Jack and the Beanstalk

(suitable for grades K-5)
By John Davies

An operatic version of Jack & the Beanstalk based on scenes from the operettas of Sir Arthur Sullivan.

From the composer who brought us The Three Little Pigs, Little Red's Most Unusual Day and Pinocchio comes this clever tale that introduces children to opera.

The Florentine Opera Company provides teachers with resources* to enhance student's learning experience by providing supplementary opera and music education materials, and connecting the program to Wisconsin Academic Standards. Using visual, aural and action methods, Jack and the Beanstalk exposes students to opera in a multi-disciplinary format. Additionally, students receive the developmental benefits of arts education, such as expanded abstract thinking and problem solving abilities, increased interest in self-expression, and a venue to enhance self-discipline, communication skills, perseverance and leadership.

Jack and the Beanstalk will tour local and regional schools and public community venues for ten weeks, beginning January 25, 2010 and will feature the vocal talents of the 2009-10 Florentine Opera Studio Artists. These artists-in-residnce will portray the beloved characters and facilitate a question and answer session with audiences, designed to give children access to a behind-the-scenes perspective and further their knowledge of opera.

Download the Jack and the Beanstalk Teacher Resource Guide

For more information: Contact Elizabeth Gardner, Director of Education & Outreach at 414-291-5700 ext. 214.

Synopsis

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 take root, and in the moonlight a magical stalk grows to the sky. Discovering the beanstalk and climbing it, 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." Students learn the importance of behaving well and treating others as you would want to be treated.