REVIEWS AND FEEDBACK

Our pupils had little, if any, knowledge of Opera prior to the visit. Some children, particularly boys, were reluctant to attend and quite cynical about what the Clonter Experience could offer them… How wrong they were and how quickly they changed their minds. “Wow” was the comment of one year 6 boy – when asked to elaborate he said (quite profoundly ) “It’s just WOW”. The day was fantastic… children in mixed ability groups worked creatively, collaboratively and purposefully. When the children met Chris and the ‘singers’ they were blown away. They were enthralled and hooked. All of our pupils participated in this inclusive environment – they felt able to join in and take risks. They appreciated the sheer quality of the opera experience. Our SEN children responded well and engaged fully – what a brilliant day! Since our return to school the children can be heard “razzle dazzling” and singing “I’ve got rhythm”. As a staff we loved it too.

I have never known any other institution provide a remotely similar experience, in 27 years of teaching. We are so fortunate that Clonter is within our locality and able to provide such a unique and memorable day. Having the opportunity to work with professional set designers and performers within a theatre setting, has been truly inspirational. Our head teacher is already planning a unit of work about Macbeth, culminating in the building of mini stage sets in a similar style to those that we did at Clonter. Clonter Opera is clearly providing a unique and invaluable educational opportunity within the wider community, that greatly enriches the experiences of our children. Long may it continue.

It was really interesting to be involved as both a performer and an educator. Leading and participating in workshops is quite a skill… This is a valuable part of the work at Clonter and very important for us as performers.

“This will be my best trip in year 5… Thank you for inviting us I hope my brother can come too” – Grace

“Dear Super Clonter Theatre, thank you for giving us a wonderful experience. My favourite part was when we made little stage scenes and settings… It was fun playing outside too… we had lots of fun racing with my friends and some people from other schools as well. Amazingly I was shocked how good the performance was! Please could we come again… could we? ” – Jake