Performance Activities

IN PREPARATION

For this activity, students will need the "Performance Activity" handout and the "Opera Review" handout.

COMMON CORE STANDARDS

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.7
Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3.d
Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.

Supporting the Student Experience during The Met: Live in HD Transmission

Watching and listening to a live performance is a unique experience that takes students beyond the printed page to an immersion in images, sound, interpretation, technology, drama, skill, and craft. These performance activities are designed to help students analyze different aspects of this experience while engaging critically with the performance. Each performance activity incorporates a reproducible sheet; students should bring these activity sheets to the Live in HD transmission and fill them out during intermission and/or after the final curtain.

For Der Fliegende Holländer, the first activity sheet, “Painting a Picture with …,” invites students to think deeply about how words, images, and music can all tell stories. Before the opera begins, tell students that they will have to draw a portrait of one of the opera’s characters. As they watch the opera, they will need to watch and listen for descriptions of what this character looks like. They should pay close attention not only to the costumes but also to the words (is the character ever described by someone else onstage?) and the music (does the music offer any additional insight into the character?). Students should note these observations on their reproducible handout; then, after the opera, they should draw a portrait of the character based on these observations. Finally, students should share their portrait (and the evidence that led them to craft the portrait this way) with the class.

The second activity sheet is called “Opera Review: Der Fliegende Holländer,” and it includes a scene-by-scene rating system to help students keep track of the opera’s story and develop their own opinions about what they see and hear. This activity is the same for each opera, and it is intended to guide students toward a consistent set of objective observations while enriching their understanding of the art form as a whole.

Following the performance, the Post-Show Discussion will offer a roadmap for reviewing the Live in HD performance of Der Fliegende Holländer. This guided discussion activity is designed to encourage careful, critical thinking about what students have seen and heard while also inspiring students to engage in further discussion and study.