The intimacy that characterizes Gotham Chamber Opera's performances also characterizes our arts-in-education program. The goal of the program is to enhance students’ understanding and enjoyment of opera and classical music through direct interaction with our productions. To accomplish this, we provide teachers with education packets that include each opera's libretto in translation, a CD of musical selections, and a host of classroom materials, including background information on the work and composer, suggested discussion topics, classroom activities, related web sites, and glossaries.

The program began in 2002 with free preview performances for hundreds of students and teachers, followed by discussion sessions with performers and musicians. Gotham Chamber Opera's preview performances have been attended by students from Seward Park High School, the High School of Economics and Finance, University Neighborhood High School, the High School of Art and Design, Martin Luther King, Jr. High School, Norman Thomas High School, the Allen-Stevenson School, City College, Hunter College, The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Columbia University, Vassar College, Barnard College, and Rowan University. Discussion sessions following the performances provide intimate access to the artistic process, as students share their reactions with our singers, stage director, and artistic director.

In 2005, the program was expanded to include in-class residencies, developed with teachers at Gotham Chamber Opera's partner school, the High School of Economics and Finance. In 2007, the residency program's scope was expanded yet again to include the Allen-Stevenson School, our first partnership with an elementary school.

The in-class residency program entered its next phase in 2008 with our productions of Scenes of Gypsy Life and Ariadne Unhinged. Inspired by these works, Gotham Chamber Opera's teaching artists began to collaborate with classroom teachers in developing specific curricula to complement student coursework. Since then, topics have included character development and story development in opera, careers in opera, and non-profit finance. In each residency, teaching artists provide opportunities for students to articulate their impressions of and critical responses to the opera's music while preparing them to attend a full preview performance. To support these in-class sessions, teachers and teaching artists attend professional development workshops that aid in planning appropriate themes and activities.

The purpose of the in-class residency program is to help students establish a context for the appreciation of opera, both in their course of studies and in their lives beyond school. The students, teachers, and singers have found this in-depth collaboration extremely rewarding. Our upcoming production of El gato con botaswill feature performances in Spanish (with English supertitles) and performances in English (with Spanish supertitles.) We look forward to partnering with the New Victory Theater’s education program to expose an ever-widening range of young people to the glories of opera.