How do you make a bear look like a butterfly? Exploring the Metropolitan Opera's production of Mozart's Magic flute with a group of preschool children

In this research paper we discuss a music program in an early learning centre and present an example of practice that involved children engaging with a picture book of The magic flute. The children researched the opera by watching a film, had conversations about the music and story, drew pictures and dramatised the story during spontaneous play. Relationships between familiar events (the literary exploration of a book) with unfamiliar experiences (watching an opera as a serial) gave the children's activities depth. These relationships are discussed to explore how children used their competence in language and literature to frame their understandings of the story of The magic flute and music of the opera and to anticipate and enjoy the weekly serial. We conclude by relating our discussion to 'intentional teaching' as a practice and the Early Years Learning Framework.