NI Opera’s much anticipated ‘Outreach Week’ returns this September in the Grand Opera House in the week before our major new production of ‘Tosca’.
Our school events are now bookable with a wide range of different educational activities and events available to book for primary schools and secondary schools. These events are free, thanks to the generous funding support for NI Opera from the Garfield Weston Foundation.
‘Our pupils had such an exciting and inspiring day with you. The workshops were well pitched and all 120 pupils were involved and learning in a fun and interactive way. What a fantastic start to the school year.’ Primary School Teacher
“Very enjoyable workshops. Would be interested in attending something similar again. Great hosts and educational also. Taught me lots about singing,’ Secondary School Pupil
To book your students into a free workshop, send an email to us at info@niopera.com with the number of pupils you would like to bring, their age or year group and your chosen sessions and we’ll get back to you to confirm further details.
PRIMARY SCHOOL EVENTS
HIP HOPERA
Suitable for Ages 7+, 30 students per session
Opera meets Hip Hop in this exciting new activity led by OC Crew choreographer Óran Clarke. Using the famous ‘Queen of the Night’ aria and transforming it into a Hip Hop dance track, Óran will teach you a series of Hip Hop dance moves to create a fun and exciting dance routine. A great way to have fun and dance to opera! No previous dance experience is necessary. This event will also feature a live performance of the famous ‘Queen of Night’ aria from Mozart’s ‘Die Zauberflöte/The Magic Flute’ performed by soprano Mary McCabe.
We recommend attendees wear comfortable clothing and footwear appropriate for dancing.
Tuesday 5th September 2023:
- Session 1 @ 13:30 – 14:15pm
- Session 2 @ 6.30 – 7.30pm – open for booking for individuals aged 12-18 here
DANCE, SING AND DESIGN
Suitable for Ages 7 – 11 years old, 30 students per session
NI Opera presents a workshop session which will explore movement, dance and singing designed for P4-P6 pupils. This workshop will allow pupils to explore some of the skills needed to bring an opera to the stage in a practical way having lots of fun! This event also includes a visit to the Grand Opera House heritage exhibition with short history talk.
Wednesday 6th September 2023:
- Session 1 @ 10:15 – 11:15 – FULLY BOOKED
- Session 2 @ 11:20 – 12:15 – FULLY BOOKED
- Session 3 @ 12:25 – 13:30
- Session 4 @ 13:20 – 14:25
DRAMA AND ART
Suitable for ages 7-11, capacity for 30 students
Come and learn how to make props with NI Opera’s specialist creatives in this workshop exploring the practical ways in which art skills are used to help bring an opera to the stage. This event will include a visit to the Grand Opera House heritage exhibition.
Thursday 7th September 2023
- 10.00 to 12.30 with a 15 minute break FULLY BOOKED
SECONDARY SCHOOL EVENTS
Come and Sing ‘One More Day’ from Les Misérables and the Introit and Kyrie from Mozart’s Requiem and raise the roof on the Grand Opera House Auditorium! These works are studied by A’Level Music students and in this event, students will enhance their knowledge of these set works through learning to perform them with our Tosca Chorus Master, Matthew Quinn, in a friendly group environment.
Students will take part in a live performance of these set works under the baton of one of the national opera company’s music team and will be joined by a professional opera/music theatre singer to perform what they have learned at the end of the session.
We’re thrilled that Derry native, West End star Wendy Ferguson, will be performing ‘One More Day’ with our school ‘Come and Sing groups. Wendy’s West End credits include Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables at Queen’s Theatre London, Carlotta in Phantom of the Opera in the 25th Anniversary performance at the Royal Albert Hall and Her Majesty’s Theatre London, Widow Corney in Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and made her Northern Irish stage debut with NI Opera as Jack’s Mother in ‘Into The Woods’ in 2022.
We appreciate that not all your music students will be avid singers, but we run a ‘Come and Sing’ event for the general public each year to learn an opera chorus with Matthew Quinn and it is a friendly and inclusive event designed for all singing abilities so all musicians are welcome! We are focusing the repertoire on two set texts from the A’Level syllabus, but this event could be suitable for GCSE Music students or school choral groups too.
Friday 8th September: 120 students per session
- 10.30 to Midday – Les Misérables: Come and Sing FULLY BOOKED
- 1pm to 2.30pm – Mozart Requiem: Come and Sing FULLY BOOKED
Watch some of last year’s Outreach Week events in this video – details of free activities for the general public will be released at the end of June 2023.