AN UNLIKELY AUDIENCE FINDS OPERA VALLEY YOUTHS DIVE INTO ARIAS.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer

RESEDA - While their peers might measure music quality by the vibration from the sound systems, a group of Cleveland High School students speaks fondly of arias and operatic plots.

These teens compare the twisted plots of favorite operas and use words like ``culture'' in describing this newfound passion.

``Not a lot of kids our age are into opera,'' said 16-year-old Jeana Yang, recalling a recent evening when she and some friends ate sushi, discussed opera and sang an aria from Mozart's ``Marriage of Figaro.''

Yang, of Chatsworth, is among 70 Cleveland students enrolled in an opera class - one so popular that two class sections were scheduled this semester, one that meets at 7 a.m.

``It's really relaxing to come in and listen to music before my school day,'' said Sarah Barness, 15, Sherman Oaks.

Much of the credit for this interest in opera goes to teacher Neil Anstead, who also teaches Shakespeare, music, literature and art history. Several of his students said they weren't interested in the class until they heard that Anstead would be teaching it.

``He's so passionate about opera, it makes you want to learn about it more,'' Yang said.

Anstead's students have attended dress rehearsals at the Los Angeles Opera, listened to operas on CD and heard docents from the L.A. Opera expound on such subjects as the parallels between J.R.R. Tolkien's ``Lord of the Rings'' trilogy and Richard Wagner's ``Ring'' cycle of operas.

The students said they also have begun to notice how pervasive opera references are in popular culture, catching opera arias used in television commercials and in movies.

``It enriches students' knowledge of life and the past and history, art and culture,'' said Masha Grigoryan, 15, Reseda, who sings jazz and pop but also loves classical music.

In April, Cleveland and students from three other schools - Agoura, Wilson and Taft - competed in the Los Angeles Opera Challenge.

For the quiz, the students studied three operas: Jacques Offenbach's ``Tales of Hoffman,'Gioacchino Rossini's ``Barber of Seville'' and Mozart's ``The Magic Flute.' Then they took a written exam, a listening exam and an oral quiz.

Elisa Abrahms, a Cleveland senior, was honored for receiving the top score on the written portion of the exam, but each of the schools had champions in different categories, opera officials said.

It is inspiring to see teachers bringing opera into the high schools, Stacy Brightman, director of education and community programs for the L.A. Opera, said

``They get opera,'' Brightman said. ``Opera makes sense, opera speaks to them. It encompasses narrative, music, visual arts, dance and brings it all together in one art form, one spectacle and does it live. Kids understand that. It makes sense to them.

``This is about beauty and what it means to be human. In L.A., opera is a necessity; it's not a luxury, it's not a frill. This is how we define ourselves as human beings: our highest aspirations, our greatest fears and that is why we need to include young people in that dialogue.''

Fifteen-year-old Jamie Cole likes Richard Wagner's ``The Flying Dutchman,'' about a cursed sailor condemned to sail the seas for all eternity until he finds true love.

``It's really interesting, because it involves dead people,'' said Cole, who lives in Northridge. ``The woman who has a thing for the Flying Dutchman, even though he's a cursed man who's not really alive.''

Lisa Sodders, [phone]

Lisa.Sodders(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Masha Grigoryan talks with Cleveland High School opera teacher Neil Anstead, whose passion has been infectious.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer