Where would you most love to have a sleepover?
Imagine having free rein at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, with its famous Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton and life-size model of a blue whale. Or getting a chance to see the Terra Cotta Army in Xi’an, China, without the crowds. Or exploring the seminal Sydney Opera House in Australia after dark.
If you had the opportunity to sleep over at one of these places, or another science, art or cultural institution of your choosing, would you take it?
In “A Night to Remember at the Opera, Complete With a Phantom,” Elisabetta Povoledo writes about a group of 130 children, ages 8 to 10, who got to sleep over at the Teatro Costanzi, an opera house in Rome. She explains why the theater hosted the event:
“The theater is a place where strange things happen, where what is impossible becomes possible,” Francesco Giambrone, the Costanzi’s general manager, told the children Saturday afternoon when they arrived to participate in a get-to-know-the-theater-sleepover.
Music education ranks as a low priority in Italy, the country that invented opera and gave the world some of its greatest composers. Many experts, including Mr. Giambrone, say their country has rested on its considerable laurels rather than cultivate a musical culture that encourages students to learn about their illustrious heritage.
With little backing from schools or lawmakers, arts organizations like the Costanzi have concluded that it is up to them to reach out to the young.
The article continues, describing what the children did during their night at the theater:
On Saturday, the children watched part of a rehearsal for an upcoming performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony — “the conductor uses a wand to direct music, not so different from Harry Potter’s but more important,” Ms. Nigro said. They learned how the staff cleaned the world’s biggest chandelier in a historic building, and they got to know the ins and outs of the theater via a treasure hunt (read general mayhem) that had them scrambling up and down stairs, flitting in and out of stalls like a multicharacter French farce.
Emma the phantom — Valentina Gargano, a soprano in the opera’s young artists program — made an encore, exacting a promise from the children that they would tell their friends about “this magic place” and come back when they grew up.
One girl had been so convinced that Ms. Gargano was a real ghost that the organizers made sure they met when the soprano was in street clothes.
After being serenaded with music, including Brahms’ classic lullaby, the children settled down (or tried to) in a patchwork of sleeping bags on an artificial green lawn used in a previous production of Madama Butterfly. Above them loomed oversize photos of some of the stars who performed at the Costanzi, like Maria Callas, Herbert von Karajan and Rudolf Nureyev.
After breakfast on Sunday, the children took part in workshops at which they designed colorful paper ballet costumes, learned basic ballet positions, sang as part of a choir (some more enthusiastically than others) and played an opera-themed version of snakes and ladders. The game was designed and overseen by Giordano Punturo, the opera’s stage manager, done up in a tuxedo and colorful top hat.
My students, read the entire article and then tell me:
What are your thoughts on the sleepover at the Teatro Costanzi? Does it sound like an event you would have liked to attend when you were younger?
If you could spend the night at any museum or venue — a specific museum, theater, library, art gallery, sports stadium, botanical garden — anywhere in the world, where would you like to go? Why? What fascinates you about that place?
Imagine you had nearly free rein at that place during your sleepover; you could go anywhere, see anything and talk to anyone who worked there. What would you most like to do, learn, experience or explore?
The sleepover at the Costanzi was part of a campaign to make up for what experts see as a lack of music education in Italy. How important do you think education in the arts is? Does your country prioritize it enough? Do you ever wish you had more opportunities to take classes in music, theater, film, visual arts and the like, or to participate in events like the one described in the article? Why or why not?
The sleepover was also an effort to make theater and opera more familiar and accessible, especially to children. How welcome and comfortable do you feel in places like museums and theaters? What do you think cultural institutions like these could do to attract more young people?
Here's my two cents: I would like to spend the night at Salt Lake High School, known as East High School, from the movie High School Musical. High School Musical holds a very special place in my heart. It showcases following and chasing after your dreams no matter what, the importance and the value of good friendship, and always sticking together. The most important thing I learned from the movie is that you always have someone even when it doesn't seem like it. I´ve loved the movie ever since I was a kid, and spending the night there and reminiscing every scene I saw as a child would be spectacular and a long-time dream of mine. In the article, Elisabetta Povoledo writes that ¨Emma the phantom — Valentina Gargano, a soprano in the opera’s young artists program — made an encore, exacting a promise from the children that they would tell their friends about “this magic place” and come back when they grew up.¨ This quote makes me think; what would I think of High School Musical now if I had visited Salt Lake High School before? Would I want to visit it again or never associate myself with it again? Would I brag to all my friends and make them jealous that I got to have a sleepover at one of the most iconic places in history? The thing that fascinates me about Salt Lake High School is the amount of memories that have been made there. There are countless memories that all have different meanings and even just thinking about that possibility excites me. For me, I would choose a Broadway theatre because I am a dancer, and watching Broadway shows inspires me. Broadway shows are also really fun! Nothing beats seeing your favorite shows and movies in live-action! I would love to spend the night at a theme park like Disney or Lotte (granted all the rides work fine). Imagine the exhilaration of you and your friends having the whole park to yourselves. There would be no end to the thrill of roller coasters and the sea of stuffed paraphernalia and assorted candies. I just find it so grounding to realize how small you are in comparison for the ginormous rides and endless possibilities. A second place I would want to spend the night is around a ski resort. Riding gondolas under the moonlight and skiing alone with nature would be a magical experience. I think I would like to spend a night in the Kennedy Center, because I've been there many times, but it was so packed with people. It would be so fun to see it with just me alone and I could go on the stage and see how it looks when it's empty. I would honestly spend the night at a dinosaur museum becuase I really like learning about dinosaurs. I would also think it would be cool to spend the night there becuase I used to have dreams about sleeping over at a dinosaur museum and the dinosaurs would come to life. I know they won't come to life but it would be cool because im basically living one of my dreams when i was little. I would like to spend the night in a venue where my favorite musical artists are going to be performing. I've never been to a concert of my favorite musical artists because I don't have the money and time for it, but it would be cool if I could go to a venue and stay with people who have the same tastes as me over night. A venue that I would want to stay at overnight would probably be The Spotify Camp Nou when it is finished and reopened. When Camp Nou reopens, it is going to have a capacity of over 100,000, which is huge. Also I would love to try and meet some of the Barcelona players like Lewandowski, Ter Stegen, Araujo, Lamine Yamal and other people. Watching Barcelona playing when they are actually locked in would actually be great.
To be honest, I would spend the night at a baseball stadium because I am so interested in baseball other than any sport around the world. I've spent one night before at the Citi Field Stadium with my dad watching the Mets play a team I forgot. Now, I want to try it again because during the nighttime, there are more people than during daylight.
I feel really comfortable and at ease at places like museums and theaters. When I'm in a museum, I can really obtain information at my own pace. Museums that reflect on the past or art museums are my favorite because I can just enjoy looking at the art without any worries. Museums aren't loud so I can easily observe the artifacts. But on the other hand I can be easily bored. Some theaters and museums can be boring so that's why I like art museums. But then again, art museums can also be boring. But besides, I still feel really comfortable in a museum or a theater. The place I would spend the night in is the D.C United stadium ecause honestly the place i huge and it has good security. I also like how it is in the middle of the an area because I like the noises they kind of help me sleep and they are comforting a bit since my own neighborhood is filled with noises.
If you had the opportunity to sleep over at one of these places, or another science, art or cultural institution of your choosing, would you take it?
In “A Night to Remember at the Opera, Complete With a Phantom,” Elisabetta Povoledo writes about a group of 130 children, ages 8 to 10, who got to sleep over at the Teatro Costanzi, an opera house in Rome. She explains why the theater hosted the event:
“The theater is a place where strange things happen, where what is impossible becomes possible,” Francesco Giambrone, the Costanzi’s general manager, told the children Saturday afternoon when they arrived to participate in a get-to-know-the-theater-sleepover.
Music education ranks as a low priority in Italy, the country that invented opera and gave the world some of its greatest composers. Many experts, including Mr. Giambrone, say their country has rested on its considerable laurels rather than cultivate a musical culture that encourages students to learn about their illustrious heritage.
With little backing from schools or lawmakers, arts organizations like the Costanzi have concluded that it is up to them to reach out to the young.
The article continues, describing what the children did during their night at the theater:
On Saturday, the children watched part of a rehearsal for an upcoming performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony — “the conductor uses a wand to direct music, not so different from Harry Potter’s but more important,” Ms. Nigro said. They learned how the staff cleaned the world’s biggest chandelier in a historic building, and they got to know the ins and outs of the theater via a treasure hunt (read general mayhem) that had them scrambling up and down stairs, flitting in and out of stalls like a multicharacter French farce.
Emma the phantom — Valentina Gargano, a soprano in the opera’s young artists program — made an encore, exacting a promise from the children that they would tell their friends about “this magic place” and come back when they grew up.
One girl had been so convinced that Ms. Gargano was a real ghost that the organizers made sure they met when the soprano was in street clothes.
After being serenaded with music, including Brahms’ classic lullaby, the children settled down (or tried to) in a patchwork of sleeping bags on an artificial green lawn used in a previous production of Madama Butterfly. Above them loomed oversize photos of some of the stars who performed at the Costanzi, like Maria Callas, Herbert von Karajan and Rudolf Nureyev.
After breakfast on Sunday, the children took part in workshops at which they designed colorful paper ballet costumes, learned basic ballet positions, sang as part of a choir (some more enthusiastically than others) and played an opera-themed version of snakes and ladders. The game was designed and overseen by Giordano Punturo, the opera’s stage manager, done up in a tuxedo and colorful top hat.
My students, read the entire article and then tell me:
What are your thoughts on the sleepover at the Teatro Costanzi? Does it sound like an event you would have liked to attend when you were younger?
If you could spend the night at any museum or venue — a specific museum, theater, library, art gallery, sports stadium, botanical garden — anywhere in the world, where would you like to go? Why? What fascinates you about that place?
Imagine you had nearly free rein at that place during your sleepover; you could go anywhere, see anything and talk to anyone who worked there. What would you most like to do, learn, experience or explore?
The sleepover at the Costanzi was part of a campaign to make up for what experts see as a lack of music education in Italy. How important do you think education in the arts is? Does your country prioritize it enough? Do you ever wish you had more opportunities to take classes in music, theater, film, visual arts and the like, or to participate in events like the one described in the article? Why or why not?
The sleepover was also an effort to make theater and opera more familiar and accessible, especially to children. How welcome and comfortable do you feel in places like museums and theaters? What do you think cultural institutions like these could do to attract more young people?
Here's my two cents: I would like to spend the night at Salt Lake High School, known as East High School, from the movie High School Musical. High School Musical holds a very special place in my heart. It showcases following and chasing after your dreams no matter what, the importance and the value of good friendship, and always sticking together. The most important thing I learned from the movie is that you always have someone even when it doesn't seem like it. I´ve loved the movie ever since I was a kid, and spending the night there and reminiscing every scene I saw as a child would be spectacular and a long-time dream of mine. In the article, Elisabetta Povoledo writes that ¨Emma the phantom — Valentina Gargano, a soprano in the opera’s young artists program — made an encore, exacting a promise from the children that they would tell their friends about “this magic place” and come back when they grew up.¨ This quote makes me think; what would I think of High School Musical now if I had visited Salt Lake High School before? Would I want to visit it again or never associate myself with it again? Would I brag to all my friends and make them jealous that I got to have a sleepover at one of the most iconic places in history? The thing that fascinates me about Salt Lake High School is the amount of memories that have been made there. There are countless memories that all have different meanings and even just thinking about that possibility excites me. For me, I would choose a Broadway theatre because I am a dancer, and watching Broadway shows inspires me. Broadway shows are also really fun! Nothing beats seeing your favorite shows and movies in live-action! I would love to spend the night at a theme park like Disney or Lotte (granted all the rides work fine). Imagine the exhilaration of you and your friends having the whole park to yourselves. There would be no end to the thrill of roller coasters and the sea of stuffed paraphernalia and assorted candies. I just find it so grounding to realize how small you are in comparison for the ginormous rides and endless possibilities. A second place I would want to spend the night is around a ski resort. Riding gondolas under the moonlight and skiing alone with nature would be a magical experience. I think I would like to spend a night in the Kennedy Center, because I've been there many times, but it was so packed with people. It would be so fun to see it with just me alone and I could go on the stage and see how it looks when it's empty. I would honestly spend the night at a dinosaur museum becuase I really like learning about dinosaurs. I would also think it would be cool to spend the night there becuase I used to have dreams about sleeping over at a dinosaur museum and the dinosaurs would come to life. I know they won't come to life but it would be cool because im basically living one of my dreams when i was little. I would like to spend the night in a venue where my favorite musical artists are going to be performing. I've never been to a concert of my favorite musical artists because I don't have the money and time for it, but it would be cool if I could go to a venue and stay with people who have the same tastes as me over night. A venue that I would want to stay at overnight would probably be The Spotify Camp Nou when it is finished and reopened. When Camp Nou reopens, it is going to have a capacity of over 100,000, which is huge. Also I would love to try and meet some of the Barcelona players like Lewandowski, Ter Stegen, Araujo, Lamine Yamal and other people. Watching Barcelona playing when they are actually locked in would actually be great.
To be honest, I would spend the night at a baseball stadium because I am so interested in baseball other than any sport around the world. I've spent one night before at the Citi Field Stadium with my dad watching the Mets play a team I forgot. Now, I want to try it again because during the nighttime, there are more people than during daylight.
I feel really comfortable and at ease at places like museums and theaters. When I'm in a museum, I can really obtain information at my own pace. Museums that reflect on the past or art museums are my favorite because I can just enjoy looking at the art without any worries. Museums aren't loud so I can easily observe the artifacts. But on the other hand I can be easily bored. Some theaters and museums can be boring so that's why I like art museums. But then again, art museums can also be boring. But besides, I still feel really comfortable in a museum or a theater. The place I would spend the night in is the D.C United stadium ecause honestly the place i huge and it has good security. I also like how it is in the middle of the an area because I like the noises they kind of help me sleep and they are comforting a bit since my own neighborhood is filled with noises.
