A school gymnasium usually echoes with the sounds of sports being played and students cheering on their team. But when singers from OPERA San Antonio visit, the gym resounds with beautiful arias.
The nonprofit received a 2022 Support Grant for $11,000 from Impact San Antonio to expand OPERAtion Outreach in Schools, their program that brings singers to schools throughout the community and funds tickets to opera productions. Their goal is to educate students about opera by showing them how beautiful and accessible this music is to all ages.
“The overall reaction is generally positive, awestruck, and disbelief that the human voice is capable of such a feat,” said Madeline Elizondo, education coordinator for OPERA San Antonio. “Many of them connect with the music we share as they are surprised to discover that, in many cases, they have heard opera before. It is constantly integrated into movies, TV and commercials.
“That being said, there is nothing quite like the power and experience of an opera singer performing mere feet away from where you are sitting.”
OPERA San Antonio was founded in 2010 as a performing company, with their first season coinciding with the opening of the Tobin Center in 2014. Outreach to schools began in 2015. The education coordinator position was added in 2019. Since then, education and community programs have blossomed, growing from 12 events per year to 50 school presentations and 25 community events this season.
The program is available to all school districts, charter schools and private schools, and it has expanded to include schools outside the San Antonio city limits, Elizondo said. A typical school visit includes explaining what opera is and discussing common musical terms, voice and ensemble types, how to become an opera singer, the history of opera, and the ways composers use music to portray characters in an opera.
“This season, we visited 11 school districts, four charters and five private schools, reaching more than 7,500 students,” Elizondo said. “We have started a wait list for summer and school visits for the coming year due to an increase in demand.”
The nonprofit also donates tickets to students so they can see opera performances at the Tobin Center, Elizondo said.
“Tickets for these shows range from $20 to $190. We are proud to offer our best seats at each performance to students and veterans through grants from Impact SA, Ewing Halsell, and H-E-B,” she noted. “Grant funds are spread across schools in our program, production costs and ticket costs in order to make opera accessible to as many members of our community as possible.”
The arrival of the Covid pandemic “created an opportunity to explore ways to pivot as a company,” Elizondo said. “We incorporated both virtual programming and online educational resources that served as a catalyst to our success in reaching and connecting with more schools in our community.”
Now that in-person events are back on the calendar, “we continue to expand our outreach goals each season by sharing more free tickets with groups in need, such as students and teachers from underserved communities, along with veterans. This season, we are also working with 15 partner organizations across San Antonio.”
Teachers and students are enthusiastic about the OPERA San Antonio visits.
“The ‘buzz’ from hearing professional singers always lingers following these presentations,” said a teacher at Southwest Legacy High School. “It’s inspired several students to talk about pursuing opera in the future.”
(210)673-7270
