From 2005 through 2011, at elementary schools all over Washington, young people performed alongside Seattle Opera’s Young Artists in a pair of child-friendly operas adapted from “Das Rheingold” and “Siegfried.” In “Theft of the Gold,” first presented in 2005, students played the waters of the Rhine river, miserable Nibelungs enslaved by the evil ring, mystical Norns, and the spirits of storm who rage above Valhalla; in “Siegfried and the Ring of Fire,” which premiered in 2009, they played wild Valkyries, magic fire, crafty ravens, and helpful forest birds. In both operas, a new character—Father Rhine—conducted an all-student orchestra. The Young Artists, meanwhile, played such characters as Alberich and Mime, the Rhine Daughters, the gods, and Siegfried and Brünnhilde. The adaptations were written by Seattle Opera’s Jonathan Dean, directed by Vanessa Miller (and, in 2011, Kelly Kitchens), with costumes by Cynthia Savage (“Theft of the Gold”) and Deborah Skorstad (“Siegfried and the Ring of Fire”) and sets prepared by Seattle Opera Scenic Studios based on the illustrations of P. Craig Russell.