School and Youth 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.

Lyric Opera Summer Camp (10-18 years old)
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 friendships. The 2010 Lyric Opera Summer Camp will be held from July 26 - August 6, 2010. More information will be provided at a later date.
Download a 2010 Lyric Opera Summer Camp registration form

Lyric Opera Express (grades K-6)
Students have the opportunity to perform parts in Cinderella.
Cinderella is an adaptation by Joseph and Paula Winans, with music by Mozart, Verdi, and Rossini. 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 opera 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.
Download a Lyric Opera Express program request form

Opera for Kids (grades 4-6)
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 (adolescent girls)
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 (adolescent girls and boys)
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, as well as attendance at Lyric Opera rehearsals and performances.

Opera: Up Close and Personal (grades K-12)
Create your own program for your 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. This year’s opera is Mozart's Don Giovanni.
Download an Opera: Up Close and Personal program request form

Opera Matinees for Elementary, Middle and High Schools
Lights! Action! Opera!
This season students attended a dress rehearsal of the Lyric Opera production of H.M.S. Pinafore at the Lyric Theatre. H.M.S. Pinafore, by Gilbert & Sullivan and performed in English, was opened to students from area schools on Tuesday, November 3rd. For information about next season's student matinee contact Paula Winans at pwinans@kcopera.org. A school visit from Lyric Opera artists can occur before the performance with prior scheduling.

Head Start with Opera (pre-school)
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 Cinderella, 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.

High School Honors Artists
Talented young singers receive training and assistance.
Lyric Opera provides opera instruction for high school students selected by their choral music teachers to audition. These gifted students receive training in Italian, German, French, and English diction, singing technique, acting, and audition and stage etiquette. Schools are selected based upon strong relationships between the high school choral teacher and the Lyric Opera Education Department.

Lyric Opera Teacher Services
The Lyric Opera is dedicated to lifelong learning. The Education Department offers opera appreciation, choral conducting, and vocal pedagogy courses for music and classroom teachers and all interested adults. College credit is available for this program. For more information on this program contact the Education Director, Paula Winans.

For more information about these programs, email Paula Winans, Director of Education, or call 816-471-4933.