It's intriguing to read that Bayreuth is now presenting Wagner operas aimed at children; this year it was ten performances of a 70 minute abridged version of Tannhäuser in a large rehearsal space, advertised online and snapped up by families. Scottish Opera goes one further, and does opera for babies - and it tours.

So how do you introduce children to opera? They could see Britten's 'Let's make an opera'. They could be the animals and birds in Britten's Noye's Fludde. There are DVDs, and YouTube. Or, try taking them to the real thing. Here are a few ideas, based on anecdotes from friends...

Puccini is a winner. I am told that La Bohème is a good choice for adolescents, but remember to take some Kleenex. A production of Puccini's Il Trittico in English worked well for one family - three short one-act operas, with a funny Gianni Schicchi to finish. Kobbé's synopses were very helpful in advance, once the 'Mum, what's a whore?' moment was dealt with.

A group trip to the ROH Schools' Matinée performance of Rigoletto was a roaring success, with the Act I on-stage party/orgy not too embarrassing, and chocolates distributed to the departing audience. The tenor's face was shining with delight as he took his bow to a house packed full of enthusiastic kids.

Someone else took his brood to a family workshop on Carmen, not realising it was one of those Join In occasions. I think he's now recovered from having to dance the Habanera with some random woman. The children can still sing every word of the 'Toreador' song. The Carmen video, alas, never gets watched. Painful memories.

But - Wagner? Isn't it a bit too grown-up: what about the adult themes. Bayreuth makes sure that the settings and characters are child-friendly; Tannhäuser wears jeans, Venus gets around on a skateboard - bet they don't teach that in Opera School - and Elisabeth is cast as a sensible sort who works in a computer lab. It amazes me that Bayreuth is doing this at all - with a 10-year waiting list for tickets there, and Wagner performances sold out around the globe, is there really a need to introduce Wagner to children, or is this a general introduce-children-to-opera exercise...

One final account of a family who took their musical daughter to see Wagner's Valkyrie in Edinburgh. For a generation brought up reading about magic wands, Hagrid and broomsticks in Harry Potter books, an enchanted ring, Fafner and airborne Valkyries are surprisingly accessible. With a child's observant eye, she scanned the crowd during the interval, and spotted someone whom none of the adults seemed to have recognised. She beetled up, and got a smile, a chat and an autograph. There can't be too many other girls in the UK who have a Die Walküre programme signed by J.K.Rowling.