After the kind of backstage visit that the Bitz Opera Factory offers only rarely, Clairton City Elementary School Music Teacher Kevin Danchik wrote a letter of thanks saying that “the experience has opened new vistas” for the students who accompanied him, contributing to their “growth as young musicians.” Most exciting were the opportunities students had to engage in real-world experiences while on their site visit.
Although financial and staff constraints limit student site visits to only a handful, the Bitz Opera Factory, home of the Pittsburgh Opera, nonetheless offers multiple opportunities for educators and students alike to learn about the art.
“We have workshops for educators, an annual matinee for students, and an Opera Trunk program for classrooms,” said Director of Education, Marilyn Egan, PhD.
The opera’s signature program is a series of workshops designed to give teachers across all grade levels and content areas options for incorporating opera into their classroom lessons. Beginning this year on September 21, nine Saturday workshops are being offered on Zoom and recorded for later viewing on-demand.
Of course, the best way to give students some understanding of what makes an opera is in person, which is why the Opera hosts an annual student matinee.
“Kids think it’s fat ladies on a stage standing still, singing,” Egan said. “There are so many stereotypes out there, people really don’t know what opera is until they see it.”
The matinee for this school year takes place Thursday, March 27. Beginning at 10:15 am, the performance, a reimagined version of Puccini’s classic Madama Butterfly mixes dreams with reality and virtual reality.
Finally, for students who can’t attend a performance, the Opera has a program for bringing all the materials needed to produce one to classrooms—Opera Trunks. For a $500 fee, schools get a month’s use of a huge, colorful trunk containing books, costumes, and music for performing one of several different operas or doing opera improv. There’s also a Tot Trunk for Pre-K through 3rd grade. Each trunk rental also includes a presentation by teaching artists.
Corporations looking for an Opera education partnership can also sponsor trunks, Egan said.
More information for educators is available in an overview that the Opera publishes and on the education tab of the Pittsburgh Opera website.
