NATCHEZ &045;&045; Many area children are hearing a new sound this week.

As part of the Natchez Music Festival a five-person opera team is performing &uot;The Twilight of Magic&uot; for sets of untrained ears at Braden School.

&uot;I’ve never heard anyone sing like that,&uot; Frazier Primary student Sierra Buckles, 7, said.

Buckles represented the consensus at the conclusion of the 40-minute opera Wednesday morning.

And that’s exactly what Director Donna Schaffer said she hoped for. &uot;The purpose of a program like this is exposure,&uot; she said. &uot;For schools that don’t have access to performances like this, exposure and inspiration.&uot;

The opera team is in town for the week putting on two performances a day at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. Next week they will be on the road in neighboring counties and parishes including performances in Ferriday, Vidalia, Woodville and McComb.

&uot;The Twilight of Magic&uot; has four performers, while Schaffer plays the piano. Auditions were held in the fall in New York City and performers were chosen from hundreds of applicants, Schaffer said. The opera has two sets of singers to reduce vocal strain.

Schaffer performed in Natchez last year and said she was glad to be back. &uot;I was impressed with the impact of last year,&uot; she said. &uot;Some of the children remember it.&uot;

At the close of the performance the singers introduce themselves, explain their voices and answer questions from the students.

The most asked question Wednesday related to how the singers sang like they did. All four told the students practice was key.

Buckles said she thought the play was funny. &uot;I liked all of it,&uot; she said. &uot;I like the characters.&uot;

Kyle Tarver, 7, said he enjoyed the play, too. &uot;It was pretty funny to me,&uot; he said. &uot;I like it when he came up and tried to sneak the treasure out.&uot; In the opera an evil dragon steals treasure from two youth and blames his evil deeds on a woman of the woods who some consider a witch. Schaffer said 15,000 children in Mississippi and Louisiana would see the performance. &uot;The Twilight of Magic&uot; will continue today and Friday at Braden Auditorium.