OPERA AUSTRALIA IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Each year as part of Opera Australia's education program, Oz Opera Schools Company performs to 80,000 primary school children throughout Victoria and NSW, Australia.

It's always a big event. Opera Australia arrives at the start of the school day, complete with opera costumes, sets, four singers and a pianist. They need a piano and about 40 minutes to set up in your hall (or any large space), then they are ready to perform.

The Schools Company presents one or two sessions in a day, and each session consists of a 50-minute performance of a complete opera followed by 10 minutes of questions and answers with the students and teachers.

Preparation and follow-up is all part of the experience: when you book you receive an Opera Australia teacher resource pack. This includes suggestions for classroom extension activities both before and after the opera incursion.