Audience
development, especially of young audiences, has always
been a primary objective of the New Jersey State Opera.
Over the years, a wide range of programs have been
offered in the schools, in the opera house and to
community and civic groups.
We believe that the arts must play a vital role in our
society and, in particular, believe that children need
to be influenced by the civility and humanity offered by
exposure to the arts.
The core values, mission statement and goals of the
NJSOpera and its Education Division vest in us a special
responsibility to our society. Programs in our Education
and Outreach Division help to enrich the core curriculum
of New Jersey’s school children.
Components
of the overall program include:
o Operalogues,
detailed analyses of the plot and music of the operas to
be performed during the season. With our Artistic
Director at the piano providing insight into the
composers and the styles of the operas, a member of the
Young Artists’ Program and/or Audition finalists
performs vocal selections. These informative and lively
evenings enhance the opera-going audience’s appreciation
and understanding of the operas.
o The
Young Artists’ Program
gives young performers the opportunity to work with
internationally acclaimed artists and directors, with
full orchestration, sets and costumes and seasoned casts
in our main stage production, in our Opera in the Parks
series and in operalogues.
o The
Apprentice and Intern Program provides
young people aspiring to work behind-the-scenes of opera
production in the technical and administrative areas.
Over the past twenty years, more than 40 aspirants have
had the opportunity to shadow members of our technical
production crew in the areas of lighting design, set
design and construction, as well as in costumes, make-up
and wigs. These young people had the opportunity to
learn first-hand in real-time what knowledge and
training is required for a career in opera production.
The Administrative Interns that have been with the
company over the past decade had the opportunity to work
on a day-to-day basis with the Assistant to the Artistic
Director on projects as diverse as fundraising research,
initial preparation of an interactive CD to be used in
an education program, backstage during a main stage
production, ticketing and box office.
o Since
1976, NJSOpera has held an International Vocal
Competition. This program was organized to
encourage the development of promising young talent into
the great singers of the future. Finalists in our Vocal
Competition often appear in Operalogue concerts and as
covers in our main stage productions. Auditioners
are heard in several locations throughout the state, as
well as in Philadelphia and Manhattan. A final
competition is held in the fall in conjunction with
Bloomfield College, with the public
invited to attend.
o Master
Classes
are another component of NJSOpera’s
Education and Outreach Division with
world-renowned singers such as Anna Moffo, Licia
Albanese, Maris Sofia Marasca and Mario Bertolino
teaching a master class to singers in
The Young Artists’ Program.
o Opera
in the Park
provides a preview of the season’s offerings. Plans are
underway to present costumed excerpts from the 2006
season and famous arias and duets from opera and
Broadway at no charge to the public at
Lurker Park, East Hanover and at Cranes
Mill Park, West Caldwell and parks to be determined in
Verona, Bayonne and Montville, NJ.
o Study
Guides, Staff Training Seminars, Follow-up Classroom
Visits and Interactive CDs
help to make the Student Matinee a
complete learning experience for students and teachers
alike.
o Individual
Class Trips to Rehearsals
of the company’s main stage productions
at NJPAC. During NJSOpera’s recent rehearsal period for
our production of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia
students from the Lafayette School in Newark attended
both a staging rehearsal where members of the cast and
production crew interacted with them, and the final
dress rehearsal in Victoria Theatre, NJPAC where they
were able to see the essentially ‘finished product.’ The
Assistant to the Artistic Director provided commentary
and answered questions. These students where also
treated to a backstage tour. Also, percussion students
in a class of our Orchestra Manager attended a rehearsal
in which they were able to sit in the pit with the
orchestra to experience that excitement and were also
able to talk with the musicians during break to have
their questions answered.
o The
Student Matinee and Teach-in
is the
jewel in the crown of our Outreach and Education
Division programs and the culmination of our belief that
experiencing an actual operatic performance in the
beautiful venue, NJPAC’s Prudential Hall, ties together
all they have learned about opera in NJSOpera’s various
other program components.
These one-hour performances,
with cast, chorus, orchestra, costumes and sets, are
sung in the opera's original language with English
supertitiles
On Thursday, June 9,
2005, IL TROVATORE will be presented to
approximately 2000 New jersey school students (~1500
students from Newark's public school system).
Over 14,000 students
have benefited from this wonderful educational
experience over the past seven seasons.
-
The
Education Division also produces Papageno (an
adaptation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute) to school
groups and adults alike. This production has
been performed in many schools throughout the state.
Other Education Division programs include Let’s
Make an Opera, Shakespeare and Opera and a
symposium on Careers in Opera. A Young Artists
Duet or Quartet program is also available . Also available is an enlightening program entitled Backstage at New Jersey State Opera.
This program is a behind-the-scenes look at the
goings-on during production week. All of these Education
and Outreach programs are
available for school and adult audiences alike.
For
information about any of our Education and Outreach Programs, call the
New Jersey State Opera office at 973-623-5757, visit
our website
, or email us at:
info@njstateopera.org.
