The Opera is Awesome production at Village Park on August 20th was AMAZING! The children were so excited and performed beautifully. This was a great opportunity for the children and they will remember it forever. Thank you Opera is Awesome for a job well done.

I really enjoyed the performance and look forward to your next production. Thank you so much for allowing me to be part of this adventure! Ann Benfield Cabarrus County Partnership for Children 1307 S. Cannon Blvd., Kannapolis, NC 28083 704-933-8278 Extension - Executive Director 202-297-4733 (cell)

Linda called me on a Friday because the accompanist she’d been working with got Covid. Her world premiere of her children’s opera was a week away and she didn’t know what to do for the program. I told her I’d look over the music and see if I thought I could do it. School was starting back and I had a lot of mitigating factors, but I’d worked with Linda for years and knew how focused she was on bringing opera to kids. I decided to give it a go and began to work.

Due to the short turn-around time, I had one rehearsal with the kids - in 95° heat - that was cut short by a thunderstorm. Needless to say, it’s a little nerve-wracking to go into a performance not having had an entire run-through! I usually like several rehearsals to mark my cues and be comfortable with the show.

The day of the performance dawned clear and, thankfully, slightly cooler. I really had to rely on Linda’s expertise to keep me cued and ready to go. Despite working with a group of children who had no musical or theatrical background, some of whom were very young, and despite technical issues like the piano cord being tripped over and pulled out in the middle of a song, it all came together. Was it a perfect performance? No. But the joy on their faces more than made up for any musical shortcomings. The kids had a blast. And, after all, isn’t that what music is all about?

It was a privilege to a part of this premier and I look forward to upcoming projects and seeing more kids develop an appreciation, even a love for opera.

Marla Young