The story seems straightforward
How they got from A to B.
How they travelled through the air
How they sailed across the sea.
In February 2003, a partnership was formed between HMDT Music, Jubilee Primary School and Creative Partnerships to create a new primary school opera based on the real stories of how students’ parents came to Hackney. The Jubilee Opera Project involved the whole school community, culminating in performances of a new work The World Was All Before Them, which aimed to contribute on an artistic and emotional level to the reality of being a refugee, and celebrate the richness and contribution derived from the arrival of new peoples to the local area.
Throughout the process of developing the opera librettist Alasdair Middleton spoke with parents about how they had come to Hackney before developing the stories which resonated most, through drama and writing workshops in school. Composer Matthew King followed this with composition workshops to develop students’ ideas of how the words should be set to music.
Over a year, the whole school was involved with curricular work developed around the themes and issues of the piece from using a chorus for poetic composition, writing diaries, exploring travel and journeys through geography, history and maths, detailed work on refugees, exploring the role of the UN to marketing. A huge design project to create the costumes, large art pieces to decorate the hall and puppets involved not only the students and a specially created design team, but also parents who assisted with textiles, making costumes and sets.
The World Was All Before Them premiered on 1 July 2004 to celebrate the official opening of Jubilee Primary School’s new hall. The relevance of the opera has continued to live on and has been performed a further 3 times in new productions by our I Can Sing! students, most recently in 2022. The following photos draw on all 4 productions.
“I’ve discovered the amazing, delicate talents inside everyone’s heart and that no matter what culture we are, deep down beneath us we all seek the same thing ‘peace’. I felt so proud knowing how much touching emotion, love and young talent had been put into this opera, so I knew I could do it… I’ve learned how many difficult and terrifying times some people have gone thought and how it is so important be kind to them.”
Photos: Liz Murray-Bligh, Clive Barda, Abby Swain
“I was very proud to be part of the design team. When we had our last assembly our designing teacher showed every person in the hall what we did. Me and the rest of the design team had standed up and showed them who was part of the design team ”
“The best thing was that when we were singing songs we weren’t taught the song in a particular way, we were split into smaller groups and we got to sing the song in any way we wanted to. We were given the words and we got to create our own song – I really felt part of the design process! It was more than just a chance to sing freely, but a chance to express ourselves by using our voices”
“Today we were making puppets.. My group was making faces with sticks, withy, bamboo, willow and centre cane… I’m not used to people finishing off what I did but I better get used to it because I can’t make everything myself for the opera because it’s a team effort. And I need some form of help.”
“What mattered most was the unselfconscious eagerness shown by every amateur singer or player, tiny child or senior citizen. ”
Fear comes to deat
Run go to another home
I yes close to tears
Good is hope
Hide near the trees
Time has gone.
– SELIN SAFI, AGE 7
“I can see it impacting on those children who find academic subjects challenging and are frustrated by this. They may be able to express themselves more successfully creatively. It will impact on everyone in terms of confidence, cooperation, self-expression, team work, listening skills, widening experience and creative skills. The nature of the project has originated from the school community – it belongs to us all ”
“It has done wonders for her confidence and given her a positive affirmation of things – she now believes in the mantra ‘if I want to, I can’. She was elated after the experience, which she found very profound both in terms of the whole process in which she felt an ownership in making ‘our’ opera come to life, as well as the sheer joy of performing ”
“No matter what you do you are still part of a team. If you put your mind to it something you can accomplish it. ”
“I have been able to make use of the opera in different aspects of the curriculum. It has made me use a variety of learning styles because some children were better writing about it, some making things and some acting out the story. The cross-curricular learning has given me a chance to go back to the way I used to teach!”
“Reaching out and involving the whole school, the local community and professional artists in the production of the opera has been an exciting and challenging task… I can truly say that the culmination of this new and original opera being performed in our new hall has been the pinnacle of my career. ”
“It’s been wonderful to hear the children suddenly break into snatches of the opera as they walk around school or play outside. There is a buzz of excitement – a palpable buzz. The extracts I’ve seen of the rehearsals have moved me to tears – it really makes the hairs on your arm stand up…. How can this experience not make a lasting impression on everybody’s lives?”
“I learnt that you should never give up or say your thing is ugly or not very good. ”
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The World Was All Before them
Artistic team:
Writer
Alasdair MiddletonComposer
Matthew KingDirector
Denni SayersMusic Director
Jill FarrowDesigner
Andrea CarrCostumes
Kate WhiteheadLighting Designer
Cis O’Boyle
School:
Jubilee Primary School