Opera All Together

Opera Tots!

Pittsburgh Festival Opera would like to welcome old and new friends to our Opera Tots! educational programming for the 2024-2025 school year for students PreK through 5th Grade.

For the past 43 years, Pittsburgh Festival Opera has remained committed to providing quality arts education programs to youth, teachers and families in Western PA. In this 15th year of the OPERA TOTS! program, we are proud to have served more than 8,000 children and over 600 educators in the Greater Pittsburgh community and to be hailed as a model for early childhood arts education by Opera America. This program continues to teach music and arts as creative tools for learning that aid in long term academic success for all children.

This year, we are embarking on a quest to provide performance “opera”-tunities to music lovers of all ages, starting at the very beginning with the elementary school students!  This year we are offering two fabulous productions as a part of our Opera Tots! program. Educators can choose between the classic tale of Hansel and Gretel told through the music of Engelbert Humperdinck, or the action-packed comedy Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan.

Our residency will commence over a month with four-hour long sessions with one of our Teaching Artists that all lead up to the performance! Together we will explore performance etiquette, new songs and dances, a wonderful story and experience our performances with our brand-new stars- the students! You will be supported by one of our wonderful Teaching Artists who will be leading your Opera Tots residency.

For registration details for this FREE education program, please CLICK HERE to start your journey into the world of Opera Tots.

Program support

Major support for Opera Tots! is made possible by:

PNC Foundation
The Henry C. Frick Educational Fund of the Buhl Foundation
PNC Charitable Trusts
The Grable Foundation

Opera Experts

Opera Experts is a unique program to enlighten the next generation of musicians to the wonderful world of opera!

The Program

Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s education team is so excited to bring new and innovative lecture recitals to high schools in the Greater Pittsburgh Area! Educators will choose from a list of operas for their students to become experts on and our Teaching Artists will come in and guide the way! Our recitals will include an in-depth synopsis of an opera of your choice paired with selections of the show performed by local musicians. This style of recital allows the students to fully immerse themselves in these operas. In addition, each session will include interactive aspects for the students to get a taste of what it is like to be performing in these operas. By the end of our residency, the students will be experts on not only the history but also the performance of the chosen opera.

For registration details for this FREE education program, please CLICK HERE to start your journey into the world of Opera Experts.

Program support

Major support for Opera Experts is made possible by:

PNC Foundation
The Henry C. Frick Educational Fund of the Buhl Foundation
PNC Charitable Trusts
The Grable Foundation

Opera Through the Generations

Opera Through the Generations is a unique program for intergenerational learning in the Pittsburgh area. This program partners current professional musicians with young musicians and the senior music loving communities in Western Pennsylvania. Each team will consist of at least one of Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s teaching artists and one or more youth performers. These teams will create an interactive recital program tailored to a specific community they are sent to. The residency concludes with a day of interactive music for each of the senior living communities!

The Benefits

Youth Performers will have the opportunity to collaborate and perform with established musicians and build long lasting relationships. This program will allow students to get a taste for what it is like to be a professional musician. Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s Teaching Artists and other local professional musicians will mentor the young musicians on these outreach projects but the youth performers will be the driving force! Students will be able to brainstorm programming, get real rehearsal experience, and perform for the seniors all while receiving community service hours that can be used for college applications or towards National Honor Society requirements.

Senior Living Communities will receive hands-on activities and entertainment from classical musicians. Studies show that by bringing music into care home residents experience reduced stress, social activities, and has even been proven to inspire reminiscence. Each of our musicians are passionate about sharing their talents and bringing live music to those who would not otherwise have easy access to Before the day of the performance, each facility will be visited by a Teaching Artist for a presentation of “What Is Opera?”. This presentation will prepare residents for what to expect from the performance while also getting them ready for any of the interactive aspects.

For registration details, please CLICK HERE to start your journey into the world of Opera Through the Generations.

Buzzword Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Festival Opera is honored to be a part of Pittsburgh at large by collaborating with other educational initiatives throughout the community. Targeting children ages 0 – 5, Buzzword provides monthly activities using math, science, and art to expand a child’s vocabulary and conversation skills.
Be Present! Be Playful! Be Proactive!

For event details, please CLICK HERE to start your journey into the world of Buzzword.

Buzzword Collaborators:

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
Carnegie Science Center
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust