The Opera Shop

The Opera Shop is an interactive learning experience for elementary and middle school students which is designed to help make opera accessible, educational, and fun. Incorporating material from well-known vocal works, such as Bernstein’s West Side Story and Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance, the program introduces opera to children at their own level. The Opera Shop is geared towards grades 4 through 6 and takes place in schools, after-school programs and community settings throughout Greater Boston, with a focus on under-served neighborhoods where children may have few opportunities to experience live music. Opera Boston artists lead one ninety-minute or two fifty-minute sessions during which the students participate in both scripted and improvisatory activities; these include exploring various elements of opera and rehearsing, performing and critiquing a short musical scene. The goals of the Opera Shop can be measured against the Massachusetts State Curriculum Frameworks, making it easy to integrate into the classroom.

Opera Boston cast members have participated in workshops for youth choral groups and music students. For example,, during Opera Boston’s 2009 production of The Nose by Shostakovich,  baritone star  Stephen Salters took  a break from rehearsals to conduct a vocal workshop and master class for teens from Boston City Singers at the  Parish of all Saints in Dorchester.

Opera Boston’s invited dress rehearsals provide valuable opportunities for students to attend live performances, giving them a full picture of the integration of music, acting, and design that staged opera offers.

For more information on Opera Boston's Outreach and Education programs, please contact education@operaboston.org