Last week, the Griffith Intermediate 3rd grade class worked with Opera Theatre St. Louis, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and the Des Lee Collaborative to write their own opera, The Bremen-town Musicians.

Students learned the art of writing, musical story telling, performance, and working together as a team to create something new!

The third grade students began learning about opera in September with the goal of creating their own mini opera. They began the process with acting exercises to fuel students’ imaginations. Next, they read Ruth Belov Gross’s telling of The Bremen-town Musicians and used the story as the inspiration for the opera. The result was a culmination of four months of hard work, until they proudly premeired the opera on December 10th in front of their proud family and friends.

Students then worked to create songs by brainstorming ideas for lyrics and improvising melodies. As songs were completed, the students began rehearsing the music. They then added spoken dialogue and even put their own new twist on the story. Next came lots of rehearing as students learned their lines and where to perform on stage. The result was a culmination of four months of hard work, until they proudly premeired the opera on December 10th in front of their proud family and friends.