Education Brochure (PDF) - San Francisco Opera

GIVING VOICE TO POTENTIAL
Education Programs
2012 - 2013

Dear Educators,
Let this be the year to inspire the artist, the critical thinker, the
dreamer, and the active participator in your students. Our
experiential learning programs spark imagination, creativity, and
a new sense of wonder about the parts of the world we know as
well those we have yet to discover.
Voices for Social Justice will challenge your students to
articulate their opinions and creatively consider the issues that
impact their lives.
Our touring show, How Andy Found His Voice, will illustrate the
power of artistic expression and compassion that not only
propels us forward intellectually, but gives us the voice to
articulate our dreams.
Opera à la Carte will bubble with the wit, sophistication,
silliness, and soaring melodies that only Gilbert and Sullivan can
offer in our lively version of The Pirates of Penzance.
And of course, students will be able to synthesize all these skills
and experiences as they collaborate with our teaching artists to
design, compose, rehearse, and create their very own operas in
the award-winning Book to Bravo!
But that’s not all! Your youngest students will sing and act the
classic operas presented through Sing a Story, while high
school students delve deep into the drama, passion, and
profound beauty of Tosca in Creative Opera Workshop.
Finally our selection of Student Dress Rehearsals and our
dynamic Summer Conservatory training programs immerse
young artists and audiences in the creative and expressive
power of the human voice.
This is the year to give voice to potential. Join us!!
Caroline Altman
Director of Education
San Francisco Opera Guild

Sing a Story
Grades K-3
STORY TELLING THROUGH OPERA:
GIANTS! VALHALLA! SERPENTS! PRINCESSES!
There is no limit to the imagination of your students as we once again invite you to participate in this lively
program. San Francisco Opera Guild is pleased to be able to offer its award-winning in-class program, Sing
a Story, to San Francisco, North Bay, South Bay, and East Bay elementary
schools for Winter 2013. A teaching artist visits your school and introduces
a classic opera story complete with singing and opera facts, with the aid of
musical excerpts from the opera. After the musical storytelling and a brief
choral coaching and singing session, the artists magically presents props
and costumes and students participate in acting out the story and singing
excerpts themselves! The whole class participates actively in this lively visit.
Prior to performance date classroom teachers receive a preview CD and
Teacher’s Guide that can be used as preparation and/or follow-up to the
artist visit. This program communicates a classic story, illustrates opera
components, and provides a creative drama and music experience for
young students.
SPACE AND TIME
Sing a story is designed to be performed in a classroom, and lasts approximately 40-45 minutes. We can
visit up to four classrooms in a day, in grades k, 1, 2, and 3. We will leave the choice of classroom up to the
coordinating staff or faculty person at your school. If you are interested in scheduling more than four visits,
we make arrangements on a case by case basis. We ask that you not combine classes for this program and
that each class size be limited to 28 students.
SCHEDULE
Sing a Story is available January 28 through April 19, 2013, Monday through Friday, from 9:00am to 2:00pm.
Classroom visits should be scheduled allowing for 45 minutes in each classroom, and at least 15 minutes
between performances.
CASTING
Kindergarten: Hansel and Gretel
Grade 1: The Magic Flute
Grade 2/3: Das Rheingold
INVESTMENT
There is a fee of $125 per classroom for this program. Financial aid is available to needy schools.
Opera à la Carte
Grades 3-8
This engaging in-school program consists of a 45 minute adapted presentation of a traditional opera or
operetta. Masterfully designed, OALC reaches over 120 schools a year. This mini-opera, sung in English, is
brought to your school by professional costumed singers, a pianist, and a docent who tell a classic operatic
story with your students in the speaking roles! Students receive coaching and rehearsal with the performers
and join in an assembly presentation for the entire school. A Teacher’s Guide, training guidelines, training
workshop, and a preview CD accompany registration for this unique program. This fall will feature a
whimsical and witty adaptation of The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and
Sullivan.
SPACE AND TIME
This program requires a pre-arranged faculty contact designated to
coordinate student actors and school preparation and confirm all details.
This faculty champion will facilitate the advance preparation and rehearsal
of student actors. Actors must be chosen and lines must be memorized
at least two weeks prior to the assembly. The performance space must be
adequately sized and indoors, with a recently tuned piano in good working
order (ask us about piano tuning grants for your school.)
SCHEDULE
Opera à la Carte is available October 1, 2012 through November 30,
2012. A date will be arranged for the assembly performance. A limited number of second performances
are available for an additional fee and will be scheduled back to back, using the same student actors for
both performances. Professional singers and musicians will arrive at your school 75 minutes prior to the
performance time for a dress rehearsal and coaching session with your students. Preliminary preparation,
open dress rehearsals, and facilitator coaching for this program begins in early September in order for all
aspects to run smoothly.
CASTING
Opera à la Carte is available to grades 3-8
INVESTMENT
There is a participation fee of $350 for each school.
Financial aid is available for needy schools.
This program is made
possible, in part, by
generous contributions from
the following Chapters of
San Francisco Opera Guild:
East Bay, Marin, Sonoma,
Peninsula, and San Jose.

Book to Bravo!
Creating Opera in the Classroom
Grades 5-8
This exciting program, offered in the fall or spring, is a seasonal residency in which a team of teaching artists
comes to your classroom and help students create an original opera based on a myth or folk tale rooted in
the curriculum of the class. Our artists will teach the basics of performance storytelling, libretto writing, and
simple musical composition. The opera will then be cast, rehearsed, and performed in front of the school!
Students will have the chance to experience how a story becomes and opera and how a written piece
comes alive on stage!
SPACE AND TIME
Book to Bravo! is a ten week residency in which a team of teaching artists visit your class for one 90 minute
session each week. The artists team with the classroom teacher to augment the standard curriculum and
move the project forward along with weekly assignments that must be completed between artist visits.
While some of the work can take place in the classroom, access to performance space is necessary for much
of the instruction, as well as a piano or full-size keyboard in good working order.
CASTING
Book to Bravo! is available to grades 5-8
SCHEDULE
Book to Bravo! is available
September 30, 2012 to May 24, 2013
INVESTMENT
There is a participation fee of $1000 for each participating classroom.
Financial aid is available for needy schools..
This program is made
possible by a generous
grant from the Cohen
Family Fund.
Voices for Social Justice
Grades 6-8
Throughout historical reform and revolution, music has been a steady force and conveyor of ideals, opinion,
rebellion, and affirmation. In this course our teaching artist teams up with your classroom teacher to
introduce how art and particularly song has been an instrumental element in shaping and encouraging
societal change. Students are introduced to social and political art and music from the period they are
studying, giving attention to both conventional and non-conventional artists of the time and how they
served as both products of and contributors to change in their cultures. Next we examine means of
expression closer to home and look at how music, particularly songwriting, can be a non-violent force in
conflict resolution in the school, in the neighborhood, in the city. Ultimately students have an opportunity
to identify social and political conflicts in their communities and learn how informed opinions, clarity of
speech, and artistic expression can be a progressive and powerful statement to bring about consciousness
and change.
SPACE AND TIME
Voices for Social Justice takes place once a week in the classroom and requires active teacher participation
as well as some completion of assignments between artist visits.
SCHEDULE
This is a year long residency and meets approximately 20 times during
the school year. During the first half of the year, we study music in
the historical time period studied by the class. In the second half we
create original pieces of our own.
CASTING
Voices for Social Justice is available
to grades 6-8. Ideal for history, social
studies, literature, or cross-curricular
humanities classes.
INVESTMENT
The fee for program participation is
$1,000. As this program is specifically
designed for inner city schools, we are
happy to work with you to find a sponsor for your school.
This program is made
possible, in part, by
generous contributions
from Marci Flanery and
Karen Bruehl.

Creative Opera Workshop
Grades 9-12
This exciting program is an interactive classroom experience for teens in which a teaching artist collaborates
with your classroom teacher, making curricular connections to an opera that is being offered as a student
dress rehearsal. There are four classroom visits scheduled in which the artist introduces the world of the opera,
the history, and the notion of conflict management and action/consequence in artistic storytelling as a model
for life. Through role-playing and connection to modern day instances, the students interact with the material
and begin to make more complex connections between art and life. This short-term residency is highlighted
by professional singers at one classroom visit. This is a program that will open students’ eyes to new forms of
expression, interpretation, and points of view expressed in artistic genre. Set up as a series of classroom visits,
a teaching artist will present a different lesson each class, focusing on the following topics:
• Drama and Representation
• Opera and Art
• Being an Artist
• Application and extension of idea/curriculum ties
While the first two sessions are more analytical in nature, covering basics of music history, the world of
the play, and observations on the art form, sessions three and four will concentrate on the hands-on
production side of art creation. During session three the teaching artist will be joined by two singers and a
pianist presenting examples of the opera we are discussing. Session four will be focused on taking what is
learned and furthering the themes and ideas in writing, composition, and design activities for the students.
Connection to curricula and current events will be a major component as it is important that students
begin to see art as a critical reflection and statement of world culture.
SPACE AND TIME
Creative Opera Workshop takes place in the classroom and requires some participation by the classroom
teacher. A performance space with a piano in good working order is necessary for visit three.
SCHEDULE
Fall 2012: Tosca by Giacomo Puccini
CASTING
Creative Opera Workshop is available to grades 9-12 and is specifically designed for schools in the East Bay,
South Bay, and North Bay cities.
INVESTMENT
The fee for program participation is $650 per classroom includes 35 tickets to the Student Dress Rehearsal of
Tosca at San Francisco Opera on Wednesday, November 14, 2012.
Student Dress Rehearsals
Grades 4-12
San Francisco Opera Guild has sponsored student rehearsals and matinees every season since 1939.
Students attend final dress rehearsals for a selection of main stage productions—a marvelous opportunity
to watch major artists at work. Sung in the original languages with projected English language translations,
and performed with full production values, these productions provide a high-level theatrical experience,
and also have the occasion to give a behind the scenes look at the complexities of the rehearsal process.
Comprehensive Teacher’s Guides and information are sent prior to each rehearsal visit.
SPACE AND TIME
All Student Dress Rehearsals take place
at the War Memorial Opera House,
301 Van Ness Avenue,
San Francisco.
SCHEDULE
Please note that all dates and times are set
at the discretion of the production
department and may be subject to change
at any time.
• Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi: September 5, 2012 at 6pm
• The Capulets & the Montagues by Vincenzo Bellini: September 27, 2012 at 2pm
• Moby Dick by Jake Heggie: October 7, 2012 at 3pm
• Lohengrin by Richard Wagner: October 17, 2012 at 6pm
• Tosca by Giacomo Puccini: November, 14, 2012 at 2pm
OPERASPIEL Program
Have a docent come and speak to your class about our fall dress
rehearsal offerings before or after an experience at the opera! Visits
can be scheduled and booked at time of program ordering.
CASTING
This program is available to grades 4-12 for groups of 10-100. It
is required that all students attending a dress rehearsal have
either participated in, or are schedule to participate in, a Guild
in-school program (including OPERASPIEL) during the same
academic year, or their teachers receive at least one session of
professional development in advance of the rehearsal.
INVESTMENT
Group rate: $250 for 20-30 students and chaperones;
please see order form for further pricing.
OPERASPIEL Program fee of $15 per classroom.
Madeleine H. Russell
High School Day at the Opera
in association with
San Francisco Opera
Education
A formal event exclusively for Bay
Area high school students is held
in conjunction with the final dress
rehearsal of an opera main stage
production. This activity provides
opportunities for social interaction
with students of the same age
while learning about art and
culture.
Resource guides include
information about careers in
theatre and opera.
Fall 2012: Tosca
Grades 9-12
This program is made possible
by a grant from the Columbia
Foundation.

Our Touring Shows
San Francisco Opera Guild is thrilled to offer two educational touring shows available for schools, theatres, community centers, libraries, or special
event! Please contact San Francisco Opera Guild Education for scheduling of these offerings.
Flute For Two
Grades K-5
By Jennifer Ashworth
Two singers (soprano and tenor) present a 45 minute assembly of The Magic Flute.
Join Prince Tamino and Princess Pamina as they narrate the journey through this personal telling of The
Magic Flute. Students will learn the classic tale as they are enticed by the world of opera in this interactive
assembly. In addition to hearing the soaring voices of our traveling artists, students learn about singing
technique, stage presence, and character expression as they help act out and complete the story along with
costumes, props, and music.
SPACE AND TIME
This program is available year round by contacting San Francisco Opera Guild Education. A large
performance space with adequate sound system is required.
CASTING
Flute for Two is suitable for grades k-5, for an audience of 40-200 students.
INVESTMENT
Participation fee for this event is $500 per performance. Second back to back performances are pro-rated.
How Andy Found His Voice
Grades 4-9
By Caroline Altman
Four singers (soprano, mezzo, tenor, baritone) and
one pianist present a 50 minute participatory musical
play that follows Andy in his journey to discover his
metaphorical and physical voice.
Andy, a middle school student, is troubled. He is picked
on in class and has a hard time making friends. During
a test, he gets in trouble for cheating when really it is
the other kids that are copying off his paper. Too timid to stand up for himself, and afraid to confront the
other kids at school, Andy returns home, dejected. That evening he is visited by three spirits who help him
discover how music and stories can open a world of expression and joy to him. First he meets Papageno
from The Magic Flute, who demonstrates, with the help of the magic ladies, how to overcome “the locked
mouth”; then composer Giuseppe Verdi who shows how creating music can unite people and give voice
to the oppressed as we journey into Italian history and the Golden Age of Opera. Finally Andy encounters
Cio-Cio-San from Madame Butterfly and her plight. He is so moved by her story that he helps her realize
that there is a better way to end her story. As he helps empower Butterfly, Andy finds his own glorious tenor
voice, as well as the confidence needed to assert himself in his community. During this delightful show
students are introduced to the origins and history of opera, entertained by arias, duets, and quartets from
the grand opera repertoire, learn a bit about vocal technique, and participate in the chorus, “Va Pensiero”
from Verdi’s Nabucco. A Teacher’s Guide is available for this offering.
SPACE AND TIME
This program is available year round by contacting San Francisco Opera Guild Education. A large
performance space with piano in good working order is required.
CASTING
How Andy Found His Voice is suitable for grades 4-9, for an audience of 20-800 students.
INVESTMENT
Participation fee for this event is $1000 per performance. Second back to back performances are pro-rated.

Opera House Tours
Grades 4-12
Students receive a tour of the War Memorial Opera House. In addition To discussion about the attributes of
this major theater, students learn of historic events such as the signing of the United Nations Charter and
the memorial service for Harvey Milk - all part of our Opera House history.
Student groups $2 per student; $1 for students who participate in another Guild program
Chaperones: $5 (1 to 10 ratio chaperone/student);
each additional chaperone: $10.
Contact Tour Coordinator, Lynn Watson at sf.opera.tours@gmail.com
Summer Conservatory
Ages 12-18
YOUTH OPERA ARTS TRAINING PROGRAM
This total immersion conservatory offers students instruction in opera, theatre, musical theatre, dance,
and all their components. Students meet six hours a day, five days a week for three weeks.
The Summer Conservatory day consists of classes in voice, theory, movement, language, music and theatre
history, acting, technical theatre, and much more. Program culminates in the students applying learned skills in
the rehearsal and performance of an opera.
This program also includes a free ticket to a Student Dress rehearsal at the Opera House.
Dates: July 8-26, 2013
Ages: 12-18
$900 per student

1. How to form an opinion and express a viewpoint in creative ways.
2. That commitment to a project makes you feel great about yourself.
3. How to be an individual within an ensemble.
4. That practice makes better.
5. Greater compassion and sense of global community.
6. Active is better than passive.
7. How stories and their interpretation are an integral part of the human
experience.
8. How to be heard.
9. How to listen.
10. That people think in different ways.
11. That one can find beauty in the tiniest moment.
12. How to say what you think and think what you say.
13. That actions have consequences.
14. That singing, acting, and dancing are great ways to make life long
friends.
15. That training gives our work integrity and letting go makes it art.
For more information on our programs find us online at www.sfoperaguild.com and check out additional offerings from San Francisco Opera at www.sfopera.com/education.
Maura & Steve Abernethy
Barbara G. Akin
Gail Anderson
Veronica & Greer M. Arthur
Geoffrey Ashton
David Barnard
Thomas Barrett
Carol Benz
Eileen Bitten
Blue Mountain Players
Bertel Borowsky
Romana Bracco
Jean & Robert Brock
Karen Bruehl
Katie Budge
Britta Campbell
Taylor Cohen
Jane A. Cook
Cynthia Coolidge
Julie Coplon & Bob Capan
Corroon Family Fund
15 Things Kids can Learn from Studying the Arts
A Special Thank You To The Generous Donors To Our Education Fund,
Project Ignite, and our Program Underwriters:
Ena & Mark Cratsenburg
Shannon & Daniel Cronan
Olivia Hsu Decker
Dodge & Cox
Eber Charitable Trust II
Lynne Edminster & Brian Atwood
Delia Ehrlich
Frank V. Estrada
Janet Fenwick
Marci Flanery
Claire Fluhr
Chandra Friese
Linle & James Froeb
Gary Garabedian
Jeff Garelick
Ione Gille
Ann & Daniel Girard
Yukari & Rob Haitani
Jane Hartley
Florence Harvey
Marcia Hill
Bill & Julie Hooper
Valarie Huff
Arlene Inch
Dorothy & Bradford Jeffries
Diana Kissil & John Cullison
Juanita Kizor
Victoria & Guy L. Kornblum
Dr. Bob and Christine Kradjian
Karen J. Kubin
Randall Laroche & David Laudon
The Lenore & Dale Meyer Fund
Silvia Lin
Kathleen Lowry
Maggie Mack
Brenda MacLean
Charlot & Gregory Malin
Susan & James Malott
Sandra Mandel
Anne Marie Massocca
Anne Matthew
Kathleen McEligot
Teresa & Mark Medearis
Karen Merritt
Virginia L. Miller
Marsha Monro
Susan & Dennis Mooradian
Susan O’Brien
Hiro & Betty Ogawa
Sarah Oliver Handbags
Verna Parino
Rachel & Timothy Parker
Helen M. Penning
Eleana Peratis
Mary & Gary Pinkus
Bill & Mary Poland
Ursula Ralph
Ada Regan
Pamela & Richard Rigg
Deborah Sagues
San Jose Opera Guild
Amy & Blair Sanford
Sande Schlumberger
Sharon Seto
East Bay, Marin, Peninsula, and Sonoma
San Francisco Opera Guild Chapters
Clara Shayevich
Nellis A. Smith
Belinda Steyer
Holly Suich
Roselyne C. Swig
Susan Tamagni
Robyn Taylor
John & Carol Tregenza
Triplepoint Capital
CJ Van Pelt
Ronald & Emely Weissman
Eve and Wallace Wertsch
Celeste & Darryl Woo
Beatrice Wood
Donna Zuber
Anne Zucchi

photo cred. O.Jump
San Francisco Opera Guild believes
the life lessons drawn from creative
expression are the foundation of confidence
and integrity. Since 1939, we have acted on
our beliefs by funding and developing
award-winning outreach and education
programs that extend the impact of opera,
bringing it center stage into the life of the
community. Through San Francisco Opera
Guild’s education fund, we ensure the
continuation of educational programs that
help students find their voice. Annually,
more than 50,000 students in nearly 200
schools throughout Northern California
receive the benefits of arts education, as
only opera can deliver them.
War Memorial Opera House
301 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102-4589
Tel 415.565.3238
Fax 415.861.0242
guildeducation@sfopera.com
www.sfoperaguild.com