November 24 , 2003

The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids …in English!
Receives iParenting Media Award

The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids …in English!, produced by The Children’s Group, has been awarded with a 2003 iParenting Media Award. iParenting Media’s Award Program provides a credible and objective method of determining the best products in the children’s media and juvenile products industry. They are committed to raising the overall standards of the current awards systems in the industry and are dedicated to informing, inspiring and uniting the parenting community it serves via multiple media platforms of the Internet, print magazines, syndicated newspaper column and radio show.

The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids features 14 best-loved arias performed in English by the world’s finest opera stars and rising stars featuring works from some of the most popular -- and important – operas across a wide range of genres, eras and composers.

Featuring world-class talent like tenor Michael Schade (La donna è mobile from Verdi’s Rigoletto), mezzo-soprano Jean Stilwell (Habañera from Bizet’s Carmen), baritone Allan Monk (Non più andrai from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro), coloratura-soprano Tracy Dahl (The Doll Song from Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffman), countertenor Daniel Taylor (Ombra mai fù from Handel’s Xerxes), soprano Suzie LeBlanc in a duet with baritone Daniel Lichti (Papageno’s Song from Mozart’s The Magic Flute) and much, much more. In addition to 14 stellar performances in English, this CD includes five instrumental-only karaoke-style tracks so that anyone can sing-along and be an opera star.

The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids has been selected as one of the Top 20 Children’s CDs of 2003 by Nick JR. Magazine, has already earned a Parents’ Choice Gold Award and continues to receive rave reviews from the media:

“Winning offerings …accessible and useful for demystifying opera” - The Toronto Star

“A kid friendly Figaro” – Maclean’s Magazine

“Dazzling …stunning …absolutely recommended” – Halifax Chronicle Herald

“…a remarkable CD” – City Parent

The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids …in English! is marketed by The Children's Group, the leading producer of classical music entertainment for children on CD, video/DVD, live concert, books, educational resources and interactive multimedia.

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For more information on The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids …in English!, or to arrange an interview with our producer, librettist or performers, please contact:

Publicity & Promotion
905/831.1995 ext:27

Visit us online at www.childrensgroup.com High-resolution graphics are available at http://download.childrensgroup.com

November 13 , 2003

Opera For Kids CD: #24 Best-Seller in Canada!

The newly released CD – The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids …in English! has been reported going up to #24 on the Canadian Top 25 Classical Chart as reported by SoundScan. The recording debuted at #33 (tied with Placido Domingo) two weeks ago and is steadily climbing the Canadian chart.

The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids features 14 best-loved arias performed in English by the world’s finest opera stars and rising stars featuring works from some of the most popular -- and important – operas across a wide range of genres, eras and composers. Featuring world-class talent like tenor Michael Schade (La donna è mobile from Verdi’s Rigoletto), mezzo-soprano Jean Stilwell (Habañera from Bizet’s Carmen), baritone Allan Monk (Non più andrai from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro), coloratura-soprano Tracy Dahl (The Doll Song from Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffman), countertenor Daniel Taylor (Ombra mai fù from Handel’s Xerxes), soprano Suzie LeBlanc in a duet with baritone Daniel Lichti (Papageno’s Song from Mozart’s The Magic Flute) and much, much more. In addition to 14 stellar performances in English, this CD includes five instrumental-only karaoke-style tracks so that anyone can sing-along and be an opera star.

The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids has been selected as one of the Top 20 Children’s CDs of 2003 by Nick JR. Magazine, has already earned a Parents’ Choice Gold Award and continues to receive rave reviews from the media:

“Winning offerings …accessible and useful for demystifying opera” - The Toronto Star

“A kid friendly Figaro” – Maclean’s Magazine

“Dazzling …stunning …absolutely recommended” – Halifax Chronicle Herald

“…a remarkable CD” – City Parent

The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids …in English! is marketed by The Children's Group, the leading producer of classical music entertainment for children on CD, video/DVD, live concert, books, educational resources and interactive multimedia.

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For more information on The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids …in English!, or to arrange an interview with our producer, librettist or performers, please contact:

Publicity & Promotion
905/831.1995 ext:27

Visit us online at www.childrensgroup.com High-resolution graphics are available at http://download.childrensgroup.com

November 7, 2003

Parents' Choice Honors
The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids …in English!

"Winning offerings …accessible and useful for demystifying opera" - The Toronto Star

"A kid friendly Figaro” – Maclean’s Magazine

"Dazzling …stunning …absolutely recommended” – Halifax Chronicle Herald

“…a remarkable CD” – City Parent

The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids …in English! is marketed by The Children's Group, the leading producer of classical music entertainment for children on CD, video/DVD, live concert, books, educational resources and interactive multimedia.

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For more information on The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids …in English!, or to arrange an interview with our producer, librettist or performers, please contact:

Publicity & Promotion
905/831.1995 ext:27

Visit us online at www.childrensgroup.com
High-resolution graphics are available at http://download.childrensgroup.com

The Children’s Group, celebrated for its best-selling and award-winning classical music recordings for children, is pleased to announce the forthcoming release of The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids… in English – a CD that will change the way children -- their parents, grandparents, and teachers – perceive opera for generations to come. The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids features 14 best-loved arias performed in English by the world’s finest opera stars and rising stars featuring works from some of the most popular -- and important – operas across a wide range of genres, eras and composers.

Featuring world-class talent like tenor Michael Schade (La donna è mobile from Verdi’s Rigoletto), mezzo-soprano Jean Stilwell (Habañera from Bizet’s Carmen), baritone Allan Monk (Non più andrai from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro), coloratura-soprano Tracy Dahl (The Doll Song from Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffman), countertenor Daniel Taylor (Ombra mai fù from Handel’s Xerxes), soprano Suzie LeBlanc in a duet with baritone Daniel Lichti (Papageno’s Song from Mozart’s The Magic Flute) and much, much more. In addition to 14 stellar performances in English, this CD includes five instrumental-only karaoke-style tracks so that anyone can sing-along and be an opera star.

The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids CD includes a synopsis of each opera, performers’ biographies and complete lyrics so the whole family can enjoy singing along. Producer Mark D. Goldman and librettist Daniel Libman have taken care to ensure that each translation retains the original language’s rhyme scheme, meter and rhythm and that each performance is perfectly articulated and imaginatively interpreted. The result is highly-singable, child-appropriate opera “songs” the whole family will enjoy.

Published for simultaneous release with the CD is The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids Teacher’s Guide. This 48-page guide, for use with the CD, is designed to bring opera to life in the classroom with connections across the curriculum for music specialist or generalist teachers of grades 2-8. Each Teacher’s Guide includes complete lyrics, composer biographies, opera synopses, individual and group activities, suggested lesson plans, assessment and evaluation summaries, a glossary of opera and musical terms plus an opera pronunciation guide. The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids Teacher’s Guide was developed in consultation with world leaders in opera and education, based on the National Standards for Arts Education and is congruent with established music curricula guidelines.

The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids is produced by The Children’s Group, best-known for the award-winning and best-selling Classical Kids (Beethoven Lives Upstairs, Mozart’s Magnificent Voyage, Tchaikovsky Discovers America and more) CDs, DVD, video, live symphony concerts, books, interactive multimedia and educational resources for children. The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids CD and Teacher’s Guide/CD combination are distributed in Canada and the United States by Naxos, the world’s leading independent classical music label. Available September 16, 2003 wherever fine music for families is sold.

For more information, visit our website at www.childrensgroup.com or call toll-free 1-800-757-8372. In Canada: CD $13.99 SRP / Teacher’s Guide CD $27.34 - In the US: CD $15.99 SRP / Teacher’s Guide CD $31.98.

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High-resolution graphics of The World’s Very Best Opera for Kids CD and Teacher’s Guide/CD are available at http://download.childrensgroup.com. To request a review copy or to interview our producer, librettist or performers, please contact:

Publicity & Promotion
905/831.1995 ext:27