For the past 40 years, Pittsburgh Festival Opera has remained committed to providing quality arts education programs to youth, teachers and families in Western PA. In this 12th year of the OPERA TOTS! Program, we are proud to have served more than 10,000 children and educators in the Greater Pittsburgh community. This program is hailed as a model for early childhood arts education by Opera America and PNC Grow Up Great Foundation. Opera TOTS! continues to teach music and arts as creative tools for learning that aid in long term academic success for all children.
“An opera is a story and all the words are sung!” This little song is an anchor of our program Opera Tots! Where we create opportunities for children, teachers, parents and caregivers to explore opera; using its great singing and storytelling opportunities to attain tools for learning. The Opera Tots! program invites pre-K to 1st grade children to actively participate in learning new vocabulary, melodies, dances, rhythms, characters, and story elements of a child-appropriate version of an opera. Students will practice these skills in classroom workshops, at home with their families, and at a public performance.