Young opera audience likes the small touches

Work
Loranga, Masarin och Dartanjang (2006)
Publication
Östgöta-Correspondenten
Journalist
Gunnel Bergström
Published

In the second act Gustav becomes deeply enamoured of the parrot and they experience a happy ending. It strikes me that opera people, who are used to writing and performing for adults, believe that children need to constantly receive new impressions. But it was not the rich abundance of it all nor the big scenes that captured the children; rather, it was the scenes when the action stops and becomes personal, like when Loranga develops what he thinks is a pounding heartbeat. That scene and many others are musical and visual gems. Now Olivia wants us to read the books and then she wants to see the opera again.