Outreach & Education

Our Outreach and Education Program, Overtures, has organized, through various School Boards, Parent-Teacher Associations, Libraries, Historic Sites and Community and Service Agencies, programs that presented not only Music Theater pieces written for children but also scenes from classical and modern opera. Our touring and concert engagements, as well as our educational programs, bring the wonderful sound of opera into communities that rarely have the chance to see and hear live performances. We have expanded the number of our presentations and have developed and deepened our audience base. From school children to seniors, all have been to Overtures presentations and concerts.

In 1990 Opera Theater began informance lectures (Opera Talk) before each show, offering a chance to hear the director talk about the specific performance, the composer, the work. and their place in the opera and music theater story, interspersed with humorous anecdotes. These informal and relaxed lectures are quite popular and are attended by ever-growing audiences eager to learn about opera and music theater. We have provided seniors and music students with free attendance to our dress rehearsals, which has given them access to presentations that they might not have been able to see. These rehearsals very well attended and have become a tradition for many seniors and senior organizations.