Students perform puppet opera
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SPRINGFIELD--Students taking Opera Appreciation classes at American International College are giving new meaning to the term hands-on experience. The 41 students in Professor Jan Grimaldi's classes will perform an opera using marionettes.
The students will perform Offenbach's "Tales of Hoffmann" on Nov. 8 and 9 at 7:00 p.m. in the Griswold Theatre.
The opera is based on tales written by E.T.A. Hoffmann.
The students will be using 17 thirty-inch marionettes and 10 other puppets in the production, all designed and built by Grimaldi, who has studied with master marionettists throughout the world.
Grimaldi knows that most college students are not very familiar with the opera, so she tries to take a different approach to teaching opera appreciation. That included, a day-long trip to New York City last week, where the students attend an evening performance of "The Magic Flute."
She began the puppet operas at AIC five years ago and they have become a big hit with the students. "I think it is important to not only let the students see and hear an opera, but to let them become involved in one, as well."
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Springfield MA 01109
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