Cedar Rapids Opera pairs puppets with songs for special online performance The Enchanted Forest debuts on YouTube Thursday and also will be shown in Eastern Iowa schools
The Wizard (left), voiced by tenor Benjamin Burney, meets up with the Princess, soprano Avery Nabholz, and her confidante, Bumble, baritone Jacob Lay, in the digital version of “The Enchanted Forest,” debuting online Thursday as part of the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre’s 2nd Thursday Series. The company’s annual children’s opera production also is available for viewing in Eastern Iowa classrooms, with free distribution through March 31. The opera company collaborated with Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre Co. to create hand puppets, rod puppets and shadow puppets to tell this tale of friendship, peril and finding your innate capabilities. (Photo courtesy of Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre)