The first production in November 2001 was Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti held in the Hough Elementary School auditorium. Hansel & Gretel by Engelbert Humperdink was also performed at Hough School in December 2002.
The year 2003 was the first outreach effort to the greater Clark County schools with repeat performances of Hansel & Gretel. A total of 1,500 students in the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grades in the Battle Ground, Ridgefield and LaCenter school districts attended two day-time performances in the Prairie High School auditorium. An evening weekend performance was open to the public.
Washougal High
School was the venue for the 2004 repeat production of Hansel &
Gretel where another 1,500 or more students were introduced to
this charming classical opera.
In 2005 the company
performed Mozart's The Magic Flute at Ft. Vancouver High
School auditorium for 4th and 5th grade students from surrounding
area schools. And again, an evening performance was open to
the general public.
Two encore performances of
The Magic Flute were taken to R. A. Long High School
auditorium, Longview, Washington in 2006 and enjoyed by more than
1,600 grade school children from the surrounding area.
In 2007 the VCO singers
performed a repeat of Mozart's The Magic Flute for the
Washougal School District at the Washburn Auditorium in Washougal
High School for approximately 1,500 4th, 5th & 6th grade children
from five elementary schools. VCO also presented a two evening
opera and musicals benefit recital in 2007 in Fries Auditorium at
the State School for the Blind in Vancouver. Both performances
were gratifying and well attended. This recital included piano
accompaniment by Kate Hobbie and Dr. Michael Liu, both board
members of the Vancouver Symphony.
March of 2008 the popular
production of Hansel & Gretel was performed in Hood
River, Oregon to an outstanding reception by the student
audiences at the Hood River Middle School.
In May a benefit concert
of Music of European Masters was presented in the Fries
Auditorium at the Washington State School for the Blind in
Vancouver featuring Natasha Semenoff, Konstantin Kvach &
pianist, Lena Vozheiko.
Later in August
2008 Vancouver Children's Opera
singers, young professionals-Amy Cole, ChristyAnne Hamilton,
Brennan Guillory & Stacy Murdock from the Portland & Vancouver
communities under the baton of Travis Hatton, presented in a
joint venture with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra a hugely
popular Symphony Under the Stars at Esther Short Park.
This concert was free to the public and very well attended.
In October 2009
VCO again presented Amahl and the Night Visitors.
This time at Hough
Elementary School in Vancouver for three performances to a
nearly full house for each and to an enthusiastic reception by
both the students and adults. A link to the CVTV video of
that production can be found on our Schedule page. | 