The standard format is as follows: a grown-up writes an opera for kids, the children’s chorus has a role, and it may include a part for a young soloist – but the children’s participation is limited to the stage action and they have no involvement in the creation of the work. This time we wanted an opera that revolved entirely around the youngsters and in which they were the leading players, a work that brought their own issues to the stage – not the things that adults thought were important to them. Not many operas do that.

In fact, I can’t think of a single one that does - so we commissioned a children’s opera that we wanted to watch. The result is IMMMERMEEEHR, a ground-breaking project for us. I’ve been heading the Children’s Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin since 2012 and in that time we’ve done some great stuff, things like Benjamin Britten’s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, the ST MATTHEW PASSION, LA BOHÈME and HANSEL AND GRETEL. But the Children’s Chorus has never taken over the stage like it does in this production.

 

Two casts of 30 players apiece …adds up to 60 boys and girls rehearsing the new opera simultaneously. And zero chaos © Nancy Jesse  

 

The idea of laying down the lyrics as an initial step came from the Young Opera department. We’d already found our librettist, Maria Milisavljević, and the director, Franziska Seeberg, was also signed up. They were mulling over how to find out what things kids were interested in and had the idea of holding a workshop solely devoted to the kids writing a script. Any script, any genre. Just a script!

We got some great stories from that, including one on the subject of climate change, which wasn’t so much about the scary situation but instead conjured up a sci-fi utopia with aliens arriving in a space ship and helping us to save the planet. There were also texts tackling gender issues and the way society assigns people roles: for example: why can’t I wear a crop top to school as a 14-year-old girl?

The team from Young Opera cast their net wider by extending the workshop to include pupils of the Brüder Grimm primary school in the Wedding district of Berlin. And that threw up a raft of new subjects – for instance: what it’s like not being able to afford cool brands of clothing. Bullying, too, was a theme.

The end result was a libretto that bundles everything together and poses a question that is relevant for adults and children alike: how do we learn to deal with our problems? They don’t just evaporate – and even if they did, is that something we would want? A world without problems?

As composer for IMMMERMEEEHR we secured the services of Gordon Kampe, who has already scored KANNST DU PFEIFFEN, JOHANNA? and FRANKENSTEIN for the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Kampe is a dab hand at writing music that is both modern and catchy. If we’re honest, children can be quite conservative. They’re not necessarily wild about stuff that’s new and different. And don’t forget: the Children’s Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin is rooted in Romanticism - TOSCA, CARMEN, LA BOHÈME. Our boys and girls were nourished on works like that.

Kampe’s composition, though, has a rhythmic character that the kids love. He likes experimenting and they love to be part of it. There’s a moment in it – I’m not giving too much away – where they’re meant to sound like Gollum in »Lord of the Rings«. They get a huge kick out of switching from nice, clean singing to that Gollum-esque growling.

 

Chorus Director Christian Lindhorst provides piano accompaniment to the creative process © Nancy Jesse  

 

We’re rehearsing IMMMERMEEEHR with two separate casts, 30 kids in each, which share the chorus sequences and provide the relevant soloists. At the moment we’re working with both groups, so that’s upwards of 60 children in the room, some of whom have just put in a full day at school. But there’s nothing chaotic about it. There’s a routine to our rehearsals: we do a warm up and loosen up the vocal chords, which helps them focus. And we sometimes leave IMMMERMEEEHR and return to it, because the kids have other things to work on: for instance, the Children’s Chorus features in the upcoming premiere of LA FIAMMA. They’ve already learnt that part, so rehearsing it is a way for them to clear their heads.

I’ve always wanted to direct children’s and youth choruses. I still get a buzz out of it after 12 years. Children are really fast learners. They get enthused really easily and soak everything up like a sponge. To encourage them to stick with us when they’re older we’ve now created a Youth Chorus at the Deutsche Oper Berlin – and there’s even a side group for boys whose voices are breaking, the »Voice Changers«.

During Covid we built up a network of children’s-chorus directors in operas and theatres across the German-speaking region, and the network continues to function. We have a bunch of amazing choruses that have vast onstage experience and provide great voice training – yet there are so few works that are feasible for them and don’t require huge orchestras. We want IMMMERMEEEHR to become part of a repertoire that can benefit the children and youth choruses of other opera houses. Just as we may come to benefit from other works that are hopefully still to be written.