| Many American regional opera companies currently offer educational outreach programs to cultivate future support for the arts as well as to introduce children to the emotional power of opera. This study seeks to identify the best practices for these programs, beginning with background research to determine whether standards currently exist for their development. In 1996 OPERA America began an important initiative entitled Opera Education Agenda 2000. The initiative outlined goals for school-based education programs to be completed by the year 2000, including the commissioning of new works for young audiences, the creation of partnerships with schools to provide sequential pre K-12 programming that integrates the nation's education goals, and the increase of parental involvement in the development of these programs. Using these broad guidelines, this study focuses on the impact of specific practices on the effectiveness of the programs at individual companies.;Five opera companies were selected for participation, based on size, locality, and interest in the study: Orlando Opera Company (Orlando, FL), The National Opera Company (Raleigh, NC), Atlanta Opera Studio (Atlanta, GA), Capitol City Opera (Atlanta, GA), and The Opera Company of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA). The author visited in-school performances presented by each company and conducted interviews with the Director of Education and the performing singers. The entry for each company will includes information on the history and educational philosophy of the program, past and present repertoire, preparatory materials, student involvement through workshops, budget considerations, an overview of a visit to an in-school performance, and the singers' perspective. Each aspect of the program was evaluated as the information was presented.;The conclusion of the study offers a summary of best practices identified during the research phase of the project. Representative preparatory materials have been included in the appendices, as well as a bibliography of sources currently available regarding educational outreach programs. |
