Learning Objectives

• Learn how an opera company transitions from rehearsals to the final performances.
• Explore how a work of art like an opera can combine ideas from various art forms and multiple cultures.
• Analyze the ways that music can be part of telling a greater story by reflecting mood, tone, emotion, and character.

Education Standards Alignment

• Re7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
• Re8: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.
• Cn11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.

Common Core Standards

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.2: Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.RA.3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

(Social and Emotional Learning)

• Social Awareness: The abilities to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts.
  • Recognizing strength in others
  • Recognizing situational demands and opportunities
• Relationship Skills: The abilities to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships, and to effectively navigate settings with diverse individuals and groups. This includes the capacities to communicate clearly, listen actively, cooperate, work collaboratively to problem solve and negotiate conflict constructively, navigate settings with differing social and cultural demands and opportunities, provide leadership, and seek or offer help when needed.
  • Practicing teamwork and collaborative problem-solving
  • Resolving conflicts constructively

What to Expect

Performance

• In this rehearsal, the Washington National Opera’s artists will work out the final details of their production before opening night.
• While the details can change based on what the cast and crew need to be ready, most rehearsals include a full run-through of the piece with occasional stopping and starting.
• While a rehearsal is often very similar to a performance, it’s possible there will be some differences, like some performers will be conserving their voices or physical movements for the real thing or some costumes getting their finishing touches off stage.
• The animal characters are portrayed by both human actors and puppets. Dancers are used to show the idea of foliage.

Performers

• This opera includes adult singers and youth singers performing together. The main characters in this opera are:
• Adult Roles
• Raksha, the matriarch of the wolf pack (mezzo-soprano)
• Baloo, a bear who tutors young wolves (bass-baritone)
• Bagheera, a worldly panther, friend of the wolf pack (soprano)
• Shere Khan, a fearsome tiger (tenor)
• Hyena, Shere Khan’s henchman (soprano)
• Youth Roles
• Mowgli, a human cub
• Little Brother or Little Sister, part of the wolf pack
• Rebel Leader, a wolf
• Rebel Cubs ensemble, part of the wolf pack

Sound

• Operatic singing is very dramatic. Sometimes, the performers may sing louder to show emotions such as sadness, anger, or fear.

Visuals

• The text that the characters are singing will appear as supertitles on a screen above the stage.

Lighting

• Lighting effects are used throughout the show on stage to help set the mood of the scene.

Audience Interaction

• If you like the rehearsal, you can clap or even say, “Bravo!”

What to Bring

• Please bring any tools that will help make the experience comfortable for you! Some suggestions are: noise-canceling headphones, sunglasses or visors, fidgets, and communication devices. If you need to borrow a pair of headphones or a visor, a limited number will be available for use.

Resources

• Visit the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater webpage to learn more about the theater where you’ll see the performance.

Look and Listen for

Before you watch the performance, check out this list of important moments and ideas. Look and listen for:

• The singers’ unique voices. Opera singers spend years learning how to sing in a way that can be heard over a big orchestra in a huge concert hall—and they do it all without microphones! In addition, opera singers learn to sing in many languages. It takes a lot of work and dedication to be an opera singer, but they get to sing beautiful music and tell epic stories. Opera singers have different voice types, too: singers who usually sing high are called sopranos and tenors; singers who sing low are called mezzo-sopranos, baritones, and basses.
• The way that the music helps to tell the story. Even if we don’t understand the words, the music can give clues about how the characters feel. See if you can notice how the music helps show when the characters are frightened, sad, joyful, or hopeful.
• The way that the composer combines elements of Western and Indian classical music, and the way that the production uses dance to help bring the story and characters to life.
• The differences between a rehearsal and a final performance. In these rehearsals, audiences are invited to watch the final stages of preparation before opening night. Many times, dress rehearsals will be very similar to a performance as the performers and crew try to run everything just the way they will for the real thing. Other times, adjustments need to be made.
• What do you notice?
• Are there staff and technicians in view observing and making notes that you might not see during a performance?
• Are any of the performers “marking,” or singing lightly, to save their voices?
• Is anyone out of costume, and if so, why do you think that is?
• Does the company decide to stop and fix anything?
• Even though the performance is not quite ready, why do you think the company would want to invite an audience to see a dress rehearsal?

Think About

Opera: The Ultimate Collaboration

Opera uses so many things to tell a story: words, music, sets, costumes, lighting, and more. Because of this, many people need to work together, or collaborate, to make it happen! Some of the people who collaborate to make operas include composers (who write the music), librettists (who write the words), singers, orchestral musicians, conductors, directors, costume designers, set designers, lighting designers, stage managers, stagehands, technicians, hair and makeup artists, costume shop workers, and more—not to mention all the people who advertise the show, sell tickets, help audience members, and more!

• Which of these roles do you think would be the most fun for you?
• What would be the hardest?
• What challenges do you think they might face?
• What do you think opera company members need to do to be able to work well together?
• What things do you do when you need to work with others to make something big and exciting happen?

Classical Indian and Western Music

When you think of “opera,” you are likely thinking of a type of art form that began in Europe over 400 years ago that combines classical music and theater to tell a story. Like opera, classical Indian music has developed over centuries and still thrives today. Jungle Book is an adaptation of a story from the book The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, a British author who lived in India for many years. The opera combines elements of both traditions in exciting ways to tell the story of a group of wolves and whether or not they will accept a young human as part of their pack. Explore both traditions in the Kennedy Center’s media guides, Understanding Opera and Music of India. Why do you think combining musical traditions from several cultures was chosen for an opera that explores if members of very different species can choose to be family?

Learn about the Original Production

Jungle Book was commissioned by Washington National Opera’s Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, and written by composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Kelley Roarke. A commission happens when a person or company asks artists to create a brand-new piece of work for them. This opera was first performed at the Glimmerglass Festival in 2022. Read about the composer’s ideas in her own words and watch a video guide created for the opera in .

The Weird & Wonderful World of Opera

Explore what opera is, its history, and all the people who make it happen in this series of four short, fun videos.

Dance!

For this production, Washington National Opera is working with the Taal Academy of Dance, an Indian dance company based in Washington, D.C. Learn about Indian dance on the , then try a quick lesson through the Kennedy Center’s Teaching Artists Present video: Bharatanatyam: Introduction to Indian Classical Dance with Deepa Mani.

Rhythm and Raga

The music for Jungle Book was written by Kamala Sankaram, a composer who has deep knowledge of both Western opera traditions and Indian musical styles. Hear about this music from the composer , followed by a musical excerpt from the show, “Bagheera’s Aria,” performed as a film with a solo dancer. Then, delve into a detailed guide and exercises you can try yourself through the Kennedy Center’s Rhythm and Raga guide.

Take a look at some of the sketches made by costume designer Erik Teague. The sketch is a designer’s way of visualizing or planning what characters will look like on stage. The designer will draw ideas for the outfits before using real fabrics, materials, and accessories to transform their ideas into wearable, usable looks.

All sketches are courtesy of, and used with permission from, Erik Teague.

Kennedy Center Education

The Vice President of Education is generously endowed by the

Generous support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Gifts and grants to educational programs at the Kennedy Center are provided by The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Bank of America; Capital One; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Carnegie Corporation of New York; The Ednah Root Foundation; Harman Family Foundation; William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; the Kimsey Endowment; The Kiplinger Foundation; Laird Norton Family Foundation; Lois and Richard England Family Foundation; Dr. Gary Mather and Ms. Christina Co Mather; The Markow Totevy Foundation; Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation; The Morningstar Foundation; Myra and Leura Younker Endowment Fund; The Irene Pollin Audience Development and Community Engagement Initiatives;

Prince Charitable Trusts; Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk; Rosemary Kennedy Education Fund; The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates; The Victory Foundation; The Volgenau Foundation; Volkswagen Group of America; Jackie Washington; GRoW @ Annenberg and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family; Wells Fargo; and generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas. Additional support is provided by the National Committee for the Performing Arts..

The content of these programs may have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education but does not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the federal government.