Don't you just hate it when volcanos don't cooperate? The long-dormant one on the isle of Atlantia has decided to erupt and send lava shooting all over, destroying all life on the atoll.

Fortunately, this saga is not based on fact, but on friction, since the islanders don't get along — at least, not at first.

For this is the plot of the student-produced opera Danger Island: El Peligro de Atlantia, performed by third- and fourth-graders at Salazar Elementary School. It's one of several elementary-school productions produced by the Santa Fe Opera in an effort to supplement arts-education programs in the school district.

Danger Island runs Tuesday at the Scottish Rite Center. It's preceded by a Salazar Elementary School kindergarten-produced opera, The Birthday Surprise, which commemorates Santa Fe's 400th anniversary.

Two other student operas, produced by Carlos Gilbert and Agua Fría elementary school students, will be presented the following night. Expect arias and antics in all shows, which are free.

The opera in schools program was started in 1993 by then-Sweeney Elementary School teacher Molly Malloy (who now teaches at Salazar), according to Andrea Fellows Walters, director of Education and Community Programs at the Santa Fe Opera.

"It gives kids the tools and confidence to stand up there and tell their story in song," Walters said during a recent rehearsal of Danger Island.

The kids came up with the plot line, according to director Charles Gamble. Each student opera is built around a theme, and this year's theme is community.

Via a series of workshops, improvisational experiments and brainstorming, the Salazar students summoned up a volcanic explosion as a device to unify the sometimes-antagonistic denizens of Atlantia, made up of royalty, natives and animals — though how a jaguar, a dog, a monkey and a bunny could all be residents of the same tropical isle may befuddle wildlife experts and zoologists.

"There's a big eruption, so we ask the King and Queen to help us!" explained 9-year-old Deanza Roybal, who plays both a native woman and a lava dancer (no relation to the fire dancers who burn Zozobra up every year, she confirmed).

At first, the royals refuse to help. But then they get livid over the lava.

"Then the King and Queen ask for our help," chimed in 9-year-old Jaydin Martinez, who plays a helpful native and a lava dancer. "And we ask them why they didn't help us!"

Boy, it's getting complicated. But Martinez stressed that the point here is that everybody has to work together to come up with a communal solution to the problem.

All these high-brow hijinks are set to original music composed by Lydia Clark, who took her cues from the students. For instance, they wanted a calypso rap song, so she gave them one.

The entire show is bilingual, and the lyrics are disarmingly simple, as when the villagers sing, "It's so hot we could boil in a pot!"

Naturally, being this is all part of that convoluted artistic world known as opera, there's bound to be some unanswered questions. Like, why would anyone move to a place called Danger Island? And didn't the castaways of Gilligan's Island face a similar threat? If so, why didn't the Atlantians watch reruns of that show to come up with a solution?

But who cares about such illogical plot points when so many talented adult mentors are helping kids find their creative voices. It's certainly paying off for Martinez, who said he is going to be an actor when he grows up.

Now you'd think that'd be dangerous, given the unemployment rate for actors. But Martinez is undaunted.

Because, he said, as an actor, "You get to be people you never thought you would be."

And, in the process, save the day on Danger Island.

Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com.

IF YOU GO

What: Student opera productions
When: The Birthday Surprise and Danger Island: El Peligro de Atlantia, Salazar Elementary School, 6 p.m. Tuesday; Trouble in Paradise, Carlos Gilbert Elementary School, followed by The Last Song, Agua Fría Elementary School, 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Where: Scottish Rite Center, 463 Paseo de Peralta
Cost: Free
Information: Call 946-2402