Opera in the Schools
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Utah Opera school programs give students opportunities to develop skills in music as identified in the state core curriculum while they are being introduced to the basic elements of the art form of opera; our programs also show audiences that being involved in the art form can be moving, thrilling, and fun. We hope to inspire promising young artists and give them experience with the variety of artistic activities and careers involved in the creation, development, and production of opera. Our principal presenters are young artists from the professional opera field: a quartet of singers selected from national auditions. To schedule any of these programs please contact Lori Fisher at lfisher@usuo.org.
Who wants to be an Opera Star? From late August through the end of May, Utah Opera presents the assembly “Who Wants to be an OPERA STAR?,” an introduction to the art form of opera through the framework of a television game show. The assembly runs as a series of questions and competitions, with four singers in the roles of MC and contestants. Studio audience members (the students) will learn about voice types, arias, duets, and fancy coloratura singing. They will also participate in identifying emotions and clapping rhythms in musical selections taken from some of the world’s favorite operas.
Opera 101 For School visits for grades 7-9 Working from the viewpoint that jr. high school students still like to be entertained, but that they also appreciate being treated as a more mature audience than elementary school students, we have created a scenes-and-dialogue program where our opera singers introduce concepts from opera and tell students about the scenes they will see, and then perform arias, duets and large ensembles from the standard repertoire of opera. Students will experience scenes from operas such as The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro, Die Fledermaus, and The Elixir of Love.
Freeze Frame: Dr. Miracle , a new program in 2009-10, was designed for junior high and high school audiences. During Dr. Miracle, a short comic opera by Georges Bizet, a clever young man disguises himself several times, each time attempting to win the girl he loves from her protective papa. Our performers occasionally stop the action with our Freeze Frame device to highlight elements of drama and opera right as they occur during the opera.
Opera Up Close For School visits for grades 9-12 Utah Opera offers “Opera Up Close” to high schools throughout the state of Utah. The program is designed to be presented during a single class period for a large choral audience, preferably in the choral class room. Because of financial support from the Utah State Legislature and private donors, Utah Opera is able to provide this program at no cost to public schools. "Opera Up Close” consists of Utah Opera’s Ensemble Artists performing arias and ensemble pieces, talking about specific challenges and rewards they have met as vocalists and performing artists, and answering questions from the student audience. The discussion focuses on issues confronting young professional singers--issues that all young people who work or will be working have to confront, to some extent (each performer addresses a separate issue–each one sings and then talks for about 2 minutes).
Residency Days
One-Day Residencies After an introduction to opera through a performance of "Who Wants to be an Opera Star?," 150 students a day rotate through five participatory workshops, each focused on an aspect of the general topic of communication through the various art forms involved in opera (visual as well as musical). Each workshop involves direct experimentation with the workshop topic in a booklet provided for each student. Topics include: Communicating through costumes, props, makeup and hair; Communicating through sets and lights; Communicating through music; Communicating through singing; The audience's part in communication.
Five-Day Community Residencies School/community visits for grades K-adult US|UO travels throughout Utah each year, offering five week-long community residencies. Opera artists spend 2 days in school residencies (up to 150 students in each of 2 schools) conducting the workshops described above, plus one day in high school and jr. high presentations. On the final two days of a community residency, the artists give community concerts, including a final gala performance. During the 2008-09 school year, we plan to offer five-day residencies to Grand, Nebo, North Sanpete, and Sevier districts. Email Paula Fowler at pfowler@usuo.org for more information.