Secular Charlotte Mason

HI,  My dd 9 and I just did a little unit study of Opera with the jumping off point of Wagner's The Ring.  We read a lovely little book called

The Magic Ring: Children's Tales from Richard Wagner_,

> written by Elizabeth Taliaferro Close

In language that explains what opera is and how music works in opera (each character has its own motif or theme, as well as different elements can have there own themes) she tells the 4 part story of the Ring like she's telling a bedtime story.  I HIGHLY recommend this book! 

You will probably have a hard time finding it, though.  I got ours through our library's inter library loan system, but it would be worth purchasing if you are a book buyer (I try not to be). 

I also got "Highlights from the Ring" on CD from the library and "The Young Persons Guide to the Opera" from ILL.  We had a good time going through those. 

Just thought I'd share,

Krystal

I'm going to have to look for that book! Speaking of opera, I just picked up Lamb's Tales from Great Operas by Donald Elliott.The author's goal is to introduce children to opera in much the same way Charles & Mary Lamb introduced children to Shakespeare and is why the book has a lamb "mascot". The idea is that you read the background info in this book and then listen to (or when possible) see the opera. I believe the operas are in chronological order in the book making it easier to include them as part of music history or history in general. This book may be too general for true opera fans but for a nonopera person, such as myself, it is a nice tool that I hope to use with my daughters.

I also found  a picture book version of Aida told by Leontyne Price and illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon. I will use this gorgeous book when we study Ethiopian/African history. According to the back page, Leontyne Price was inspired to create this book based on her worldwide performances as Aida and her ability to identify with the character.

Thanks for bringing up the subject, Krystal!