Opera For All
Opera For All is Opera Maine’s multi-faceted initiative to make opera inclusive and accessible to everyone in our community. Through a combination of free educational programming in public schools, free tickets to professional opera performances provided to members of our local community, and free community lectures, conversations, and workshops, Opera Maine is making opera’s powerful storytelling and music available to all.
Opera For All in Maine Public Schools
Opera Maine piloted Opera For All in the Maine Public Schools in 2019, presenting interactive, opera-based educational programming in three public schools. Through a curriculum created and facilitated by teaching artist Dr. Malinda Haslett, Director of Vocal Studies at University of Southern Maine, and performances by USM Vocal Studies majors, K-12 students learned the fundamentals of opera, had access to creative expression and empathy building, and found resonance between opera stories and their own lives.
After a two-year hiatus necessitated by the COVID pandemic, Opera for All resumed in our 2021/2022 season, bringing programming to five public schools in Maine and introducing over 300 children and young adults to opera, prioritizing schools in underserved communities in which a high ratio of students were eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch.
Past OFA Schools
East End Community School
Acton Primary School
Biddeford Middle School, York County
Richmond Middle and High Schools
Brunswick Middle School, Cumberland County
Waterville Junior/Senior High School
Greely High School
Thornton Academy
Portland Public Schools
Bring Opera For All to your school! Email [email protected]
Opera For All Free Ticket Program
Since 2019, Opera Maine has sought to make our professional opera performances inclusive and accessible through Opera For All’s Free Ticket Program. Between 2019-2022, over 850 audience members, including 475 youth under the age of 25, experienced Opera Maine’s mainstage productions at no cost.
Free tickets to both our mainestage classical opera and our Studio Artist Program contemporary opera are available at no cost to:
- Any audience member age 25 and under
- First responders and their families
- Active-duty military and their families
- Former military and their families
- By arrangement to recognize low-income special need
Opera For All also provides reduced family tickets, with children attending for free.
Opera For All Community Programming
Throughout the year, Opera Maine provides free community programming that connects to, informs, and explores the material and themes of our professional opera performances.
In addition to providing pre-show talks for each performance, Opera Maine Dramaturg Calien Lewis presents free, public lectures, conversations, and workshops with cultural partners throughout Greater Portland to provide educational opera programming and discover resonance between operas and contemporary life.
Past and current community partnerships
Equality Maine
Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital
Maine Maritime Museum
Maine Historical Society
Freeport Historical Society
The Telling Room
University of Southern Maine
The Portland Public Library
Curtis Memorial Library
Boston Public Library
Osher Life-Long Learning Institute
Figures of Speech Theater
Portland Ballet
Creative Portland