Page 63 - Glasbenopedagoški zbornik Akademije za glasbo v Ljubljani

loved by everyone; he lives in nature and believes that nature heals. Kekec fol-
lows his heart and, disguised as the elf Skovik, scares the Bedanec into retre-
ating. The story is left open, so we do not find out if he really leaves the villa-
ge or if he stays.
The music in the opera is based on contemporary musical practices but is
accessible and suitable for young audiences. The composer has combined ope-
ratic elements with folk tunes and elements of the musical, bringing them clo-
ser to today's children.
Based on the theoretical backgrounds we formulated the following two
research questions:
RQ1: What are the elements of youth opera (YO) that promote high attenti-
veness (curiosity and interest), emotional captivation, identification and
empathizing?
RQ2: Do children have the ability to recognize musical aesthetics, defined as
the structural and emotional qualities that contribute to a composition's
perceived beauty and appeal?

Methodology

In our study we will present the musical characteristics of the work and the de- Katarina Kompan Erzar, Katarina Habe ◆ THE CAPACITY OF YOUTH OPERA TO ENHANCE THE EMOTIONAL SKILLS OF YOUNGER ADOLESCENTS
pth of experience it offers to children and adults. We used qualitative and qu-
antitative data. First, we observed the immediate response to the opera Kekec
during a live public performance of the opera in a cultural centre in Ljublja-
na. After the performance we gave teachers questionnaires and instructions on
how to apply them with children in the following week. Children gave their
feedback through drawings and responses to a simple questionnaire, and tea-
chers gave feedback by answering the survey as well.

Participants

In our study 77 primary school children from 3 schools were included. We in-
cluded two different primary schools, one urban and one suburban, and one
music school. The age of children was from 9 to 14 years. We got complete re-
sponses from 3 music teachers, one from each school.

Research design

First, we observed the children’s behaviour during the performance and cre-
ated anecdotical records where we were mostly focused on the children’s

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