The Boy who Grew Too Fast

Opera Factory, July 2009

Word & music by Gian-Carlo Menotti (1911-2008)

THE STORY:

Scene 1: Miss Hope welcomes the children back to school and introduces a new addition to the class, Poponel. Poponel is very tall and teased by the other pupils and his Mother (Mrs Skosvodomit) comforts him before leaving him in the class. Miss Hope, his teacher implores her friend Dr Schrinck to see if he can reduce Poponel’s size.

Scene 2: In his surgery, with the aid of his extraordinary ‘reducing machine’ and his crazy Nurse, Poponel enters and is brought down to normal size – but the Doctor warns him that now he is like the other children, he must conform with themn in all ways. If he does not, he will quickly grow back to his former height.

Scene 3: Back at the school, the teasing has stopped but Mad Dog, a terrorist on the run from the Police, breaks into the school and threatens to take the children prisoners. Terrified, all the children refuse, except Poponel, who agrees to be the hostage – thus he has not conformed! As warned by Dr Schrinck, he quickly grows to his former size, but this very height enables him to overpower Mad Dog and save the day. All sing the moral of the opera “Be glad of what you are, whether fat or thin, short or tall, black or white. Be glad to be yourself. Don’t try to be another, for what you are, nobody else can be”.

THE CAST:

Miss Hope, the teacher Tizane McEvoy

Mrs Skosvodmonit, Poponel’s Mum Samantha Fox

Poponel (tall) Cameron Barclay

Poponel (small) Arthur Close

Dr Schrinck James Robertson

Nurse Proctor Erica Lindsay

Mad Dog Yohan Ryoo

Lizzie Spender, pupil Phoebe Jasper

Arthur Callum Blackmore

Annabelle Taylor Clark

Claudia Elodie Hills-Brown