Metropolitan Opera brings live opera transmissions to Dallas ISD students and teachers

by PegNews wire

New York’s Metropolitan Opera has joined with Dallas ISD educators, local officials and representatives from the Dallas Opera to introduce its educational program, The Met: HD Live in Schools, as part of its continuing effort to bring opera to a wider audience and reach 18 school districts in 13 states. Through the program, students, parents and educators are given the opportunity to experience live Met performances transmitted in high definition at a local theater.

The Met: HD Live in Schools, transmitted on select Saturdays in Dallas at the Galaxy 10 Theatre and simultaneously at other theaters across the country, began the season with Puccini’s La Rondine on January 10, and will follow that performance with Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor on February 7, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly on March 7, and Rossini’s La Cenerentola on May 9.

Dallas ISD participating schools include Dan D. Rogers, L.K. Hall, Larry Smith, A.W. Blanton, and W.B. Miller elementary schools.

“Dallas ISD is fortunate to have been included in this program,” said Fine Arts Director Elaine Thomas. “Our students have the opportunity to see four operas up close and personal for free. The cameras are not only presenting the performance on stage, but they show the backstage workings of the Met as people are rushing to their mark on stage, adjusting their costumes and makeup, and putting scenery in place. There are interviews with cast members about their start in opera, all of which provide an excellent opportunity for students to see the various skills and jobs required to put on a major production.”

The Met launched the program last season in partnership with the New York City Department of Education and the Metropolitan Opera Guild, incorporating live opera into lessons in New York City classrooms. The program, which has now been extended to approximately 180 schools nationwide, is designed to fully immerse students in the opera experience and integrate it into the classroom. The Met has created a set of standards-driven curriculum guides and other opera resources for teachers and administrators and provides teachers in each district with in-person training seminars to learn how the program can be woven into the curriculum. Through a network of participating movie theaters, free tickets are distributed to each school district for the HD broadcasts of the live opera performances.

The Met: Live in HD series features the world’s leading opera singers and artists and is seen in more than 850 theaters in 31 countries around the world.

Other school districts participating are: Atlanta, GA; Baton Rouge, LA; Charlotte, NC; Cleveland, OH; Colorado Springs, CO; Denver, CO; Helena, MT; Houston, TX; Jacksonville, FL; Las Vegas, NV; Memphis, TN; Nashville, TN; Portland, OR; Reno, NV; San Antonio, TX; San Diego, CA and Tulsa, OK.

Source: DISD