Nashville Opera Education Tour To Present THE THREE LITTLE PIGS

Nashville Opera On Tour will present an adaptation of the Three Little Pigs based on the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This delightful opera was created especially for elementary school students by noted children's composer John Davies and follows the exploits of three piglets, Despina, Cherubino, and Giovanni, who are designing their own homes. When they get stumped, the three little pigs travel to the local library and consult various books on the subject. The villainous wolf, Wolfgang Bigbad, spies on the three during their trek and hatches his own plot to make the them his next meal. When Wolfgang's efforts to blow down Despina's house of bricks backfires, she uses her intellect to trap the wolf. A reformed Wolfgang admits that even big bullies can be shrunKen Down to size and joins the three little pigs in the moral of the story: "When you fear a thing that's scary, take your questions to the library."

The self-contained production is designed to travel to schools and public venues and includes a complete set, cast, and musical accompaniment. In addition to the educational insights gained directly from these performances, Nashville Opera provides teachers with detailed study guides, web-based instructional resources, and specialized workshops. The opera has a running time of approximately 45 minutes and will be presented in more than 70 different locations across Middle Tennessee throughout February and March. The production is under the direction of Stuart Holt, Nashville Opera's Education Director.

The cast of The Three Little Pigs are all members of the Mary Ragland Young Artist Program (MRYAP) which is administered by Nashville Opera. The apprenticeship offers developing professional singers valuable performance experience and prepares them for successful careers in the operatic theatre. This year's tour features the vocal and acting talents of mezzo-soprano Stephanie Foley-Davis ("Despina"), tenor Michael Foreman ("Cherubino"), baritone Joshua Zink ("Don Giovanni"), bass-baritone Aaron Grant ("Wolfgang Bigbad"), and Tour Music Director/Pianist Emily Senturia.

"This take on the classic tale of The Three Little Pigs promises to delight both young and old alike," says Stuart Holt. "This version puts great emphasis on reading and the joy of learning new things. This is a great tie-in as we continue to educate young people and teach them about opera. We are aided greatly by the music in this production, all pulled from operas by Mozart. I cannot think of a better introduction to opera then the pairing of both this classic music and story."

The Three Little Pigs will be presented to the public at the following locations:

February 11, 2010 - 6:30 p.m.
King's Daughters' School
Columbia State Community College
Cherry Theatre
1665 Hampshire Pike
Columbia, Tennessee

February 20 - 11:00 a.m.
February 20 - 1:30 p.m.
Williamson County Library
1314 Columbia Ave
Franklin, Tennessee

February 27 - 10:30 a.m.
Edmonson Pike Library
5501 Edmonson
Nashville, Tennessee

February 27 - 2:00 p.m.
Country Music Hall of Fame
222 Fifth Avenue South
Nashville, Tennessee

March 13 - 10:30 a.m.
Nashville Public Library
615 Church St
Nashville, Tennessee

March 14 - 2:00 p.m.
Belle Meade Plantation
5025 Harding Pike
Nashville, Tennessee

March 20 - 10:00 a.m.
Arts Day with Nashville Opera & Nashville Ballet
The Three Little Pigs & Jump Frog Jump
3622 Redmon Street
Nashville, Tennessee
$5.00 per person
Call 615.832.5242 to reserve your tickets!

About Nashville Opera
Nashville Opera, Tennessee's largest professional opera company, is dedicated to creating legendary productions and programs. Among the most successful regional companies in the United States of America, Nashville Opera has presented three different world premiere operas since its inception in 1981. Main stage performances are presented at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, and play to over 17,000 people annually. Nashville Opera's extensive education and outreach touring program reaches over 30,000 students throughout Middle Tennessee. These projects are supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the Metro Nashville Arts Commission.

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