Community Outreach

Boston Midsummer Opera Education Program
“Tales of Offenbach”

Providing high quality and unusual learning opportunity for students is at the heart of BMO’s educational mission. Opera is used as a vehicle to enhance students’ critical thinking skills, make connections to other disciplines, think about the impact of technology and illuminate the similarities and differences between the broader culture both historically and in the present time.

This year’s program first breaks down some of the barriers that normally surround classical music experiences. Before students attend a performance, they are provided the opportunity to dance and sing music of the opera, to try out orchestral instruments, to meet and question performers and technical staff. The program then looks at the world of Offenbach—his celebrity and the role of music in a world without electricity and limited opportunities for travel. After all, Offenbach was an enormous pop star in his time—50,000 people greeted him upon his arrival at the New York Docks; his orchestra concerts sold out the equivalent of today’s stadiums. His can-can tune, still popular today, was originally a dance for couples not unlike today’s Jive or Latin dances. How did his fame spread in the absence of radio, TV and the Internet? What role did the live performances play for his audiences compared with today’s audiences? These types of questions are the basis for discussions that focus on the critical thinking skills, which we believe are at the core of our program.