Opera is cool

editorial notebook

But exposing young people to opera isn't just about the joys of art appreciation. Art and music - both powerful forms of nonverbal communication - play key roles in shaping minds and attitudes. Infants respond to color and pattern, melody and rhythm, the elements that build neural pathways in babies' brains. The arts also enhance the development of social skills such as attentiveness, concentration and self-discipline. (You'd think a bunch of middle-school kids would riot if forced to attend an opera, but last week you could hear a pin drop.)

The arts also knit our bonds of community in shared purpose. Kids came from all over the city and surrounding counties to see Aida, a veritable rainbow of races, social classes and cultures. And they got along just fine. Maybe kids today generally take diversity more in stride than their parents. But if so, might it not be because they've also grown up sharing more experiences of the arts?

America is a multicultural nation whose art, literature and music are woven from the strands of a hundred different heritages, each deserving of respect. Last year, the opera put on Puccini's Madama Butterfly, set in Japan. This spring, it presents Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, set in South Carolina. And Aida is set in ancient Egypt.

Where they all come together is in the imaginations of the young people who experience them, share the joys and sorrows of their characters and dream of distant peoples and places suddenly made real.