Lyric Opera Education and Outreach Programs
The Education Department of Lyric Opera of Kansas City offers innovative programs designed to further music and arts education in schools and in the community. Our education staff works directly with teachers, parents and young people in a collaborative effort to create programs that make opera accessible and appealing to everyone. Whether you are young, or young at heart, you are invited to experience the magic of this powerful art form. To view a brochure outlining all of our upcoming Education and Outreach programs, click here.
Charlotte’s Web
Based on the book by E.B. White
Music and lyrics by Charles Strouse
Book by Joseph Robinette
This exciting and touching musical version of Charlotte’s Web brings a new dimension to E. B. White’s beloved classic. With music and lyrics by Charles Strouse (Annie, ‘Bye ‘Bye Birdie) and book by Joseph Robinette (national award-winning children’s playwright), Lyric Opera of Kansas City professional opera singers and young singers from the Lyrikids program bring the story to life. This two-act work features a cast of 12 principal adults, two principal children, and a large cast of young singers and is accompanied by a small chamber group and piano.
The music score includes “Eating,” Wilbur the pig’s humorous yet poignant song about growing up, “Who Says We Can’t Be Friends,” an enchanting duet between Wilbur and his new-found companion Charlotte, “Welcome to the Zuckerman Barn,” featuring the story’s unforgettable animals in a hand-clapping, toe-tapping hoe-down, and “Summer,” a haunting, nostalgic chorus number that evokes a time and place from everyone’s childhood.
Synopsis
Wilbur, a very special pig who is the runt of the litter, is raised lovingly by Fern and befriended by an unlikely creature, a spider named Charlotte. Charlotte’s miraculous spinning saves Wilbur’s life and brings together a community of farm folk and farm animals. This story of loyalty, trust, and ultimately, sacrifice, captivates young and young at heart.
Performance Schedule
| Friday, March 27 | 9:45 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. | Lawrence High School |
| Saturday, March 28 | 2:00 p.m. | Lawrence High School |
| Thursday, May 7 | 9:45 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. | Copaken Stage |
| Friday, May 8 | 9:45 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. | Copaken Stage |
| Saturday, May 9 | 2:00 p.m. | Copaken Stage |
If you are an educator who is interested in attending a performance click on the link below to download an information packet.
Download the Charolette's Web information packet.
Lyric Opera Summer Camp
There are no ghostly tales shared around the campfire, but oh,
the stories they will tell after spending two weeks at Lyric Opera Summer Camp!
Ten through eighteen-year-olds are invited to attend this fun, music-filled camp. Daily schedule includes singing and movement, dramatizing and listening to music from upcoming main stage operas, field trips, and visits from Lyric Opera artistic staff and singers. Entertaining, enriching, and challenging, Lyric Opera Summer Camp helps young people to appreciate the many facets of opera and to develop as singers while making new and lasting friendsips.
The 2009 Lyric Opera Summer Camp will be held from July 27 - August 7, 2009. Check back later for more information and a registration form.
Lyric Opera Express
Elementary school students have the opportunity to perform choral and acting parts in The Three Little Pigs.
The Three Little Pigs is an adaptation by Joseph and Paula Winans, with music by Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Donizetti, and Sullivan. The opera provides a unique entrance into the world of opera performance. The participating classroom of students is visited by professional singers who help the students prepare for their opera debuts. Simple costumes are created, and the class of new oepa stars and four Lyric Opera Express performers take the stage to perform for the rest of the school. Comprehensive educational materials, including a student activity packet, are provided.
Dowload a Lyric Opera Express program request form.
Lyric Opera of Kansas City is pleased to be a member of Kansas City Arts Partners, a sequential arts-in-education program for grades K-12, integrating our community's arts resources into the curriculum of Greater Kansas City area school districts. For details see www.kcya.org.
Opera for Kids
Kids are the stars of the show!
The Opera For Kids program teaches children in elementary grades how to work together for a successful production. Singing, acting, and creating costumes and sets are all part of the fun. Professionals from the Lyric Opera engage and involve the children in a challenging educational atmosphere to cultivate a new generation of opera lovers. Participating schools may choose one of three operas: Born To Freedom, a story of young people discovering and paying tribute to the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Never Lost A Passenger, the story of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad; and Somebody's Children, the story of the orphan trains' young passengers.
Opera for Teens: One False Move
Teens are the stars of the show!
Middle/high school girls perform in the opera One False Move by composer Susan Kander. This opera is inspired by the national bestselling book, Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls, by author Rachel Simmons. The teens work with opera professionals and present this opera in high schools and middle schools. After each performance, a licensed mental health facilitator speaks with the audience about the causes for aggression in girls, answers questions and provides suggestions for solving this very complex social issue.
Opera Heroines and Heroes
This nationally awarded program allows adolescent girls and boys to examine life choices through opera study.
Each young woman attends with a significant female adult in her life, such as mother, grandmother, big sister, youth friend or music teacher, and each young man attends with a significant male adult. By looking at the lives of notable opera heroines and heroes, the difficult situations they faced and choices they made, a platform for discussion and dramatizing opera scenes is created. The program also features aspects of production, including costume design, make-up and wigs, and attendance at Lyric Opera rehearsals and performances.
Opera: Up Close and Personal
Create your own program for elementary school, middle school and high school students!
Teachers, assisted by Lyric Opera educators, design their own package for their students based upon the production areas they want them to learn. Choose from an array of opera singers, make-up artists, scenic designers, and wig specialists to visit a school. Depending upon the workshop design, students can become familiar with the sound of trained opera singers' voices, learn about voice production with a group mini-voice lesson, experience a make-up or wig demonstration, and learn about scenic and costume design, careers in opera, and audience etiquette. Opera choices include Verdi's La traviata or Mozart's The Magic Flute.
Download an Opera: Up Close and Personal program request form.
Opera Matinees for High School and Middle School
Lights! Action! Opera!
Students attend a dress rehearsal of a Lyric Opera production at the Lyric Theatre. La bohème by Giacamo Puccini (performed in Italian with easy-to-read English translations) was opened to secondary level students from area schools on Thrusday, September 11th. A school visit from Lyric Opera artists before the performance is included with prior scheduling.
Head Start with Opera
It is never too soon to establish a relationship with the arts.
The Lyric Opera Express visits area pre-schools and libraries and works with tots, teachers and parents to give little ones a head start with opera. Participants learn music and staging to The Three Little Pigs, make simple costumes and apply make-up. The program brings together children and significant adults in their lives in an activity that encourages them to spend positive time together while learning about a new and exciting art form. Emphasis is on cultivating self-confidence in a nurturing atmosphere of dramatic play and joyful music-making.
Opera For Captive Audiences
All parents need quality time with their children - why not sing in an opera?
The Lyric Opera is committed to helping all adults be the best parents they can be. For this reason, our outreach includes special visits to minimum security correctional facilities for men and women in our area. Inmates and their children get to sing with Lyric Opera professionals in The Three Little Pigs.
Lyric Opera Teacher Services
The Lyric Opera Education Department is dedicated to the belief that education is a lifelong process.
Keeping this in mind, the Lyric Opera offers opera appreciation, choral conducting, and vocal pedagogy courses for both music and classroom teachers and all interested adults. College credit is available for this program.
For more information about these programs, e-mail Paula Winans, Director of Education, or call 816-471-4933.
