Opera Mouse
Sea Change Backstage Theatre
4 ½ Stars
To be successful a children’s show needs to be entertaining, educational, breezy, interactive and generally packed with fun. Melanie Gall, a St. Albert classical soprano, provides that and more in her return to Opera Mouse.
Dressed in black tights and a hot pink ballet tutu, Gall walks on stage holding a mouse puppet. Tilly Mouse, lives in a dark basement in a tin can with her mother and brother. She hears opera and discovers music lives in her soul. The little mouse teaches herself to sing and more than anything in the world, dreams of singing opera on stage.
The once shy mouse picks up her bags and moves to the opera house. When Tilly asks the ostrich soprano for an audition, she is told mice can’t hit high notes and it would be a waste of time.
Discouraged, Tilly returns home vowing to forget music. However, her brother Tommy pushes her to continue saying “Everybody needs a little help sometimes.” The little mouse returns to the opera house and when the ostrich develops a cough and can’t sing, Tilly gets her big break
Gall packs a wallop of information in a short 45 minutes from following your dreams and the importance of family to never giving up and having the courage to face challenges. Mostly Opera Mouse is tinged with humour, and when Gall sings Puccini’s exquisite, emotion-filled aria, O Mio Babbino, beautiful goosebumps race down the spine.
If you enjoy children’s theatre, this is one to see.
– Anna Borowiecki
