Our Project!
«The Little Opera Barbers» is a brand-new pedagogical and vocal palette concerning opera. Diversified and fun, it allows one to listen, and try opera and to teach it in a pleasant manner.
«The Little Opera Barbers» is composed of an opera CD with a version sung by children in the original language, followed by a karaoke track to practice with. A booklet for young people accompanies this CD containing the music, texts and words of all the airs in the original language. Each opera is presented in a vocabulary adapted to children and illustrated with drawings. A pedagogical guide for adults: instructors, pediatricians, parents and even grandparents ! All this with the fantastic universe of opera as background!
The first edition of this new assortment of «The Little Opera Barbers» is dedicated to Mozart’s «Bastien and Bastienne». Thus, naturally, the first volume is called «The Little Opera Barbers Sing Mozart». The universe of this immense composer is thus revealed through our CD, our booklet for young people, and the pedagogical guide. To enchant children from 7 to 77 years!
Who are the Little Barbers?
Aria, Cyriel, Petra, Gideon, Elliott, Patrick, Henrietta, Thomas and Fiona, aged 8 to 15 years old, release their first CD ! Coming from the singing school Piccolo Opera of Geneva, they have learned to sing and interpret their first opera arias. The CD offers them the opportunity to take the place of a professional artist and to blossom through the music.
Piccolo Opera Association
The Little Barbers are conducted by Maestro Paul Hess, coached vocally by the singer Sophie Ellen Frank. They are trained in the framework of the Piccolo Opera Association (opera school) and develop their voices.
Little biographies for big careers
- Paul Hess – born in Wisconsin, graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, the Mozarteum of Salzburg, and the Academia Chigiana of Siena. Prize-winner at the Besançon International Conducting Competition, received a Fulbright Scholarship to Itay. He conducted in Boston, Salzburg, Buffalo, Rome, Sienna, Bologna, Treviso, San Remo, Trapani, Besançon, Geneva, Basel and Bern, and is jury of international opera singing competitions. He is also an illustrator and pianist.
- Sophie Ellen Frank – Soprano, prize-winner of international competitions in France and Italy, vocally trained between International Opera School of Geneva and the Neue Opernschule of Zürich and appears as soloist in recital and concert. Whether on the opera stages where she grew up, or in the children’s choruses at conservatories, she retains the curiosity which is indispensable to every creator and artist. Participating in masterclasses with G. Bacquier, J. Van Dam, R. Crespin, S. Jurinac, C. Ludwig, G. Davy and G. Krämer in Mozartian roles, she is particularly fond of Puccini and Verdi, and appears in French and Viennese operetta.
Where are we with the project?
Concerning the CD, we have already recorded the orchestral passages with the Prague Concert Philharmonic, as well as the children’s voices. However, we still seek financial support in order to finalize this CD and to obtain a finished product of quality.
The booklet for young people and the pedagogical guide are still in their project stage ! We need your help to realize them and make them magnificent cultural and pedagogical implements.
Thank you!
The team at Piccolo Opera, as well as all our Little Barbers, warmly thank you for each and all financial support, be it a little boost or a big push!
