An Opera Pro’s Advice for Children’s Choir Production

Few people in town carry that knowledge as personally as Ian Campbell, the San Diego Opera’s general director. We once peeked inside his company’s process for the production of “Faust,” noting how many hundreds of people must come together to build sets, coordinate lights, rehearse music and, of course, sing.

This month we’ve been embedded inside a very different process to make opera. The San Diego Children’s Choir is unused to mounting giant productions, but in a few days, we’ll see the organization’s massive effort take the stage at Copley Symphony Hall. The choir of more than 250 kids is presenting Benjamin Britten’s “Noye’s Fludde,” the biblical story of Noah and his vision to build an ark to save himself and his family and dozens of species of animals from an impending flood. The piece involves a small orchestra, an onstage ark, a fabric ocean and animal costumes.

I asked Campbell to give us some tips on what to look for in the kids’ final rehearsals. His company has performed operas by Britten before, and he’s familiar with the piece. Here are Campbell’s two cents: