To many adults, opera can be daunting.

The voices are big, the gestures broad and the language unfamiliar. Yet even an opera neophyte can’t help but be swept up by the glorious music.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be exposed to these elements of a live performance — the singing, music and movement — at a young age? A basic understanding of opera could serve as a foundation for appreciation of all the arts.

The San Francisco Opera Guild makes this opportunity available to elementary schools throughout the Bay Area. And the students don’t have to trek to San Francisco. The opera, in the form of professional singers, a pianist, props and costumes, comes to the school. Not only that, but student actors, who have been rehearsing for about six weeks, perform with the professionals.

This year’s production is Gioacchino Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.”

Last week, Napa Junction Elementary School in American Canyon staged their production in their multipurpose room on the campus with fifth graders in strong supporting roles. The San Francisco Opera Guild and the school invited the Register to take a backstage peek at the preparations.

“We have been doing the Opera á la Carte in Napa schools for 15 years,” said Alline Singrey, the Napa coordinator for the program. “The preparation time for teachers is about six weeks. Teacher information packets are mailed in September and the operas are performed in October and November. American Canyon School has done these operas for several years and the docents who have worked with these children say they want to go back again. The enthusiasm of the student actors, the cooperation of the teachers and the artistic additions all contribute to the pleasure of performing operas at this school.”

The teacher information packets explain the logistics of the production; offer assistance with piano tuning and provide a professional choral director who will work with students on the finale, a chorus sung by a larger group, usually an entire class or two. The packets also have background information on opera in general, the current year’s opera and include study aids such as language activities, word games and vocal exercises, which can be incorporated into the class curriculum. The packet comes with a CD that reviews the entire opera and introduces students to the music.

Students are selected to play various roles in the pared-down, 45-minute opera. They must memorize their lines and practice with the other student actors. In the case of “The Barber of Seville,” nine student actors were required.

Fifth-grader Ahmad Shanaa played the largest role, that of Dr. Bartolo, the heroine, Rosina’s elderly guardian.

“I worked on the part for two months,” said Shanaa, who is turning 10. “The best part is getting to be someone else. The hardest part was to memorize all of my 36 lines.”

Asked if he had any professional thespian ambitions, Shanaa stated he planned to be football player, in the role of nose guard.

Mattea Williams was cast as Don Basilio, Rosina’s music teacher and town gossip.

“I like that you get to act funny and crazy,” said Williams, almost 10. “Learning how to laugh was the most fun.”

Williams demonstrated the theatrical laugh, a “ha, ha, ha-ha-ha” kind of cartoon laugh. Every summer she attends theater arts camp.

The role of Berta the maid went to Courtney Weir, 10. Prior to the performance, she admitted a bit of stage fright.

“I’m nervous,” said Weir, whose mother and grandfather were scheduled to attend the performance. “I’d like to try acting again. I’m really trying to get the emotion right.”

The performance was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. sharp. The student actors assembled in the multipurpose room at 8:15 a.m. Three adults entered, arms filled with bags of costumes, props and backdrops. These were the professionals from the San Francisco Opera, soprano Kindra Scharich, tenor Jonathan Smucker and baritone Mark Hernandez, who played the role of Figaro.

As Smucker distributed one-size-fits-all vests, skirts and gowns, Hernandez arranged chairs and a two-sided painted flat, one side depicting a street scene, the other the interior of Dr. Bartolo’s home. Scharich took this time to change into a turquoise period gown.

The two teachers who started this program at Napa Junction are Valerie Hunt and Susan Mullet.

“We’ve been putting on the operas for 10 years,” said Hunt, who teaches fifth grade. “The first was ‘Carmen’ and last year we did ‘Pirates of Penzance.’ I think it’s important for the children to see live performances. For the last two years, we’ve taken students to see Napa Valley College productions. The opera professionals who come here are delightful. They are chosen because they work well with children. The students who participate get a lot out of it, including self-esteem. They learn many things from the experience. Four days a week they give up their lunch recess to rehearse.”

On stage, the professionals blocked the student actors, which means showing them where to stand and move when delivering their lines. The pros explained voice projection, motivation and mannerisms during this only dress rehearsal.

“There are always two to four non-speaking roles in each production,” said Hunt. “This allows students who may have speech difficulties to participate.”

With five minutes to go to curtain, the chorus arrived. They were ushered into the first few rows of chairs. Hernandez, accompanied by pianist (and script writer) Baker Peoples, ran the students through the finale, encouraging them to sing loudly.

Dee McFarland is the principal of Napa Junction, which has 328 students in grades kindergarten through fifth.

“We believe in educating the whole child, social, emotional, physical and intellectual,” said McFarland. “You can’t teach one without the other. We must choose how we use our time. Val (Hunt) is amazing. When she’s passionate about something, there’s no stopping her. She’s really motivational and inspirational.”

At 9:30 on the dot, fourth and fifth grade students filed in, followed by parents, grandparents and pre-K siblings.

McFarland welcomed the group and explained theater etiquette.

San Francisco Opera docent Dottie Mack introduced the history and plot points of the opera and spoke about Rossini.

The audience was entranced as Hernandez strode the center aisle singing the lively “Largo al factotum” which ends with the fast, well-known patter of “Figaro, Figaro, Figaro.” Enthusiastic applause concluded the song and each song thereafter.

Every student actor remembered his or her lines and the stage direction given during the rehearsal. The triumphant finale ended the production on a high note. Everyone took individual bows, from the professionals to students Shanaa, Williams and Weir and the other actors, Katlynn Mafort, Leslie Servin, Jasmine Chisley, Marissa Sandavol, Ireno Dinnamarca and Christian Cardenas.

The production concluded with a question and answer session.

Maha Shanaa, proud mother of Ahmad, was delighted with the performance.

“He’s been very excited and talking about it,” said Shanaa. “I didn’t realize he had such a big part. He loves all shows and collects information about actors. I thank Ms. Hunt for her effort and for encouraging him. He loves fifth grade because of her.”

As the opera professionals gathered their props and costumes, they had only good things to say about the students.

“The kids are amazing,” said Smucker, who has sung professionally for five years. “It’s fun to see what line readings they come up with on their own. Every school is different. This school is known for being very well prepared.”

Hunt beamed with pleasure.

“I’m always proud of my students,” she said. “Every year I wonder if we really want to go through all the work and preparation again. Then, when it’s over, I realize that, yes, it’s fun, the students love it and it’s worth the trouble.”

The program is made possible by a grant from American Express. For information about Opera á la Carte, phone (415) 565-3238, or check sfopera.com.