NORWAY SCHOOLS
The education projects delivered in Norway by CHROMA as part of its collaboration with Tête à Tête opera company and its production Odysseus Unwound - based on the story of Odysseus.
The opera includes singers, instrumentalists from CHROMA, knitters and spinners. After its London world première in October 2006, it toured to Sandnes, Norway, in a co-production with Stavanger2008.
CHROMA’s Norway Education Team:
Workshop leader/clarinet, bass clarinet: Stuart King
Violin: Marcus Barcham-Stevens
Cello: Christopher Allan
Manager/chronicler: Claire Shovelton
These workshops in Norwegian schools were a fusion of the Odyssey story and Norse mythology. Odysseus meets the Cyclops, Polyphemus, the Sirens and narrowly escapes destruction in the whirlpool Charybdis. Following these misadventures our story moves north to a terrifying island of heat and fire, Muspelheim, which is home to a race of Fire Giants related to the Cyclops.
Surtr, 'the Black One', is king of the Fire Giants and word has already reached him of Odysseus' dreadful treatment of Polyphemus. Odysseus is bedraggled and humbled before mighty Surtr in his palace of fire. When Odysseus begs for help in returning home, Surtr refuses and is so incensed with rage at Odysseus’ impertinence that he sets fire to his own palace. So our story ends with the destruction of the world - Ragnarök in Norse.
18 October 2006:
Klepp, Fredheimsloftet
(x4 schools) - 42 year 9 students (14/15 year olds)
On October 18 the basic workshop programme was used for a double session workshop combining four schools in the Klepp Kommune. A total of 42 Year 9 pupils (13 -14 year olds) took part. At the request of the youth arts coordinator for these schools, we tailored this day's work to offer useful skills, techniques and guidelines for the students' work writing and performing in their own new operas. Entitled 'Opera-Circus' the young people had created skeleton storylines and received training in circus tricks such as juggling and plate spinning.
Using our 'Odysseus in the Land of the Fire Giants' model we constructed a workshop that demonstrated all the elements required to make a successful, impactful and original drama. The Odyssey story and our new Norse episodes were explained in the following context:-
SHORT EXPOSITION (beginning) - a short punchy opening scene
THE HOOK - what keeps your audience interested? - create exciting drama!
OBSTACLES - how are these overcome? How foes this affect the characters?
THE REVEAL - secrets uncovered, a twist in the plot - how revealed? How do they affect the story?
CONCLUSION - how the story ends - everyone happy or do some some suffer?
The workshop was divided into ensemble and smaller group work. A greater weighting was given to drama over music at the request of the local staff. As this was a double session we were able to incorporate this extra training in acting and the expression of emotions without losing the high level of musical content planned in our model.
There were some brilliant individual efforts amongst the students both musically and dramatically as well as supportive teamwork throughout a long and intensive day. Many of the young people were able to include their new found circus skills in their compositions-most notably in a scene in the palace of the Fire Giant King Surtr, where the giants were entertained by the court jesters. Those circus performers finding favour with the five giants were spared, whilst the unsuccessful ones were dispatched by the ruthless 'jotuns'.
The end results were exceptional, amply demonstrating how their own imaginations could produce exciting results in a very few hours.
19 October 2006:
Stangeland Skole, Sandnes
x2 groups of 30 year 7 students (11/12 year olds)
With one session with each group, we embarked on the challenge of creating a mini-opera within the two-hour session.
The story started with Odysseus and his travails, including the whirlpool (Charybdis), the blinding of Polyphemus, Circe turning his men to pigs, and the Sirens, before being shipwrecked on a strange island of fire. This was where we brought Odysseus to meet the Norse legend of Surtr the Fire Giant, on his island of Muspelheim. Odysseus, exhausted and with no possessions left, begs Surtr for help to get home, but, infuriated by Odysseus' treatment of his kin giant Polyphemus, Surtr refuses and sets fire to his palace in his anger, starting Ragnarök (the battle at the end of the world).
This provided a structure for our mini-opera: the beginning, with all the pupils together beating out the fire-giant rhythm from hush to a roar and back to a hush again, followed by scenes acted out by small groups, then back together for the "battle at the end of the world" chorus finale:
"Hear Him
Fear Him
Black as night,
Blazing bright ....
King of Fire, King of Fire, King of Fire
Sturtr!"
After the introductions and warm-up exercises, learning the "battle at the end of the world" chorus also acted as a good ice-breaker before the workshop was divided into three groups, each taking one story to create in separate rooms.
After group work, they all came together to show each other what they had created, before the break.
After the break everyone learnt the fire giant rhythm together, then put the finishing touches to their stories in groups, before coming back together again to perform the whole mini-opera, with percussion instruments, voice, mime, acting and the clever use of a chair, a bench and two red scarves!
23 October 2006:
Vikeså Skole, Bjerkreim
42 year 6/7 students (10-12 year olds)
The morning after our last Odysseus Unwound performance at the Sandnes Kulturhus, and the getout plus company gathering at the local karaoke bar (surely opera singers should be disqualified?) we set off bright and early to the mountains to see the students of Vikeså, about an hour south of Sandnes.
Once again, two hours to make our mini-opera.
The pupils rose very well to the occasion, with an inspired piece of "pig" improvisation using the buckets as troughs! Marcus' group telling the Cyclops story included some very convincing "sheep" acting, as well as imaginative use of alternative percussion.
Stuart's group had the benefit of a young trumpet player, who was accompanied by various percussion to make the entrance of Surtr and his cohorts all the more terrifying.
All the class teachers arrived at the end of the sesion to be the audience for the final performance, which was filmed by one, and appreciatively applauded by the others.
