Saturday, December 27, 2008
SFNM Revision of the Story for the Opera
Please click here to read the revised synopsis for Santa Fe New Music's production of The Language of Birds.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Language of Birds (Original Book) synopsis
The Language of Birds
Book Synopsis
(derived from the original book)
Once upon a time there lived a rich merchant who had two sons: Vasilii and Ivan, and Vasilii was the older of the two. One day their father explained that he was going to send them out into the world with ten gold coins each to see what they made of themselves.
Vasilii took his money and immediately spent it all on himself at a nearby fair, on food and drink and entertainment. Ivan, on the other hand, wandered into a nearby forest where he stumbled upon a little bird that had fallen from its nest. As he gently placed it back in the nest, the anxious mother bird that had been circling about him called “thank you gentle boy.” Ivan couldn’t understand how he could suddenly understand the bird, and questioned her about it. She responded, “your kind action opened your ears and mind, just for a little while. But what gift can I give you to thank you for what you have done?” After pondering it for a moment, Ivan responded that he would like to always be able to understand the birds. The mother bird graciously agreed, and then taught him.
At the end of the week, the merchant called his sons to him, asking them what they had gained from their adventure and stressing the importance of such gain. Vasilii boasted that he went to the fair and spent his money wining and dining the sons of other rich merchants, making valuable connections for the future. The father nodded approvingly. But when Ivan gave the ten coins back to his father and explained that he had learned the language of birds for free, the merchant flew into a rage of disbelief. “If you are so clever,” he ranted, “tell me what the wren outside the window is saying?” Ivan replied, “She predicts that some day I will be an incredibly wealthy prince. You will wash my hands with a white cloth dipped in a silver bowl, and Vasilii will care for my horses.”
The merchant was so angry that he sent Ivan back into the forest for the night and rewarded Vasilii with a splendid dinner. Ivan was not forsaken, however, because the birds brought him berries to eat and sang him to sleep.
Upon returning home the next day, Ivan learned that his father was sending him and Vasilii to work on a ship of an acquaintance of his. The father gave them a letter to deliver to the ship captain and assured Vasilii that he would have an important position on board.
On their way to the ship, Vasilii advised Ivan that he would have been better off if he had made up a better story than that of understanding birds. Surprised, Ivan learned that Vasilii had lied to his father and had spent the ten gold coins on himself.
When they arrived at the port and the sea captain read the merchant’s letter, he asked Vasilii what position on board he would like. After learning that the most important job after the captain was that of the pilot, Vasilii assured the captain that he knew all about such a position, and was promptly given it. When asked about his own skills, Ivan truthfully responded that he wasn’t sure what his strengths were but was glad to help out wherever he was needed. So the captain gave him a mop and told him to keep the deck clean.
Shortly afterwards, the ship set sail. The wind gusted, and a flock of cranes that flew nearby warned Ivan that a storm was brewing and it was unsafe to leave the harbor. When Ivan passed their advice along to Vasilii, he was dismissed as foolish. But when a terrible storm ruined the sails and the ship barely made it back to the port, the captain chastised Vasilii for his poor judgment. Vasilii assured him that it wouldn’t happen again.
The next day, Ivan was warned by a group of swans that pirates were lying in wait in a nearby cove and that the ship should turn around before it was attacked. But when Ivan told Vasilii, he was again laughed off by his brother. However, the other sailors on board also heard Ivan’s warning and remembered Ivan’s advice the day before about the storm. When they told the captain, he called Vasilii and questioned him. Vasilii explained that his brother had delusions that he could understand birds and that they told him of impending danger. The captain knew that Ivan had rightly predicted the storm and decided to send a small boat ahead of the ship to scout for pirates. They returned and confirmed that there were indeed pirates ahead and that Ivan was correct. The captain gratefully asked Ivan to become their pilot and sent Vasilii off with the mop.
The next day Ivan successfully kept the ship safe from a variety of perils. “You are the best pilot the world has ever seen,” the captain raved, “if you will stay to be our pilot we will have riches as we have never dreamed.” Ivan was flattered, but missed the forests and decided to return home.
Once on land, the brothers arrived in a town that had posted the following proclamation:
“The Lord Czar Demyan hereby decrees that whosoever can rid him of the clattering and chattering of the three crows that keep him awake and irritated at all hours shall be rewarded by the hand of his daughter and half of the kingdom. Death is the reward for those who fail.”
Vasilii was immediately excited by the idea of such a rich reward, remarking, “how hard can it be to chase away a few crows?” Despite words of caution from Ivan, who reminded him that failure resulted in death, Vasilii hastened to the castle. Amid the clamour of the crow’s cawing, he boasted to the czar that he would soon be his new son-in-law. To achieve this, he set out and collected cats from all over the countryside. He then set them loose all over the castle, where they proceeded to chase the crows. The crows eventually became so tired that they gave up and departed.
The czar was thrilled, and promised to give Vasilii his daughter’s hand in the morning, after he had finally had a good night’s sleep. But as soon as Vasilii started rejoicing and praising himself for his cleverness, the castle was invaded by a monstrous swarm of crows that attacked the cats and sent them flying back to town. Then all the crows departed but the three that had been there originally, who once again settled by the czar’s window. Their noise wakened the czar, who ordered Vasilii’s beheading in a fit of rage and disappointment.
Ivan got wind of what had happened from a little bird, and he rushed to the castle to save his brother. “Noble Czar,” he pleaded, “let me help you. The three crows are a king, queen, and prince. They are troubled by a question that they want your answer to—which parent should the child listen to—the mother or the father?”
The Czar thought for a while, and the crows waited in silence. At last, the czar announced that mothers and fathers have strengths in different areas, and that the best education of a young man would consist of learning as much as he can from both parents. The crows expressed their gratitude for this wise advice, and promptly departed.
The sleepy czar was delighted and offered Ivan his daughter’s hand in the morning, after he had gotten a good night’s sleep. But Ivan asked instead for the pardon of his brother Vasilii. Upon hearing this, the princess interrupted and asked that Vasilii be pardoned and that the wedding be prepared, for she wanted to marry such a kind and gifted man. The Czar agreed. Ivan married the princess the following day, and Vasilii was released.
Some time afterward, Ivan happened upon an old beggar whom he immediately felt pity for. He asked his servants to feed and clothe the man and find him an easy job. When the old man returned before Ivan in his new clothes, he carried a silver bowl and a white cloth to wash Ivan’s hands. The old man began to cry and explained that long ago when he was still rich, his son had predicted that he would one day be washing the hands of that son in the same fashion. Ivan then recognized his father and exclaimed, “Father, I am that very son Ivan!”
Thus the father and son were reunited, and the old man came to live with Ivan and his beautiful wife in the castle. And they all lived happily ever after, even Vasilii, who cared for the horses.
Book Synopsis
(derived from the original book)
Once upon a time there lived a rich merchant who had two sons: Vasilii and Ivan, and Vasilii was the older of the two. One day their father explained that he was going to send them out into the world with ten gold coins each to see what they made of themselves.
Vasilii took his money and immediately spent it all on himself at a nearby fair, on food and drink and entertainment. Ivan, on the other hand, wandered into a nearby forest where he stumbled upon a little bird that had fallen from its nest. As he gently placed it back in the nest, the anxious mother bird that had been circling about him called “thank you gentle boy.” Ivan couldn’t understand how he could suddenly understand the bird, and questioned her about it. She responded, “your kind action opened your ears and mind, just for a little while. But what gift can I give you to thank you for what you have done?” After pondering it for a moment, Ivan responded that he would like to always be able to understand the birds. The mother bird graciously agreed, and then taught him.
At the end of the week, the merchant called his sons to him, asking them what they had gained from their adventure and stressing the importance of such gain. Vasilii boasted that he went to the fair and spent his money wining and dining the sons of other rich merchants, making valuable connections for the future. The father nodded approvingly. But when Ivan gave the ten coins back to his father and explained that he had learned the language of birds for free, the merchant flew into a rage of disbelief. “If you are so clever,” he ranted, “tell me what the wren outside the window is saying?” Ivan replied, “She predicts that some day I will be an incredibly wealthy prince. You will wash my hands with a white cloth dipped in a silver bowl, and Vasilii will care for my horses.”
The merchant was so angry that he sent Ivan back into the forest for the night and rewarded Vasilii with a splendid dinner. Ivan was not forsaken, however, because the birds brought him berries to eat and sang him to sleep.
Upon returning home the next day, Ivan learned that his father was sending him and Vasilii to work on a ship of an acquaintance of his. The father gave them a letter to deliver to the ship captain and assured Vasilii that he would have an important position on board.
On their way to the ship, Vasilii advised Ivan that he would have been better off if he had made up a better story than that of understanding birds. Surprised, Ivan learned that Vasilii had lied to his father and had spent the ten gold coins on himself.
When they arrived at the port and the sea captain read the merchant’s letter, he asked Vasilii what position on board he would like. After learning that the most important job after the captain was that of the pilot, Vasilii assured the captain that he knew all about such a position, and was promptly given it. When asked about his own skills, Ivan truthfully responded that he wasn’t sure what his strengths were but was glad to help out wherever he was needed. So the captain gave him a mop and told him to keep the deck clean.
Shortly afterwards, the ship set sail. The wind gusted, and a flock of cranes that flew nearby warned Ivan that a storm was brewing and it was unsafe to leave the harbor. When Ivan passed their advice along to Vasilii, he was dismissed as foolish. But when a terrible storm ruined the sails and the ship barely made it back to the port, the captain chastised Vasilii for his poor judgment. Vasilii assured him that it wouldn’t happen again.
The next day, Ivan was warned by a group of swans that pirates were lying in wait in a nearby cove and that the ship should turn around before it was attacked. But when Ivan told Vasilii, he was again laughed off by his brother. However, the other sailors on board also heard Ivan’s warning and remembered Ivan’s advice the day before about the storm. When they told the captain, he called Vasilii and questioned him. Vasilii explained that his brother had delusions that he could understand birds and that they told him of impending danger. The captain knew that Ivan had rightly predicted the storm and decided to send a small boat ahead of the ship to scout for pirates. They returned and confirmed that there were indeed pirates ahead and that Ivan was correct. The captain gratefully asked Ivan to become their pilot and sent Vasilii off with the mop.
The next day Ivan successfully kept the ship safe from a variety of perils. “You are the best pilot the world has ever seen,” the captain raved, “if you will stay to be our pilot we will have riches as we have never dreamed.” Ivan was flattered, but missed the forests and decided to return home.
Once on land, the brothers arrived in a town that had posted the following proclamation:
“The Lord Czar Demyan hereby decrees that whosoever can rid him of the clattering and chattering of the three crows that keep him awake and irritated at all hours shall be rewarded by the hand of his daughter and half of the kingdom. Death is the reward for those who fail.”
Vasilii was immediately excited by the idea of such a rich reward, remarking, “how hard can it be to chase away a few crows?” Despite words of caution from Ivan, who reminded him that failure resulted in death, Vasilii hastened to the castle. Amid the clamour of the crow’s cawing, he boasted to the czar that he would soon be his new son-in-law. To achieve this, he set out and collected cats from all over the countryside. He then set them loose all over the castle, where they proceeded to chase the crows. The crows eventually became so tired that they gave up and departed.
The czar was thrilled, and promised to give Vasilii his daughter’s hand in the morning, after he had finally had a good night’s sleep. But as soon as Vasilii started rejoicing and praising himself for his cleverness, the castle was invaded by a monstrous swarm of crows that attacked the cats and sent them flying back to town. Then all the crows departed but the three that had been there originally, who once again settled by the czar’s window. Their noise wakened the czar, who ordered Vasilii’s beheading in a fit of rage and disappointment.
Ivan got wind of what had happened from a little bird, and he rushed to the castle to save his brother. “Noble Czar,” he pleaded, “let me help you. The three crows are a king, queen, and prince. They are troubled by a question that they want your answer to—which parent should the child listen to—the mother or the father?”
The Czar thought for a while, and the crows waited in silence. At last, the czar announced that mothers and fathers have strengths in different areas, and that the best education of a young man would consist of learning as much as he can from both parents. The crows expressed their gratitude for this wise advice, and promptly departed.
The sleepy czar was delighted and offered Ivan his daughter’s hand in the morning, after he had gotten a good night’s sleep. But Ivan asked instead for the pardon of his brother Vasilii. Upon hearing this, the princess interrupted and asked that Vasilii be pardoned and that the wedding be prepared, for she wanted to marry such a kind and gifted man. The Czar agreed. Ivan married the princess the following day, and Vasilii was released.
Some time afterward, Ivan happened upon an old beggar whom he immediately felt pity for. He asked his servants to feed and clothe the man and find him an easy job. When the old man returned before Ivan in his new clothes, he carried a silver bowl and a white cloth to wash Ivan’s hands. The old man began to cry and explained that long ago when he was still rich, his son had predicted that he would one day be washing the hands of that son in the same fashion. Ivan then recognized his father and exclaimed, “Father, I am that very son Ivan!”
Thus the father and son were reunited, and the old man came to live with Ivan and his beautiful wife in the castle. And they all lived happily ever after, even Vasilii, who cared for the horses.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Books about Birds
To link to SFNM's "main season theme" of Music&Word, and to tie in the notion of birds in fairy tales, I am opening a thread where you can post books about birds and your comments on them. We just purchased two: one for adults,
and another for children:
.
What bird-related tomes are on your nightstand, or classroom bookshelf?
and another for children:
.
What bird-related tomes are on your nightstand, or classroom bookshelf?
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Lines of Inquiry - Language of Birds
If you have read the book, on which the opera is loosely based, with your class, (and for some of these questions, even if you have not!) here are some discussion topics our pedagogical advisory team developed this summer to kick-start conversations with your students. We'd love to hear your feedback and other ideas!
What do you think about the story, just from reading it:
1) What are some real-life examples (historically and internationally) of how being virtuous like Ivan has paid off in real life?
2) Some say the wedding is not the end of the story but the beginning. Do you agree? Why or why not?
3) In what ways is the Princess a role model for strong young women?
4) In what ways does this story have all the “parts” of a fairy tale? What’s missing? What’s totally different from a typical fairy tale, in your opinion?
5) In what ways does Ivan’s relationship with the birds help the world around him (his community)?
6) Can you find other examples — in other stories, or in real life?
7) Can you think of any other fairy tales have the same relationships between family members? (Ask friends and family)
8) Can you think of any other stories can you find where birds play a large role?
(Ask friends and family)
What do you think about the story, just from reading it:
1) What are some real-life examples (historically and internationally) of how being virtuous like Ivan has paid off in real life?
2) Some say the wedding is not the end of the story but the beginning. Do you agree? Why or why not?
3) In what ways is the Princess a role model for strong young women?
4) In what ways does this story have all the “parts” of a fairy tale? What’s missing? What’s totally different from a typical fairy tale, in your opinion?
5) In what ways does Ivan’s relationship with the birds help the world around him (his community)?
6) Can you find other examples — in other stories, or in real life?
7) Can you think of any other fairy tales have the same relationships between family members? (Ask friends and family)
8) Can you think of any other stories can you find where birds play a large role?
(Ask friends and family)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Welcome
It's late July and the birds are out in full force... many of you won't hear about this blog for several weeks. But welcome, welcome, whenever you get here! Santa Fe New Music is a performing arts organization. Why, you ask, are we starting a blog about birds? And why are we inviting educators, classrooms, and parents to contribute to it?
One reason is program-related, and the other has to do with the people who are SFNM and our values and beliefs. First the program-relation. A major component of our 2008-2009 season will be the youth opera production "The Language of Birds." (Read all about it here.) The main theme of the opera is that when we care for nature and all its creatures (including each other) we are a stronger, happier community. When we've talked to teachers and education-focused parents we know about the project, they've all gotten inspired about ways they could incorporate birds into their lesson plans, reading lists, backyard activities, etc. Why let all those good ideas go to waste?
If you want to read the book, there are copies available on Amazon. Another part of this reason is that we live in a big state, and there are many pockets of New Mexico (and really, the whole world, since this is on the Internet) where people have great ideas and experiences and it seemed like a fun and good idea to make a place where these could be shared and communications begun across the many miles that separate us.
The other reason is because we are parents, we support public education (really, all education -- which is why private schools and homeschooling networks are also being made aware of this blog), we love to watch our children learn, and we actually enjoy learning new things too. So it seemed fitting that with a great theme (built around a great opera) and all the ideas that are out there, we'd try this experiment and see what takes flight (pun intended).
Rules of Posting as with our general blog on new music, we do wish to exercise a bit of content control. Please email your blog submissions to us, and we will post them (unless they are defamatory or objectionable.) This blog can accept text messages, html, and jpegs or gif or png files -- but not .pdfs. If you would like to comment on any published post, you do not have to register, just hit post.
Exercise caution in revealing the last names of any student or minor. If we see any revealing details that raise privacy concerns, we'll edit it out, but we prefer not to have to do any editing.
This blog will continue as a live resource through April 30, 2009, at which point it will become archived. Thanks and enjoy!
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