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The Opera Center
315 Clinton Street
Binghamton, NY 13905
Adapted by John Davies, Tri-Cities Opera’s Jack and the Beanstalk presents a clever, song-filled retelling of the Old English fairy tale. Duets like “Now Jack Am I to Understand,” and “Come out, Come out, wherever you are” engage young audiences and plant the seeds of life-long music/opera appreciation.
With recognizable magical beans and larger-than-life characters, this story also imparts a musical message about the value of treating others as you would like to be treated. Jordan Schreiner (last season’s witch!) stars as Jack.
Tri-Cities Opera is proud to offer opera for young children. Jack and the Beanstalk is an opera pared down and tailored just for kids. With costumes, a colorful, whimsical set and great singing, the production exposes children to a real opera atmosphere, but can be understood by the youngest audiences.
Lyrics by John Davies & Music by Arthur Sullivan
An operatic version of the story of Jack & the Beanstalk based on scenes from the operettas of Sir Arthur Sullivan.
Living in poverty with his mother, Jack sells the family cow to a mysterious dustman for a handful of beans. When he returns home and shows his mom the scrawny seeds, she throws them out a window in despair. The beans, of course, take root, and in the moonlight a magical stalk grows to the sky. Discovering the beanstalk and climbing it, as any boy hero would, Jack finds himself in the castle of a very large oaf and his kindly, but haggard, wife. Learning that this giant has taken his father’s golden hen, Jack, with the help of the Giant’s wife, stealthily takes it back. The Giant, in pursuit of Jack, receives a bump on the head after falling from the beanstalk, causing him to forget he’s supposed to be “bad.” Realizing all the trouble he’s caused, the Giant resolves to behave well, agreeing that consideration for others requires people large and small to treat other people as they would want to be treated.
The story of Jack & the Beanstalk possesses just the right larger-than-life characters for a children’s opera. With an adventuresome boy, his sweet mother, a giant and his beleaguered wife, and a mysterious trader in magical beans, the English folktale moves along with energy and personality. With that in mind, I used the music of English operetta composer, Sir Arthur Sullivan. Sir Arthur’s music is highly accessible, lots of fun and always healthy to sing: three essential qualities when presenting performances before 9:00 a.m. in school gymnasiums.
Courtesy of Opera Tales
315 Clinton Street
Binghamton, New York 13905
Phone: (607) 729-3444
Box Office: (607) 772-0400
We recognize the indigenous peoples whose land Tri-Cities Opera’s facilities were built on. This land has been sustainably stewarded throughout generations by Haudenosaunee and Algonkian speaking peoples. We honor and respect the enduring relationship that exists between these peoples and nations and this land.
Tri-Cities Opera is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Productions are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. General Operating Support is provided to Tri-Cities Opera by grants from the Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation, the United Cultural Fund of the Broome County Arts Council, and the Community Foundation for South Central New York.
