“Pacifier planted firmly in her mouth, Stella Starwalt sat at rapt attention throughout the performance. Alexander Werner, a more restless sort, roamed freely around the stage,” writes Mike Silverman in Wednesday’s (5/2) Associated Press. “About 25 babies … gathered with their caregivers in a small auditorium inside the august Metropolitan Opera House on Tuesday to watch ‘BambinO,’ an opera designed for an audience of children 6 to 18 months old. The 40-minute-long piece was composed by Lliam Paterson on a commission from the Scottish Opera…. The rudimentary plot tells of a bird named Uccellina who finds a golden egg and buries it under a mound of pillows. Out pops another bird, Pulcino, who eventually learns to fly and soars off into the clouds. The ‘stage’ where this action unfolds is the brightly decorated floor of List Hall, normally used for chorus rehearsals and intermission features during Saturday radio broadcasts…. The children in Tuesday’s audience showed remarkable interest in the proceedings, many of them interacting freely with the singers, who wear eye-popping frilly and feathery costumes…. The group’s visit was made possible by a gift from Judith-Ann Corrente, president and CEO of the Met board.”
Posted May 8, 2018
