“The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros is a fixture in the CHS Intro-to-Lit curriculum. Each first-semester freshman is placed in an Intro-to-Lit class to prepare them for the English courses they will take later in high school. The book introduces students to high school-level personal narrative writing emphasizing coming-of-age stories. Written in vignettes, the book lends itself to class discussions surrounding effective and concise narrative structures.
CHS is not the only school in Ann Arbor making use of “The House on Mango Street” to enhance its curriculum. The University of Michigan (U-M) School of Music, Theatre & Dance (SMTD) Voice & Opera Department is planning an opera production of the story.
On Oct. 17, SMTD hosted a masterclass with Cisneros, librettist and Derek Bermel, composer. The pre-concert lecture at Hill Auditorium preceded the workshop performance of “The House on Mango Street.” Additionally, a workshop presentation on Oct. 18 was held for SMTD students and interested members of the public.
The event was a partnership between the SMTD OperaLab, the University Philharmonic Orchestra, Cisneros and Bermel, which led to the debut of this story at SMTD. A mile away, CHS freshmen received copies of “The House on Mango Street.”
Neil Carlin is a freshman reading “The House on Mango Street” for class. Carlin gravitates toward horror and science fiction novels, so he has found the format of “The House on Mango Street” to be engaging. Unfamiliar with vignettes, Carlin has learned how to interpret the narrative and consider deeper aspects of the story.
“I’ve learned more about how books can touch on more sensitive topics like growing up, racism and domestic violence,” Carlin said. His class is working to hold open, respectful discussions about the content they are reading. These skills will prepare freshmen for future English classes at CHS. “The House on Mango Street” has helped Carlin analyze narratives and will now provide material for college-level opera performers.
“I’m curious to see how they’re going to portray most of the characters since they’re pretty young at the start and grow up quite a bit throughout the book,” Carlin said. The opera is set to officially premiere in 2025. U-M recently hosted a workshop to give audiences a preview of the performance ahead of its debut at the Glimmerglass Festival.
