Seagle Festival brings children’s opera to Lake George

Monkey and his sister Francine are heirs to the Monkey Kingdom, but the Kingdom is having troubles. Tigers have been stealing their gold and bananas. Like most siblings, they have quarrels, but they learn that through cooperation, they can keep themselves safe from the hungry crocodiles and outsmart the tigers to save Monkey Kingdom.

This is the premise of the children’s opera, “Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers,” one of the Seagle Festival’s productions this summer. The Festival has been performing the opera at venues in the area, with its final performance held on Wednesday morning in the Lake George High School auditorium.

Seagle Music Director Emma Anderson introduced the performance by explaining to the audience of about 60 elementary-school-aged children that an opera is a live play, but rather than talking, the performers sing.

“Does anybody know what a good word to use in opera is?” she asked. A member of the audience shouted, “Bravo!” Anderson said yes, that’s it, and then explained that at the end of the performance, when the singers came out to take their bows, it was a tradition to shout bravo. The children then practiced shouting bravo at the stage.

“Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers” was originally commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera with music by Kamala Sankaram and libretto by David Johnson. The story weaves together legends and folk tales from China, West Africa, and India. The libretto even included a line from English Romantic poet William Blake’s “The Tyger.” The music is a mix of styles including Bollywood, Ethiopian jazz, opera and Latin.

Though opera isn’t the usual entertainment for children more accustomed to Disney princesses and superheroes, the Lake George audience seemed to follow the story with rapt attention, cringing at the sly crocodile and laughing at the antics of a dancing tiger.  

Related: Seagle Festival opera entertains and educates Lake George youth

The Lake George performance was presented by the Caldwell-Lake George Library with funding by the Stewarts Shops Holiday Match grant program. Admission was free and open to the public.

The Seagle Festival, now in its 110^th year, is one of the oldest summer vocal training programs in the United States. Based in Schroon Lake, the Festival brings a program of performances to the Adirondacks each summer. The 2025 season continues through August 23 with performances of Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes” scheduled. Visit the Seagle Festival website for more information.