- July 8, 2025
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Thirteen-year-old Ara Martinez says she could see a whole opera in her mind as she was looking at the prop she received — a bell.
She had the idea to create a scene around the idea of the bell having the ability to resurrect a person's deceased relatives, and she says she felt included in her group when they decided to use the concept.
“I saw something in my head, and I'm glad we brought it to life in less than five minutes," she said.
As the Sarasota Youth Opera's summer camp closed out for the year on June 27, kids came together to perform a series of opera scenes, including scenes campers had written and produced over the past three weeks.
According to Director of Education Martha Collins, the goal of summer camp is to provide a taste of everything involved in opera, which she called an "incredible art form that incorporates all of these other arts."
Professionals at the Sarasota Opera lead the camp, covering topics like singing, acting, physical comedy, sets, props, wigs, make-up and costumes.
Held each June, the camp welcoming all skill levels, with ages 8 to 10 attending for two weeks, and ages 11 and above attending for three.
Even the full three weeks may be a short span of time in which to teach a concept as multifaceted as opera, but nonetheless, kids took to the stage with confident voices and choreography.
To create the four student-produced scenes, the instructor gave each group one prop to inspire a story, around which they built their own lyrics and pantomimes.
The Puccini Chorus group created "The Treasure Map," which featured a band of pirates arguing over the direction of their search for buried treasure, as well as "The Magic Orb," in which some of the characters become possessed by a mysterious orb.
The Verdi Chorus created "The Inheritance," the scene centering on the bell, as well as "The Haunted House," which involved a group of teenagers who enter a haunted house, to the discontentment of the ghosts there.
Abril Sanchez-Rodriguez, 11, said she likes that students at the Sarasota Youth Opera are encouraged to be creative.
Part of the camp's Puccini Chorus, she said she never found a place to enjoy her love of performing, where she felt welcome, until joining the Sarasota Youth Opera about a year ago.
"We tried to find how many beats, the rhythm of it, how many syllables to put in each word, in each phrase, to do pantomime, and do the music and stuff, and when we finally got it, we were so proud of what we had done, because we all contributed into the puzzle of what we have made," she said. "That was our creation, not someone else's creation.”
“Opera always teaches you to use your surroundings," said Martinez, gesturing to a nearby chair. "If you're doing improv, you could grab a chair right here. You have to know what to do with it.”
Now in her third year with the opera and a first-time attendee of summer camp, she says opera is something she wants to continue with "until the day I die."
“I really enjoyed it,” she said. “I made so much new friends, and it's a safe space for me to let out my real voice without getting judged for it, and the people here, the company, they want the best for you. They put you on stage and show what's good about you."
Lark Rippy, 15, of the Verdi Chorus, who is now in her fourth year with the summer camp and has also been involved with the organization elsewhere, said ultimately, the ideas of everyone in the group became part of the performances.
“I feel like the main challenge was probably... the collaboration side of things, because everyone had so many amazing ideas, and obviously we didn't get to use all of them, but we found ways to incorporate everyone's idea into the final product,” she said.
Collins said the opportunity to perform their own scenes is something the students take pride in, treating it seriously and attempting to honor one another's ideas.
“I love that they're getting to hear the music emotionally and dramatically, and then they tie that in with dialog,” she said.
How does it all come together in three weeks?
Collins says the answer to teaching kids opera is patience, but she also says, "I think it takes us believing that they can do it."
