LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — Mother and daughter writing team Tina and Lulu Spangler are here to tell you about our experience last month when we caught the final performance of Jonathan Stinson’s “The Three Bears” by the Delaware Valley Opera (DVO).

Originating as an oral tale, “The Three Bears” was first printed in England in 1831. Nearly 200 years later, we all know the story of a precocious blonde interloper who breaks into the home of the bear family. She eats their food and damages their furniture before being sent away.

On the drive to the opera, Lulu, 10, tried to imagine how one could make an opera of the classic fairy tale she knows so well. Putting opera and “The Three Bears” together seemed to her like “a sandwich made with peanut butter and mustard. They just don’t go together.” I encouraged her to keep an open mind, while secretly agreeing with her.

Over the past 110 years, the Nutshell Hall, with its two-story barn-like shape, has been a bowling alley, a roller rink and an art gallery. It is now the Delaware Valley Opera Center, the home of the DVO. After having some trouble finding the second-story front door (signage is presumably in the works), we made our way inside the massive performance space, with its vaulted ceilings and a stage at the far end.

Upon entrance, children were invited to participate in a crafts table and to choose from the assortment of teddy bears occupying many of the seats. Lulu examined each stuffed bear before deciding on a small black and white panda. This mom appreciated the pre-show activities, which were designed to keep the kids engaged while they waited for the performance to begin.

We found seats at one of the cabaret-style tables near the bar serving cold beverages. We got out our notebooks and pens. Lulu jotted, “I recommend you come with a full belly.”

DVO’s artistic director, Carol Castel, introduced the performance as a kind of “sequel” to the story we know so well. The lights dimmed, and the bear family entered from the back of the house: Jonathan Stinson (who also wrote and directed) as Papa Bear, Elise Mark as Mama Bear, and Robbie Flora as Baby Bear.

Sung in English, the songs were written with repeating, kid-friendly lyrics that, faithful to the source material, give each of the three bears their say on any given subject—“Someone’s been sitting in my chair.”

Goldilocks is played by Dana Kluczyk, a dynamic young singer with an impressive vocal range. In this story, she returns to the bears’ house to retrieve a lost hair ribbon. In order to gain entrance when the bears are home, she attempts various disguises to hide her true identity. Silliness ensues, including raucous moments of audience participation (e.g. yell as loud as you can to wake up Goldilocks).

Other delightful moments included mash-ups of other fairy tale heroines—Goldilocks, for example, calls her bestie “Allison Wonderland”.

Lulu noted in her notebook “There is much laughter. It makes me smile.”

Lulu and Mom concur: the strongest elements of the show were the voices of the performers, notably Kluczyk. Lulu wondered how long they practiced to get their vocals so “long and loud.” She noted in her trusty notebook “The vocals these people have is just amazing. The voices go great together.”

DVO plans to include entertainment for young people in each of their upcoming seasons. “Introducing young people to live theater and music is valuable enrichment to not only the children, but to the community,” according to the event program.

For this mother and daughter, the DVO’s first venture into children’s opera with “The Three Bears” was just right.

For more about the DVO’s upcoming performances, visit DelawareValleyOpera.org.