The importance and impression of opera in students of the first three grades of elementary school

Opera kao glazbeni oblik neizostavan je dio klasične glazbe koja živi već nekoliko stoljeća. Smatra se jednim od najsloženijih oblika upravo zato što obuhvaća nekoliko vrsta umjetnosti; pjevanje, glumu, scenu, kostimografiju, orkestralnu glazbu pa čak i ples. Opera kao glazbeni oblik javila se krajem 16. stoljeća na dvorovima srednje Italije. Prva skladana opera je Dafne Jacopa Perija iz 1598. godine. Od samoga početka njezine pojave, ona je neizostavni glazbeni oblik mnogih skladatelja kroz povijest sve do današnjih dana. Opera, odnosno operni ulomci, trebali bi biti dio glazbene naobrazbe učenika osnovnih škola kao važan dio mozaika stjecanja glazbene kulture. Stoga je cilj ovoga istraživanja bio ispitati učenike prva tri razreda primarnog obrazovanja o njihovom doživljaju opere, točnije određenih opernih ulomaka. Istraživanje je provedeno u ljetnom semestru akademske godine 2021./2022., a sudjelovala su 102 učenika prva tri razreda primarnog obrazovanja iz Zagreba. Učenici su na auditivnom upitniku iskazivali stupanj sviđanja na petostupanjskoj skali za dvanaest recentnih opernih ulomaka europske i hrvatske glazbene baštine. Rezultati su pokazali kako se učenicima sviđa opera, gdje najviše iskazuju sviđanje za ulomke Wagnerove i Verdijeve opere. Najmanji stupanj sviđanja iskazali su za ranobarokni primjer Monteverdijeve opere. Mann-Whitney U test pokazao je kako na polovici slušanih opernih ulomaka postoji statistički značajna razlika s obzirom na spol. Na pet primjera djevojčice iskazuju intenzivniji doživljaj opernih ulomaka, dok na jednom ulomku dječaci iskazuju statistički značajno intenzivniji doživljaj u odnosu na djevojčice. Ujedno, Kruskal-Wallis testom nisu utvrđene razlike između prvog, drugog i trećeg razreda u doživljaju opernih ulomaka.As a musical form, opera is an indispensable part of classical music that has been alive for several centuries. It is considered one of the most complex forms, precisely because it encompasses several types of art; singing, acting, stage design, costume design, orchestral music and even dance. Opera, as a musical form, emerged at the end of the 16th century at the courts of central Italy. First composed opera was Jacopo Peri's Dafne from 1598. From the very beginning of its appearance, it has been an indispensable musical form of many composers throughout history and up to the present day. Opera, or opera excerpts, should be part of the musical education of elementary school students as an important part of the mosaic of acquiring musical culture. Therefore, the goal of this research was to examine the students of the first three grades of primary education about their experience of opera, specifically certain opera excerpts. The research was conducted in the summer semester of the academic year 2021/2022, and 102 students of the first three grades of primary education from Zagreb participated. Students used an auditory questionnaire to express their liking on a five-point scale for twelve recent opera fragments of European and Croatian musical heritage. The results showed that the students like opera, where they mostly liked fragments of Wagner's and Verdi's operas. They expressed the lowest level of liking for the early baroque example of Monteverdi's opera. The Mann-Whitney U test showed that in some opera excerpts there is a statistically significant difference regarding to gender. In five examples, girls express more intense experience of opera excerpts, while in one excerpt, boys express statistically significantly more intense experience compared to girls. At the same time, the Kruskal-Wallis test did not establish any differences between the first, second and third grades in the experience of opera excerpts