\/passage-theatre-company\/","url_meta":{"origin":1654,"position":5},"title":"Passage Theatre Company","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 8, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"EM's List Member Shakespeare in the Streets of St. Louis [This post is by EM's List Editor\/Curator, Stephanie Moore] Passage Theatre Company: Showcasing the People of Trenton, NJ Passage Theatre Company has been a part of the Trenton, NJ cultural scene for over 25 years. 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