Kids at the House 2014 - Sydney Opera House

The Kids at the House have announced their 2014 program. I was delighted to see some old favourites and performances I have been waiting patiently to arrive in Australia. My kids are getting older now (15, 12 and 9) and we have outgrown the Babies Proms but the 2014 season looks after everyone.

These are our picks:

Illusionists 2.0 - My youngest son is obsessed with magic - as most nine year olds are. We have already secured our tickets for his upcoming birthday.

The Magic Flute - This kid friendly performance of The Magic Flute is a wonderful introduction to opera and worth saving up for. My daughter and I went to this in 2012 and we both loved it.

The Incredible Book Eating Boy  - Everyone in our house eats books and this is also a favourite book when the kids were younger.

Leo  - This looks like fun and physical theatre is wonderful for all ages.

The Girl Who Forgot to Sing Badly  -  Finnegan Kruckenmeyer  is one of our favourite playwrights - he knows kids theatre!  

Hans Christian, You Must Be an Angel - My eldest son and I have seen Gruppe 38's performance of Hansel and Gretel in 2010 and a reworking of Little Red Riding Hood - A Sonatina and The Little Match Girl in 2007. When I saw that their latest production was featuring  in the Dublin Theatre Festival - I urged our family in Dublin to go.  I am booking our tickets now!


Of course, there is more to explore - but I will leave that up to you.

My night at the Opera | The Magic Flute

Photo by: Branco Gaica

On Tuesday my Mum and I had an evening out together at the Opera. We went to the Sydney Opera House for a performance of  Mozart's "The Magic Flute."  I have been to the Opera House for kids shows before but this was much more special.

I like to listen to Opera on the radio in the evenings before I go to sleep and the last few weeks I have been listening to the CD of The Magic Flute.

We arrived at the Opera House early so we could get a drink in the foyer and I also had some chocolate. There were a lot of other families there as well.  When we went  into the  concert hall it was completely full and our seats had a great view of the stage and we could see everything that was going on.

I thought the singing was inspiring and the costumes were so divine. The puppets were oversized, colourful, fascinating and everyone seated near me  enjoyed them.  The set was huge and it  moved around for the performers and to show different scenes.   Sometimes it was difficult to understand what was being sung (even in English) but luckily you can read the surtitles (the words appear on a small screen above the stage) but I found it more enjoyable just to listen and take it all in.

The story is about Prince Tamino who is saved from a serpent by three of the Queens helpers.  When they go off to tell the Queen a bird catcher called  Papageno bumps into the Prince and takes the credit for saving him from the snake and they become friends. When the three ladies come back they put a muzzle on him so he can not talk as punishment for lying.

The Queen sends them both off on adventure  to save her daughter Pamina from  the cruel Sarastro.  Tamino is given a magic flute and Papageno silver bells for a safe  journey. There are also three spirits that guide them. But there are some twists and  Prince Tamino and Papageno  face many dangers but find their way to a happy ending.

The Opera runs for two hours but you get to have a break half way and can go outside, enjoy the view and have a chat.

After the performance even though it was way past my bed time  we had a drink and some dessert at the Opera bar outside and listened to the jazz band playing and talked about our night at the Opera.

I think  The Magic Flute would be  great for kids who are  five and older and families who want to have a special night out with their kids.
by Mischa age 10

MORE INFO
Sydney until 23rd March 2012
Melbourne 21st April until 12th May 2012
Bookings and more information visit http://www.opera-australia.org.au/