"The Magic Fish" opera project

Musica Reginae Productions Presents

The Magic Fish
An Opera for Young Audience (7+)
On a tale by the Brothers Grimm
Reimagined by the Brothers Knable
Music by Sunny Knable; Libretto by Jim Knable
About 50 minutes without intermission

When the son of a fisherman catches a magic fish who grants wishes, will the family remember what is truly important? Or will they be swept away by their own greed? The Brothers Knable present a sophisticated and accessible opera for young audience that explores a theme as old as folklore and relevant to our times.

Program dates:
Double matinee at 1:30 and 4 pm, Sunday October 4, 2015
The Community House, Forest Hills, NY
School performances - Monday, October 5 through Friday, October 9, 2015
Various locations in NYC

Synopsis
Based on The Brothers Grimm's "The Fisherman's Wife," The Magic Fish is an opera performed by adults for audiences of children and well-behaved parents.  It is about a boy who catches a fish that grants him a magic wish for letting him go.  The boy's parents become greedy when they hear about the fish and start wishing for bigger and bigger things from him-- from new shoes to a mansion to a castle-- until the fish asks for something in return that the parents can't possibly give up... or can they?  Narrated by a friendly Otter, who completes the cast of five, this reimagining of a classic tale is full of warmth, humor, and music that is both sophisticated and accessible. It's fun for kids and has a surprising resonance with adults in this era when everyone is in trouble for making wishes on fishes.

Characters
5 actors plus piano:
     Otter/Girl              soprano                   
     Mother                    soprano 
     Boy                            tenor                         
     Father                      baritone 
     Magic Fish             bass/baritone  

Costs for the show
6 performers x $500 for rehearsal = $3000
6 performers x $250 per performance (5) = $7500
Director, props, backdrops, art, promotion = $2800

Performance History
*April 2011 -- Workshop performance of Scene 1
by the Queens College New Music Group
Aaron Copland School, CUNY, Flushing, NY

*March 2012 -- Complete staged reading by
Half Moon Theatre, Public Library, Poughkeepsie, NY

*November 2012 -- World Premiere
fully staged production, two-week run
Half Moon Theatre, Cunneen-Hackett Performance Center, Poughkeepsie, NY

*June 2013 -- NYC Premiere -
fully staged production
Cross Legged Concert Series 
Turtle Bay Music School, NY, NY

*December 2013 -- West Coast Premiere
Young Artist Competition Winners & Davis HS Orch.
Fully staged production with orchestra
Mondavi Center, Davis, CA

*Fall 2015 -- Educational tour by Musica Reginae
Starting at the Community House of Forest Hills, NY

Musica Reginae Productions (MRP) has established itself over the last 15 years as a musical arts organization that is dedicated to providing top-notch classical and contemporary concerts to the communities of Queens, NY at affordable prices. MRP has provided innumerable educational programs for underserved schools and community centers in the community but due to funding cutbacks across the board we have had to cut back on those programs to preserve our community concert series. This opera project by the award winning Brothers Knable is a short (50 minute) three-act opera for kids ages 6 through 12 that we plan to present as two matinees in the Community House in Forest Hills as well as visit 3-5 schools in the surrounding neighborhoods depending upon what funds we are able to raise.