FLORENTINE OPERA COMPANY EDUCATION & OUTREACH OVERVIEW

The mission of the Florentine Opera Company Education Department is to make opera more inviting and accessible to communities in Milwaukee and throughout the state of Wisconsin by:

• Educating students and the community about opera and career opportunities within opera
• Providing opera introduction and continuing education events for adults
• Providing opportunities for young artists

Program Overview

Florentine Opera Company programs reach a broad spectrum of individuals throughout Metro Milwaukee, southeastern Wisconsin and beyond.  In 2006/2007 we continued to serve the Greater Milwaukee area, expanding services to current schools and adding new schools.  In total, over 18,000 students and individuals benefited from Florentine Opera programs.  We provide a vital addition to local arts education—both in the classroom and on the stage. The Florentine Opera Company Education Department is committed to providing all students with a complete opera curriculum.

Our in-school programs introduce elementary, middle and high school students to the fundamentals of opera and the opportunities that exist within the field of opera.  With support from the Florentine Opera Company’s generous donors, schools with limited budgets are granted educational progamming for their students.  In the 2006/2007 season, the Florentine Opera introduced a new education program, The Three Little Pigs, a one-act opera for kindergarten through fourth grade students.  A mainstay in the opera education repertoire, The Three Little Pigs sets the familiar fable to the music of well-known Mozart arias from The Magic Flute, Così fan tutte, The Marriage of Figaro, and Don Giovanni.  In the 2007/2008 season, the Florentine Opera is introducing a similar program by the same composer, Little Red’s Most Unusual Day.  This one-act children’s opera features the music of Jacques Offenbach and Gioacchino Rossini with words and story by John Davies. As is the tradition with John Davies compiled works, students learn valuable life lessons throughout the course of the performance.  The Florentine Opera is pleased to present Little Red’s Most Unusual Day in schools throughout southeastern Wisconsin and beyond.

Opera Inside Out allows students to witness firsthand the scope of talent required to produce an opera, from singers and instrumentalists to staging, lighting design, set design, props and wardrobe elements.

Get Opera! (formerly known as the Student Grant Ticket Program) provides tickets to each mainstage opera production for high school students who may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience this art form.

The Florentine Opera Company will once again offer the High School Master Class program – an endeavor piloted in the 2004/2005 season.  The program is specifically designed to meet the needs of the gifted young singer interested in gaining knowledge and pursuing continued education in the vocal arts medium.

The Florentine Opera is dedicated to enriching the lives of community members of all ages through the performing arts.  In the 2006/2007 season, the Florentine has continued to present numerous outreach programs throughout the community, such as Opera Insights, Talk Opera, Florentine at the Lake, and Opera in the Courtyard.  The Florentine’s outreach efforts expanded in the 2006/2007 season, with programs at the Kemper Center in Kenosha and the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum in Milwaukee.  These programs foster accessibility by allowing individuals to enhance their opera experience and gain behind-the-scenes perspectives prior to attending mainstage productions.

Support for the Florentine Opera’s Education Programs

The Florentine Opera Education Programs are generously supported by the following contributors: Northwestern Mutual Foundation, US Bank Foundation, Elizabeth Elser Doolittle Charitable Trust, Rockwell Automation, Richard & Ethel Herzfeld Foundation, Milwaukee Arts Board, The Donald and Ruth P. Taylor Foundation, Alvin & Marion Birnschein Foundation, Inc., The Marjorie L. Christiansen Foundation, Milwaukee Florentine Opera Club, Halbert & Alice Kadish Foundation, Edward U. Demmer Foundation, The Charles D. Ortgiesen Foundation, PPC Partners, Woman’s Club of Milwaukee, Albert J. & Flora H. Ellinger Foundation, Inc., Joy Global Foundation, The Vilter Foundation, Inc., Herbert Kohl Charities, and generous individual donors.