SKU: PR.441410300

ISBN 9781491111512. UPC: 680160667543. 9 x 12 inches. Lauren Bernofsky.

RUFUS AND RITA is an adorable, light-hearted opera about a girl and her zany dog, commissionedby Reimagining Opera for Kids for in-school performances. The libretto features several forks in theroad where the audience votes on what should happen next. The opera is scored for four singersof any voice range, plus piano; there is also an expanded version for chamber ensemble.
RUFUS AND RITA is a light-hearted opera for young audiences, scored for fouradult singers of any voice type. Singers may adjust octaves as necessary, soany part may be sung by a male or female voice.A chamber version of the accompaniment is also available from TheodorePresser Company (441-41031), scored for a flexible-instrumentation ensembleof piano with any two treble instruments and one bass instrument.* * *RUFUS AND RITA contains many improvised elements, from spoken dialogueto improvised vocal parts. Instructions are given throughout the score. Theduration is approximately 30 minutes, depending on the length of theimprovised sections.The libretto is flexible – at several points in the show, the audience votes onwhat happens next, from choices given by a narrator. Some musical numbers,as well as props and set accessories, are determined by the choice. Forinstance, if the audience votes for Rufus to have found a dog biscuit, then 2a.The Dog Treat is performed (and 2b. Fido's Lament is omitted.) The pianistmay serve as the narrator, who announces what is being voted on and talliesthe vote by observing a show of hands.* * *Thanks to Mary Alice Cox, D.V.M., for her expertise regarding the medical careof Rufus in “The Cure” and to Susan Archibald for her editorial comments.Thanks, also, to Felissa Elfenbein for permission to use her zucchini dog treatrecipe.My everlasting thanks to my editor, Daniel Dorff, for his faith in my music.Finally, my deepest gratitude to Kim Carballo and the cast of ReimaginingOpera for Kids, who helped me develop the opera into its final version.

SKU: PR.446412930

UPC: 680160614196. Letter inches. Libretto by Scott Russell Sanders. Libretto by Scott Russell Sanders.

Commissioned, premiered, and frequently performed by Roundabout Opera for Kids, Mooch the Magnificent is a 40-minute opera (with a 30-minute alternate version), scored for SATB principal roles, extra speaking and non-speaking parts, and an ensemble of Clarinet, Cello, Percussion, and Piano. It may also be performed in piano reduction. In a zoo of the future, populated not by animals but by robots in animal form, Mooch, an orphan girl, convinces the zookeeper to hire her to fix the robots when they break down, but she is actually reprogramming them to be increasingly wild. The opera takes place in a dome-covered city that is part of a worldwide network of such cities, connected by travel tubes, sealed off from the outside. The time is late twenty-first century, after human beings, afraid of the wilds, have moved indoors.

SKU: PR.44641293M

UPC: 680160614745. 8.5 x 11 inches. Libretto by Scott Russell Sanders. Libretto by Scott Russell Sanders.

SKU: KU.GM-1918C

ISBN 9790206202889. Key: C major. German, English.

The world famous tale Hansel and Gretel by The Brothers Grimm was set to music in the 1890s by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck. The children's opera is performed regularly at many opera houses.

The Evening Prayer 'When at night I go to sleep', with which the two kids sing themselves to sleep, is one of the most famous songs of this opera, and is also used as the beginning of the overture.

This arrangement is scored for wind quintet with an english horn. In case no english horn should be available, we present an alternative version that features an oboe instead. The flute nd bassoon players will then use the same parts as in the version with english horn.

(Simon Scheiwiller, April 2015)

SKU: AP.46540

UPC: 038081531151. English.

From a favorite childhood game comes a lesson about solving conflicts cooperatively, rather than competitively. A fun ostinato section near the end gets your kids singing three independent vocal lines in a snap. The rock 'n' roll feel is sure to be a hit with younger groups! Staging suggestions available on Alfred's Movin' DVD.

About Alfred Choral Designs

The Alfred Choral Designs Series provides student and adult choirs with a variety of secular choral music that is useful, practical, educationally appropriate, and a pleasure to sing. To that end, the Choral Designs series features original works, folk song settings, spiritual arrangements, choral masterworks, and holiday selections suitable for use in concerts, festivals, and contests.