Education to Beauty

by Maria Chiara Mazzi

Fourth edition of Baby Bofe', the classical music festival for children.


For a while, theatrical and musical institutions have been organizing within their programming specific events for small and older children, aware that the approach to this type of music, done only through the performance of pieces arranged for an educational purpose or through passive and uninformed listening, is not enough to gather young people in concert halls and to create a new generation of listeners.
We have all understood by now that next to music education done through practice, it is essential (even as education to taste and beauty) to begin with conscious music listening, integrated in specific itineraries where 'classical' music does not replace 'light' music but is combined to it so that young listeners get used to both languages in a regular context. Even the Bologna Festival has understood how important it is to familiarize these groups of young people to music history and culture, entering into dialogue with them beyond any conventional way in the hope that they can continue loving and following classical music and operas.
With the project "Note sul Registro", carried out during the school year with the support of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Fondazione Carisbo, Fondazione del Monte in collaboration with the Education Department MAMbo, the G.B. Martini Academy of Music, Unindustria Bologna in various places of the city (G.B. Martini Academy of Music, MAMbo-Museum of Modern Art of Bologna, Unindustria Bologna's conference halls, Oratorio San Filippo Neri, Teatro Manzoni and Teatro dell'Antoniano), the association sets specific dates for secondary school students of Bologna and the province.
But a particular interest is given to children in kindergarten and elementary schools who have their very own festival:  Baby BoFe'.

In the next year 2010-2011 for the fourth edition at the Teatro dell'Antoniano, Baby Bofe' is organizing live music performances by professionals (baroque as well as contemporary repertoires, opera and modern dance), engaging narrative and stimulating choreography. The most famous pages of the great composers have been the main motivation for the elaboration of original scripts by director and scenarist Sandra Bertuzzi, drawn from great literary classics, fables and theatre and performed by the Compagnia FantaTeatro. It is a true "classical music festival for children" with quite a large and very loyal audience composed of about 30,000 spectators to date: children, teachers and parents who have altogether participated in the festival's three editions.
These past years, we have had the opportunity to listen to A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare-Mendelssohn, an impressive success taking place outside at Villa Spada during the Bolognese summer), the Valse from Cinderella (Perrault with music by Chopin) and the "children's version" of the Barber of Seville and the Elixir of Love. Beginning in January, the new season will present four titles: from the classic theater (Romeo and Juliet with music by Prokofiev), the opera (The Magic Flute with music by Mozart), the stories (the celebration of the 150 years of the Italian Union with music by Verdi) and the fables (Alice in Wonderland with the most famous music for piano). The program is plenty of educational fun and (a component of the performances is dedicated to children and teachers in order to deepen knowledge through games, drawings, quizzes) great music is associated

Picture - Play of the Barber of Seville

Picture - Play of the Elixir of Love

Image - Baby Bofe' publicity

to a world of fantasy where even little ones are carried by the language of sounds in a simple and fun way. As usual from the beginning of the programming, performances are planned for schools on Friday mornings and on Saturday and Sunday for families.
The outcomes are beyond organizers' expectations and such a success is a reminder of our society's "hunger for good music", which is too often disregarded or forgotten.

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