Thanks in large part to Gwendolyn Farris, the kids at Adelle Turner Elementary School in South Oak Cliff were afforded the opportunity to expand their theater genre when they were treated to an opera performance on Tuesday morning at their school.

In collaboration with the Dallas Opera, the Mavericks allowed the students to experience the dazzling Pépito Touring Opera Performance. For Farris, a music teacher at Adelle Turner, this was the perfect way for her students to be introduced to another form of music and performing arts.

“In teaching my class in music, I teach them a lot of genres,” Farris told Mavs.com. “And I teach them that it’s not that you have to like them, but you listen and you appreciate it and you’ll find you might like it.

“It’s just like trying a new food that you’ve never had. You might say I don’t like frog legs. Have you tried it? I don’t like alligators. Have you tried it? You have to try it and you have to just get a little taste of what it’s about and what it is, and you’ll find yourself maybe loving it.”

From a close inspection, the approximately 100 students who watched Tuesday’s 45-minute performance loved what they were seeing and was curious about the final outcome. The hope, from Farris’ perspective, is that they may one day decide to add the world of opera and its fundamental components to their playlist. Or pursue it as their long-term employment.

“I thought (the show) went really well, and the kids were well disciplined,” said Kristian Roberts, the director of education for the Dallas Opera. “They seemed to enjoy themselves. We want the art form to be accessible, we want to let them know that you can do this no matter where you’re from. We want kids in every neighborhood — not just certain neighborhoods — to be able to understand that you are capable of doing this and working in and around the arts if you choose to do so.

“That kid might be my next set designer sitting right out here. I don’t know, but they don’t know unless we tell them. And I think that’s part of the job with my team and part of the job of the arts in general. We need to be out in communities, we need to be communicating with folks and we need to be working with people from all walks of life. That way when they come into an employment situation — whether as an artist or a conductor — they have this well-rounded view of the way the world works.”

Pépito, premiered in 1853 at the Theatre des Varietes in Paris, and was written by Offenbach as a way for him to gain recognition as a stage composer. Offenbach had earlier served as the director of music at the Comedie Francaise, but none of his operas exploded until he launched Pépito.

As a whole, Pépito consist of three cast members played by Seth Clarke, Nathan Bowles and Yuhui Yang – with Mary Dibbern on the piano.

“But there’s a fourth character name Pépito,” said Clarke, who graduated from Mansfield Summit High School. “And part of the whole opera, the gag is that Pépito is in the name, but you never see him the entire opera.

“The story is (Yang) is engaged to this guy named Pépito, because their families wanted them to get married. He goes off to the war, she’s alone for a very long time, she starts her own business, and she’s in competition with Vertigo – which is the character I play.”

Then, the story takes an unforgettable twist.

“Things get mixed up because her own friend from childhood, (Bowles), comes in and complicates it and has a whole love triangle thing going on. We never see Pépito, and eventually (Yang) says, ‘You know what? Forget Pépito. (Bowles) is here. He actually loves me and cares for me. I don’t need to wait for (Pépito).’ “

Destiney Paris, a third grader at Adelle Turner, said her favorite part of Tuesday’s opera was: “At the end when (Bowles) proposed to (Yang). And I like the cupcakes, because it made me want to eat them.”

Paris also said she’s all-in and would love to see another opera. Her classmates also gave it two thumbs up, which is the goal Farris wanted to accomplish.

“I am so proud of them,” Farris said, referring to her students, “because they did an excellent job of accepting, listening and responding at the right places.”

Opening her students’ eyes to various genres of music is Priority No. 1 for Farris, and she already had others on her agenda.

“We’re doing funk and R&B,” Farris said. “I introduced them to Kool and the Gang, then I went to James Brown. Then I made a comparison between James Brown and Michael Jackson, and I let them know James Brown was born before Michael Jackson was born.

“So, that’s where we are on the genres – it’s funk, R&B and soul. And today’s artist is going to be Prince.”

Bowles was delighted to be able to expose opera to young impressionable kids who otherwise may not have been exposed to it.

“I think the best way to do it is just what we’re doing right here,” Bowles said. “Get it in front of them as soon as you can, and have fun doing it. The show is funny. They laughed. They’re invested. The big twist at the end, they all gasped.

“Just get it in front of people to realize that they’ll like it. And it’s really great to get into schools, because I always ask if you’ve ever seen an opera before. Maybe only a couple has. So, it’s really great to think of them to evolve like that.”

Roberts said she’s firm believer in adults evolving and leading by example.

“I always tell my singers, I joke when I say the rest of the world might not act right, but when we get in front of these kids they’re going see teamwork between a group of adults from different walks of life from everywhere coming together to bring together an art form that’s 400 years old,” she said. “You never know what (the students are) going to attach themselves to.

“You might have somebody that’s more attached to the set and the design of that, because they are visual artists. You have some that are loving the piano. You heard them talk about the high notes. They are more intrigued by the voice. There’s something for everybody in opera.”

Farris just wanted to make sure her students had another tool to put in the toolbox.

“I think the opera was excellent, and it was an excellent opportunity for the children to see a new genre,” she said. “Some of them might be interested in joining – in being an opera singer.

“Or they can be an artist. I just wanted to prepare them.”

X: @DwainPrice