The aim 
Through our expanding education programme we endeavour to inspire and interest young people from local secondary schools in the medium of opera. Our aim is to enrich and broaden the appreciation and understanding of opera for young people in Oxfordshire by providing a unique creative experience for those involved and to break down preconceived ideas about opera, prior to students attending the final dress rehearsal of the opera they have been working on so intensively.

Education workshops 
Garsington Opera offers workshops to secondary schools in the state maintained sector based on each of its productions. 

The workshops, led by an animateur and a director (Dominic Harlan and Karen Gillingham) supported by three principal understudies, run for two consecutive days and involve about thirty pupils from each school. Each school produces a mini-production, which is an ingenious blend of music adapted from the opera and composition devised by the pupils themselves.  The climax of the programme is the plenary day at which each school presents their performance.   

As well as developing vocal skills, they learn to use movement and characterisation to great dramatic effect.  They have great fun working with adults outside the teaching profession and quickly learn much more about opera and the people involved. They are highly responsive to the creative starting points provided by the leaders and entranced by the professional singers. The leaders are exceptionally skilled and  know just how to pitch the work to get the best out of the pupils.  The resulting confidence and self-esteem is all too evident.

As a result of their work, the pupils come to see a performance at Garsington with a greater awareness of the wider context in which opera is created and performed. They are armed for the experience, with a knowledge of the music and a feel for the characters.  As a rule, the pupils are aged between 12 and 16. Many national curriculum criteria are covered in the course of the workshops, especially:

• Performing skills
• Creating and developing musical ideas
• Listening with knowledge and understanding

Pupils are extremely pleased and excited by what they accomplish; as are their teachers, who are amazed by what can be achieved in just two days. “If all music lessons were like this, everyone would do music” (year 10 pupil).

Contact Trevor Davies for further information