STUDENT NIGHTS AT THE OPERA

The lights have dimmed. The conductor raises the baton, and the curtain goes up! Welcome to a night at the opera, made accessible and affordable to students in Grades 3-12!

Student Night at the Opera provides students and their chaperones access to a portion of the final dress rehearsal of our mainstage productions. You'll hear the stars from the International Season sing accompanied by the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, see the cast and chorus in spectacular costumes, watch the backstage set transformations and, on occasion, be introduced to some of the performers and crew who make the productions possible....And as with all San Diego Opera productions, English translations projected above the stage let you follow every detail of the action. The audience will be invited to see Acts I and II of the operas (1 – 2 hours in length). This will give the audience a true taste of what opera is all about and make for a shorter evening for students who must return to their classrooms early the next day.

Thanks to generous donations from our Sponsors, each year more than 8,000 students attend San Diego Opera performances in the Civic Theatre in one of the most popular Education and Outreach projects offered by the Company.

Audience: Grades 3-12 ONLY and chaperones *(see notes below)

Program Length: Between 1 and 2 hours.

Tickets may be requested beginning in early October. Please send an email to educate@sdopera.com with your complete contact information to ensure you are notified when we begin accepting orders. WE WILL NO LONGER BE SENDING AN ORDER PACKET IN THE MAIL.

Cost: Tickets are free of charge, but advance registration is REQUIRED.

Curriculum: This program enhances drama/theatre arts, music arts, visual arts, history, and language learning. Please refer to our Outline of Educational Support for the Student Night at the Opera program.

Groups who participate in this program must take school or charter bus transportation to arrive at the Civic Theatre. There must be a minimum of 10 students per group. Groups have the option of participating in pre- and post-opera educational activities which are outlined in further detail here. Busing is provided free of charge through a generous grant from The Maxwell H. Gluck Foundation. After your ticket request is approved, please follow your district procedures as you would for any other field trip to arrange for your bus, and then please invoice San Diego Opera and your school will be reimbursed for the cost of the bus. If you request tickets after our bus funds are depleted, you may still participate in the program if tickets are still available, but must pay for your own bus.

Advance registration is required - please make your request as soon as possible (preferably before November 15).

This program is not designed for students younger than 3rd grade. The theatre does not have facilities to adequately address the needs of infants.

2013 Student Nights at the Opera Dates:

THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT by Gaetano Donizetti (sung in Italian)
Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 6:30pm

SAMSON AND DELILAH by Camille Saint-Saëns (sung in French)
Thursday, February 14, 2013 at 6:30pm

MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL by Ildebrando Pizzetti (sung in Italian)
Thursday, March 28, 2013 at 6:30pm

AIDA by Giuseppe Verdi (sung in Italian)
Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 6:30pm

All performances are held at the Civic Theatre in downtown San Diego.

Operapædia

Operapædia not only provides a collection of articles giving background on the 2012 International Season, but a large amount of information on opera in general. Click here to visit Operapædia. Each fully-illustrated article is filled with information designed to enhance learning across the curriculum.

Now students interested in knowing more about opera can access Operapaedia on their own. And teachers can find all the information they need to prepare their students for a docent presentation or Student Night at the Opera in one convenient location.

• The lives and work of the composers
• Plot synopses of the operas
• Historical background and topics related to each opera
• The musical styles and composition
• Introductions to well-known and not-so-well-known vocal artists
• A glossary of operatic terms
• An introduction to the orchestra and the operatic voice

For access to detailed lesson plans to prepare your students, check out our In The Classroom resource!

INSTANT UNDERSTANDING!
With English translations projected discreetly above the stage, you'll be able to follow every word in every language being sung. For more than fifteen years now, supertitles have made opera more accessible to audiences around the world. If not knowing the text ever discouraged you from attending an opera, your fears are over. You'll love what you hear and see!