Rainbow Story
An opera intro for intermediate young ESL learners


The Rainbow Story
Long ago there were seven brothers and sisters, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet, who painted the world¡¯s colours every day. They loved each other very much and really enjoyed their work. Each morning their friend, Sun, would meet them and they would begin their work painting all the colours of everything in the world. Their work was beautiful.
Song #1: Oh Mr. Sun
Well, almost everybody. Grey cloud didn¡¯t like them very much. She wanted the world to be one colour, grey, just like her. She thought grey was the only good colour and she really hated the work of the seven painters. One time she tried to block the sun from shining, but the sun was too strong and he sent her away.
So she tried a different way to break up the brothers. One morning while Green was painting the leaves of the trees, Grey cloud whispered in his ear, ¡°why does your brother, Blue, get the privilege of painting the sky and the sea, but you must paint only the plants? Nobody looks at the leaves, they are not important. But everybody looks at the sky. Why can¡¯t it be green? Are you not important? Is he so much greater than you?¡±
Green became sad and angry and started to think, ¡°yeah, why can¡¯t I paint the sky?¡± and soon he became so sour that he couldn¡¯t paint anymore. He was very angry with his brother Blue.
Song #2: Not beautiful
Grey cloud continued her bad work by whispering into the ear of Yellow, ¡°the other colours don¡¯t like you. They think your colour is not important. Why do you paint the sand on the beach? Nobody looks at the sand. Everybody looks at the sea, and the trees. They laugh at you. You are just a sister, but you should have an important colour. Your colour is not important. Look everywhere. Yellow is not important to them. Do you like that?¡±
Yellow tried to ignore it at first but she started to cry.
In this way, Grey cloud turned all the brothers and sisters against each other. Soon they started to hate each other and be jealous. Then they stopped colouring the world and soon the whole world was grey, just like Cloud.
The people in the world started to complain, ¡°what happened to the beautiful colours? The sun is gone and everything is grey now!¡±
The seven brothers and sisters noticed too. They were so unhappy They sat together on the beach and started to talk.
Song 3: Where did the sun go?
¡°The world has become so ugly since we started fighting¡± said Green. ¡°I was happy when I was painting leaves.¡±
Then Blue spoke up. ¡°Why did we start fighting?¡±
Then Yellow spoke up. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I think a yellow sky would look very silly.¡±
Then all the brothers and sisters started laughing. Soon they started comparing stories, and they appreciated each other¡¯s work even more than they did before. Their love grew so much in that moment, that they said to each other, ¡°let us never fight again about this.¡±
After giving each other a big hug, the seven brothers and sisters picked up their paintbrushes and showed their new understanding by first painting a big rainbow in the sky, so everyone knew they stopped fighting. Then they went back to their jobs, painting the world in all its beautiful colours, and the Sun came out again, and Grey cloud had no more power over them anymore.
Song 4: Say A Little Prayer (Westlife)
----------------------------------
Song 1 (Sung to the chorus of Toreador, from Carmen)
Oh Mister Sun, please mister golden sun!
Come out to play! We'll play with you!
These children are asking you,
Please come out so we can play with you!
Oh Mister Golden Sun,
Come out to play!
Come out to play with me!
Oh Sun Mister Sun
Oh Sun Mister Sun...
We'll play with you!!
Song 2 (Sung to L'Amour est un oiseau, from Carmen)
Tell me why do you work so hard?
Oh tell me why do you work so long?
Your other brothers paint more than you
Because your colour is not beautiful!
NOT BEAUTIFUL!
Not beautiful, you paint the leaves, but don't paint the sky,
Your brother blue he paints the sea,
But you can not but do you know why?
NOT BEAUTIFUL!
They think you're bad.
And if they did not you would not feel sad.
Because their colours are beautiful,
Why should they paint more things than you?
Song 3 (Sung to O Mio Babbino Caro, from Gianni Schicchi)
Where, where did the sun go?
Beautiful things are gone now.
When we all loved each other
We used to paint the rainbow.
When, when will the blue sky and
beautiful things return?
I want to see the sun again,
I want to see the rainbow.
Song 4 My Love
An empty street, an empty house,
A whole inside my heart.
I'm all alone. The rooms are getting smaller.
I wonder how, I wonder why, I wonder where they are.
The days we had, the songs we sang together. Oh, yeah.
And oh, my love. I'm holding on forever.
Reaching for a love that seems so far.
Chorus[ALL]
So, I say a little prayer.
And hope my dreams will take me there.
Where the skies are blue.
To see you once again, my love.
Over seas and coast to coast.
Find the place I love the most.
Where the fields are green.
To see you once again,
[SHANE]
To hold you in my arms,
To promise you my love,
I tell you from my heart
You're what I'm dreaming of.
~
Reaching for a love that seems so far!
[chorus]