MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

Afarin Mansouri Tehrani PHD Candidate, York University Toronto, Ontario, Canada

**A Survey through Children’s Opera ** Music for children has always had both entertainment and educational functions throughout the history. There have been different reasons behind composers’ intention to create music for children; some were interested in music education aiming to educate children about their culture, other cultures, beliefs and behaviors, or just teaching specific musical skills such as playing an instrument. Others wrote music for certain sacred or secular events such as ceremonies, festivals, or entertainments, using children as performers for those works. Whether composers had educational or entertainment purposes in mind, their works can be divided into two broad categories: “Compositions to be performed by children” and “Compositions to be performed for children”. These two categories can also be applied to operas written for children: Operas performed by children and operas performed by adults for children to watch and learn and entertained. Through a comprehensive background survey, this paper explores the history of children’s opera and looks into major organizations’ role in advocating children’s music including children’s opera. Examples of notable composers of this field and their works will also be explored and presented.

Keywords: Children, Children’s Opera, Opera, Children’s music, Canadian Children’s Opera