Education and outreach

Help spread opera to schools and communities.

Choose to support the following programs:

School performances

Workshops and national tour

Young Artist Program

Access

Outreach

Contact us

To learn more about our education and outreach programs and how you may be able to help, please contact:

Nathan Gilkes
Head of Education, Learning and Participation
nathan.gilkes@opera.org.au
02 9318 8290

School Performances

Help us take musical storytelling and opera into primary and secondary schools.

Primary Schools

Every year, we perform to 80,000 primary school children through our schools tour of Victoria and NSW.

It's always a big event. Operas consist of new Australian works, such as 2016’s El Kid and 2018’s By the Light of the Moon, and adaptations of classic opera like The Barber of Seville and Cinderella.

The schools tour presents up to three sessions in a day, and each session consists of a 50-minute performance of a complete opera followed by 10 minutes of questions and answers with the students and teachers.

Every opera is accompanied by a teachers resource kit which links the genre and key themes to classroom activities.

By the Light of the Moon (2019)
Olivia Cranwell as Queen of Hearts, Anna Stephens as Agatha The Cat, David King as Cedric The Owl and Rocco Speranza as Old King Cole in our 2019 schools production of By the Light of the Moon. Photo by Keith Saunders
Anna Stephens as Agatha The Cat in By the Light of the Moon.
Anna Stephens as Agatha The Cat in By the Light of the Moon. Photo by Keith Saunders.
“My class thoroughly enjoyed today’s performance… they were all so engaged! They even tried to sing along with the songs they’d heard snippets of during the show. Afterwards they drew pictures of the characters they liked seeing. A fantastic performance, and to get six-year-olds not only interested but understanding everything, you did an amazing job!”

— Rebecca Michael, classroom teacher/music coordinator, Mittagong Public School

Secondary Schools

The recipients of the Regional Vocal Scholarship at the Sydney Opera House in 2017. Photo: Keith Saunders

Secondary schools can access discounted tickets for students to experience selected opera productions. A large percentage of secondary students major in performance. We provide workshops to students to develop skills in singing, music theatre and performance delivery.

A night at the opera is something your students will never forget. Tap into the imagination of great composers, writers, designers and directors.

For educators

For teachers we provide high quality and curriculum-aligned digital teaching resources. We help teachers help students to meet their education requirements. We help generalist teachers develop skills, particularly in music, singing, drama and storytelling.

Workshops and National Tour

Help us to provide workshops, masterclasses and opportunities to be part of a production.

As Australia’s national opera company, we aim to perform some of the greatest music ever written to as many people as possible. Each year we undertake a national tour — one year in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia (the ‘hot’ tour) and the following year in Victoria, Tasmania, southern New South Wales and South Australia (the ‘cold’ tour). This is an extraordinary opportunity for people in remote and regional areas to experience opera.

During our tours we provide secondary students with masterclasses and education workshops by professional artists to develop skills in dramatic singing, drama, set design and more.

We engage a choir of students between the ages of 9–14 to perform as the Children’s Chorus in regional productions. This program provides an incredible opportunity which draws in young people, their families, schools and the wider community, leaving a lasting legacy. Since its inception, we have worked with 150 children choruses, to give over 3,000 children a performance experience with their national opera company.

Workshops and National Tour
“The masterclass with the orchestra was terrific and a fantastic opportunity for local, young musicians to see how the professionals do it. Thanks.”

— David, Burnie (Tasmania)

Young Artist Program

Alumni of our Young Artist Program
Alumni of our Young Artist Program who sang principal roles in The Marriage of Figaro at the Sydney Opera House in 2019: Dominica Matthews, Richard Anderson, Anna Dowsley, Jane Ede, Stacey Alleaume, Julie Lea Goodwin, Andrew Jones, Andrew Moran. Photo by Keith Saunders.

We consider developing young artists as one of our greatest obligations and one of our greatest privileges. As long as imaginative and responsible opera companies nurture and care for young singers, there will be great opera. It is as simple — and as difficult — as that.

We have been discovering and developing the talents of exceptional young artists for more than three decades. Each year we offer the most promising young singers in the country the opportunity to undertake a rigorous training program which includes individual vocal coaching, masterclasses, language and stagecraft coaching as well as performance opportunities in recitals and roles on stage.

Your donation helps cultivate the next generation of opera stars.

Access

A group of people who saw their first opera at Sydney Opera House through the Susan & Isaac Wakil Foundation Access Program.
A group of people who saw their first opera (Madama Butterfly at Sydney Opera House) through the Susan & Isaac Wakil Foundation Access Program. Photo by Clare Hawley.

We give families, communities and people of all ages the opportunity to enjoy opera.

Access Program

We endeavour to be accessible and welcoming to all, and to create as many opportunities as possible for people to experience the magic of opera. The Susan and Isaac Wakil Access Program was started in 2015 and provides $20 tickets to first time opera-goers, helping us to increase inclusion in the arts. We welcome donations to help us expand the program and reach more people.

 

Outreach

Our outreach programs work to transcend barriers so that no matter where you live or your economic or social status students get to experience, engage and delight in music and opera.

The singing and storytelling program for primary schools is our innovative and far-reaching new initiative in partnership with Anglicare Victoria to go into under-served and disadvantaged suburbs to train teachers to teach and implement singing programs in schools. We are addressing the needs that teachers are not equipped to teach music curriculum and that many children from low socio-economic backgrounds miss out in singing and music.

A performance of By the Light of the Moon with Auslan shadow interpreting.
A performance of By the Light of the Moon with Auslan shadow interpreting.