Camerata & Kids – Love Deconstructed

H. Purcell, G.F. Handel, A. Vivaldi and others: Various arias for soprano and string orchestra

Camerata & Kids is Camerata Zürich’s family programme for children aged 7 and over. In this newly designed format, children and adults experience together in the concert hall how classical music becomes understandable step by step. The works are introduced in an age-appropriate way, brought to life, taken apart and put back together again, and explained through small musical observations and experiments so that even young ears can follow them with curiosity.

This concert is dedicated to the human voice and the question of how music can express emotions. What happens when a voice gives voice to longing, joy, fear or wonder? How does musical expression change when the orchestra accompanies, responds or contradicts it? And why do some melodies move us immediately, even when we don’t know the words?

In the first part, Evamaria Felder guides the audience through selected moments from the arias. Children and adults discover together how a singing voice works with sound, breath, phrasing and ornamentation, and how closely the voice and the orchestra are connected. It also becomes clear that each aria brings its own mood and its own little world.

The focus is on the soprano Maayan Licht, whose unique voice many children will be experiencing in this form for the first time. This is precisely what makes this concert so special: it broadens the listening experience, sparks curiosity and demonstrates that classical music consists not only of instruments, but also of the voice, expression and an immediate presence.

The selected arias are then performed in context. What was previously discovered together can now be heard as a whole. A concert that introduces children to the world of the singing voice and shows them just how vibrant, direct and diverse classical music is.