As part of the Opera in the Schools Outreach Project, Long Leaf Opera commissioned Caroline Mallonée to create a new opera for the students at Estes Hills Elementary School in Chapel Hill, NC. Scored for five lead roles (two children and three adults), chorus, piano and Orff instruments, the production included over 100 fourth and fifth graders. Nora the Nonapus was premiered in June 2007 on the Long Leaf Opera Festival.
The opera is based on a children’s book written by Zoe Gan, Vaishnavi Krishnan, Alison Smith and Susan Cavender who were fifth-grade students at Estes Hills Elementary School when they wrote the book. The book was chosen as the winner of the Kids Are Authors Award and was published by Scholastic, Inc. The libretto was adapted from the book by the composer. To watch scenes from the opera, click here.