Sometimes it's not easy introducing children to classical music, particularly if you're not the sort of person who will sit down and listen to music without trying to do something else at the same time. If you recognise this description (for you or for your children) you may well be interested in the "Beethoven's Wig" series of CDs which offers 20 tracks of well known pieces set to very funny words. It's perfect for listening in the car as you can hear a track or two on a short journey rather than needing a long time in which to concentrate all in one go. Like all the rest of my recommendations, they're fun for you as well as the children!

I have struggled with my conscience for some time about making recommendations for music for toddlers. The truth is that tiny children adore catchy simple tunes they can sing along to, and classical music is not the first music to which I would introduce a lively toddler. But if you love classical music you may need a bridge to it for these little people. When I looked around for music to play to the children, particularly in the car, I faced a major problem. Many companies have produced CDs of nursery rhymes which cannot be listened to more than once without feeling carsick oneself. And with little children, if they do like what they hear, you are going to have to listen to it over and over again so finding a decent music CD is vital to one's sanity!

This CD succeeds in giving people new to opera (and I don't think it should be restricted to children) the chance to listen to first class recordings of well known and catchy arias, in English, from a selection of Operas. These are performed by the Budapest Concert Orchestra and a series of singers who succeed in performing the songs so that you can hear each word. The fact that they have been sung in English enables a listener to understand the lyrics, which goes a long way to helping one appreciate them. In particular Papageno's Song from the Magic Flute and the Doll Song from Tales of Hoffman really benefit from their translation which has been done sensitively by librettist Daniel Libman.

What sets this CD apart from many other compilations is the first class quality of both the orchestra and the individual singers. Often people who are new to opera or classical music are fobbed off with a poor recording or a mediocre interpretation, so unsurprisingly they fail to understand what other people rave about. This CD gives the listener the best possible chance to enjoy the arias. When you listen to the arias you realise clearly that the operas were popular partly because they contained songs that were so memorable. There are two arias on the selection where the words are difficult to understand, and one must resort to the accompanying lyrics. These were the Ride of the Valkyries and Ombra Mai Fù but in each case there were good reasons to include them: for the beauty of the music in the former, and the opportunity to showcase a counter-tenor voice, in this case the wonderful voice of Daniel Taylor, in the latter. For me, the music prizes go to Aline Kutan as Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, Brian Banion as Escamillo in the Toreador's Song from Carmen, and Michael Schade as Duke of Mantua in La Donna è Mobile from Rigoletto.

After fourteen arias with words in English, there are instrumental versions of four of those arias which provide the opportunity for listeners to sing along with the Orchestra in “karaoke” style, with the lyrics provided separately. Anyone wanting to start on Opera or trying to encourage a child to listen will find this CD a very useful tool indeed.

For an introduction to Opera for people of all ages click here.

Alison Karlin
2nd August 2008

This DVD of Peter and the Wolf, produced by Breakthru Films and Arthaus Music, won an Oscar, deservedly in my opinion, in 2008 for the best animated short film. The animation uses stop-frame model animation made popular by the Wallace & Gromit creators and was produced by Breakthru films, using Polish animation company Se-ma-For Studios puppet animation.

For the past 70 years the most recent music and narrative composed specifically for children was Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf in 1936 written for his own children. Finally there is something new and modern for children to listen to, which might just open the world of classical music for them. Misterstourworm and the Kelpie's Gift is a very exciting recording of a work composed by Savourna Stevenson in 2003 and performed once that year. It brings together the Orchestra of Scottish Opera with narrative by Stuart Paterson and offers a blend of sweetness and darkness that turn the best fairy tales into favourites. Flute and harp create a magical harmony evoking faeries and stardust, while the frightening power of the monster come through strongly through the deep brass instruments.