Name: Madelyn Kaplan

Age: 12

School: Sacred Heart Catholic School

Accomplishment: Opera is not the music most young people gravitate to, but for Madelyn Kaplan, classical music created an opportunity few people will ever realize.

Kaplan, a seventh grader at Sacred Heart, performed with the Michigan Opera Theatre’s children’s chorus for three performances of the German composer Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana in October. As part of the chorus, Kaplan sang three songs as part of an ensemble.

Surprisingly, Kaplan said she was not nervous when she saw the huge crowd at the Detroit Opera House.

“I wasn’t really nervous because I knew I was singing with a group–there was no solo,” she said.

Carmina Burana is a unique opera in that it is composed of 254 poems, mostly written in Latin in the 11th and 12thcenturies. The composer, Carl Orff, composed the opera in 1935.

Key to awesomeness: Kaplan has been singing since she was three or four years old, but never did she believe that she would be on such a large stage so early.

“It was almost sold out,” she said. “Most of the cast was not from Michigan, and it was really interesting (meeting the other performers).”

Kaplan’s love of opera began at home in Dearborn, where her mother, Diane, often listens to the classics.

“My mother listens to a lot of opera, and sometimes my dad does, too,” she said.

Kaplan said she would like to continue performing, and one day has a goal to perform on Broadway. In the meantime, she can be seen playing a Munchkin in the Players Guild of Dearborn’s presentation of  the Wizard of Oz.

When she’s not on stage somewhere, Kaplan is working hard in her classes. Her favorites are social studies and math. Additionally, she enjoys playing tennis and golf in her spare time.

Kaplan is the daughter of Philip and Diane Kaplan of Dearborn.

Know of a student who is doing great things–inside or out of the classroom? Email your Whiz Kid nominations to Editor Jessica Carreras at jessica.carreras@patch.com. Please include the name, age, school, achievement and key to awesomeness, as well as a photo. Then come back every week for our Whiz Kid spotlight. You never know who may be smiling at you from the computer screen.