As a special Mother’s Day gift to its community, Florida Grand Opera (FGO) presents a special “Family Day” celebration on May 14, 2017 at Pompano Beach Cultural Arts Center. The free event runs from 1 pm to 4 pm.
The centerpiece of the afternoon will be a 3 pmperformance of Carmencita, Florida Grand Opera’s popular reduction of Bizet’s operatic masterpiece, Carmen. The brainchild of Rebekah Diaz-Fandrei, Florida Grand Opera’s Director of Education and Community Engagement, Carmencita has become a popular staple at schools and community centers throughout the 2016-17 season. Carmencita, which includes most of the famous melodies of Bizet’s opera, will be sung by members of Florida Grand Opera’s Young Artist Program: soprano Elena Galván, mezzo soprano Melissa Fajardo, tenor Benjamin Werley, and bass-baritone Calvin Griffin.
Between 1:00 pm and 2:45 pm, this “Family Day” celebration features three ongoing, continuous activities which children will be able to enter and exit at any time. These include:
- Stage Make-Up and “Selfie Station”: Participants will learn about stage cosmetics and have their own faces made up.
- Special FX and Flamenco Fan Decorating: Family members will learn about the effects of “dry ice mist” on stage and how safe it is for opera singers. At the same time, participants will get to decorate their own Spanish Flamenco fan—exactly the kind featured in Carmencita.
- Opera Tech: Participants will create their own story board for an opera of their choice.
Other highlights include:
- Voice Experience: Carlton Ford, FGO’s Individual Advancement Officer and former international opera singer, gives participants a lesson in how to sing “Votre toast,” the famous Toreador Song from Carmen—which they will later hear in Carmencita.
- Read Along, Sing a Song: At both 12:15 pm and 12:45 pm, a performance/demonstration of Rusalka/The Little Mermaid will take place. Each performance lasts for twenty minutes.
At the end of the day, all participants will receive a special opera-themed gift bag.
Florida Grand Opera’s “Family Day” is made possible by an “Arts Alive” grant from the PNC Bank. It is the objective of PNC Arts Alive to challenge “visual and performing arts organizations to put forth their best, most original thinking in expanding audience participation and engagement. This commitment advances our mission of community development.
Susan T. Danis, Florida Grand Opera General Director and CEO, comments, “In these times of rapidly diminishing arts education, I can think of no better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than to spend an afternoon at FGO’s “Family Day,” sharing the excitement of opera with your children.”