OPera@School
Opera@School
The cornerstone of Opera Encounter is its Opera@School program. Opera@School programs are recognized by the LA County Commission for the Arts for aligning with California's educational standards in visual and performing arts, language arts, history, and social science. One of our most popular and well-received productions, The Playground King, tours elementary schools, using familiar opera and operetta excerpts to teach children about problem-solving, teamwork, and confronting bullying.
Do you want to book a performance of The Playground King at your school? Please reach out to our Education department at education@longbeachopera.org to schedule a performance!
what people are saying
“Several teachers mentioned how much they enjoyed opera and that it was good to be reminded of this fact. Students enjoyed the performance as a whole and several of my students mentioned that they want to go into the arts as adults. We discussed the problem-solving methods used by the actors in The Playground King and how Elliott students could apply similar methods to solve playground and other types of problems. Several girls and one boy are dancers and singers and this just encouraged them to go on with their dreams.”
— Bernadette M.T. (William F. Elliott Elementary School)
“Awesome! Opera is something that students and teachers rarely encounter, so it was wonderful to be able to bring this medium to them. I also thought the connection to bullying was a great way to ground opera in something that students already know about.”
— Eveline H. (Willow Elementary School)
“Using the school’s playground as a stage was really engaging for the students, since it is a very familiar and relatable setting for them. It was also very exciting for students to see a live opera performance, complete with live music and sound effects... Teachers liked that they could go back to their classrooms and discuss many different aspects of the performance such as bullying issues or about opera itself. As for the students, after the performance, many students were interested and excited about opera. Some of them were even singing as they returned to class!”
— Judy K. (Gonsalves Elementary)