Pigs are probably the last thing to come to mind when one thinks of opera.
But the curly-tailed creatures are getting a little more musical as University students prepare to perform “Three Little Pigs” to an unconventional soundtrack — Mozart.
Twelve music students are preparing the classic children’s story for performances in East Baton Rouge elementary and middle schools through a service-learning class as part of the Louisiana Opera Outreach Program.
Michael Borowitz, co-director of LOOP, said the rendition of “Three Little Pigs” is arranged by John Davies and uses Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart scores to tell the story.
Dugg McDonough, artistic director of University Opera, said the program serves a dual purpose of allowing University students performance exposure and bringing opera to young students at a time when financial hardships often require reductions or entire cuts in schools’ arts programs.
Borowitz and assistant professor of voice Dennis Jesse serve as music director and stage director of the program, respectively. McDonough said students in the program work with Borowitz early in the semester to master the musical elements of the opera and later take staging directions from Jesse.
Jesse said he thinks the program serves an important purpose for the Baton Rouge community.
“[The University’s] music program is nationally acclaimed, but we don’t have music in our schools,” Jesse said.
McDonough said opera is especially effective for younger audiences because it involves “telling a story to