Annabelle Follows the Sound of Her Own Voice, a children’s concert with a big heart – and a big voice -- opens the National Arts Centre’s 2011-2012 Kinderconcert Series. All Kinderconcerts -- presented by the NAC Orchestra and Jeunesses Musicales Canada – feature music, instruments, theatre and storytelling. Separate performances are given in English and in French. Kinderconcerts are perfect for families and children aged 3-8, as they readily capture youngsters’ imaginations, providing tons of fun and discovery of the endless wonders of music.

In Annabelle Follows the Sound of Her Own Voice, we meet soprano Annabelle Canto at the peak of her fame. Renowned by many as the greatest opera singer in the world, it comes as no surprise when a famous impresario offers her a world tour. But before signing the contract, he asks Annabelle to audition. High-strung, vulnerable, and anxious, Annabelle misunderstands the impresario’s request. She thinks she must prove to him that she can pack her suitcases in a flash, pass through customs with panache, and sign 50 autographs in 10 minutes. That’s when she asks her loyal accompanist, Henry, to help her prepare for this tour to the land of opera. Henry is ready to play along, but he also has his own ideas ….

Annabelle Follows the Sound of Her Own Voice is performed in English in the NAC’s Panorama Room (on the floor, so bring a cushion!) on Sunday November 20 at 9:30 a.m., at 11 a.m., and at 1:30 p.m. It is performed in French at 3 p.m. Music for Young Children will be providing some pre-concert activities between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. 

Upcoming Kinderconcerts include:

SPECIAL CONCERT: A Christmas Carol -- December 4, 2011 

Special times: English performance 9:30 a.m./French performance 11 a.m.

Pierre-Alexandre Saint-Yves, voice, flute, rauschpfeife, hurdy gurdy
Andrew Wells-Oberegger, voice, bouzouki, bagpipes, guitar, percussion
Chloé Dominguez, cello
Isabeau Proulx Lemire, actor

Mean and ill-tempered old miser Ebenezer Scrooge refuses to be good, even on Christmas Day. Ghosts come to haunt him, urging him to change his ways and become more generous. In this loose adaptation of the English author’s classic, Dickens himself has fun portraying the character of Scrooge, while his musician friends portray the ghosts, spirit-rappers, and other colourful characters in the story … while merrily singing and playing their instruments! Mocking laughter and little shivers blow across the stage like a strong wind; folly, fun, and apparitions flutter down like the snows of yesteryear. The children in the audience, called on to take part, will also have to try to convince old Scrooge to become more generous!

Head in the Clouds -- January 29, 2012

Annabelle Renzo, harp
Even though everybody is always saying that she has her head in the clouds, Annabelle never believed it. But then one day, when she is just walking along to school, listening to the birds, wings suddenly start growing out of her back! In two flaps of her new wings, whoosh! Annabelle finds herself standing on a cloud high up in the sky. In this dream world where birds have strange names like Handel, Debussy, and Albeniz, Annabelle may be able to make the rain fall and the sun shine with the sound of her harp, but she’s no longer sure whether she’s a little girl, a bird … or an angel.

 

The Great Rhythmobile Adventure -- April 1, 2012

Bruno Roy, percussion and composition
Thierry Arsenault, percussion and composition

The Rhythmobile -- a super-powered, all-terrain, hybrid vehicle -- has unfortunately run out of gas. Captain Kit Crash, the Rhythmobile’s clumsy driver, and his tinkering mechanic, Whiplash, have had to swerve off to the side of the road in a panic — in an area that doesn’t even show up on their rally maps. To make things even more complicated, the technologically sophisticated 4x4 can’t even get going without the right kind of very high rhythm-rated fuel. In an unknown land, who knows if any fuel can be found? Time is running out. Before falling too far behind in the rally race, our two adventurers immediately begin searching for their precious fuel: rhythm.

 

All Aboard to Planet Alloy -- June 17, 2012

Stéphane Beaulac, trumpet
Martin Ringuette, trombone
Simon Harel, French horn

The year is 2084. Man has intensified space travel in a quest to find new planets and civilizations. Commissioned by the Colonel, two space rangers set out on an expedition to the uncharted planet Alloy. Their mission: to establish contact with the planet’s inhabitants who, musical intelligence has it, have no vocal cords. The language of music will have to say it all. An unforgettable intergalactic voyage!

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Information:   
Gerald Morris
Communications Officer, NAC Music
613-947-7000, ext. 335  
[e-mail]  gerald.morris@nac-cna.ca