Lyric Opera 2021-2022 Issue 4 Florencia en el Amazonas

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 38 Lyric teaching artist Elise LaBarge teaches“pass the clap”during a residency at Coleman School in Chicago,Illinois that took place prior to the pandemic. The thrill of learning Lyric’s 2021/22 school programming hopes to expand its reach Lyric Unlimited - Learning & Creative Engagement, Lyric’s department dedicated to education and community initiatives, will continue to offer myriad wonderful programs this season. The department is dedicated to connecting the Chicagoland community through a wide range of programs designed to stimulate curiosity, explore new learning and performance formats, and make connections between opera and everyday life. “This year, we’re moving forward with a lot of virtual programming,” says Drew Smith, Lyric’s learning programs manager. “Several longstanding programs pivoted to an online modality last year, so we’re now able to create even more pathways for students and teachers to engage with Lyric online.” The majority of this season’s virtual programs will be provided to teachers free of charge. Opera in the Neighborhoods , a program that brings live performances of youth-focused operas to venues throughout the Chicago area, will utilize a film version of last summer’s captivating production, Hansel and Gretel in the Park , to provide a pre-recorded concert for schools. This tremendously successful outdoor opera, mounted this past summer, is an ideal streaming experience for teachers and students to share. Explore Opera will launch in early 2022, and the program will provide teachers with five short videos to explore the who, what, when, where, and why of opera. “There will be additional ways in which teachers can help students explore on their own,” says Smith, “including giving them short, compact activities they can use periodically during their regular class day without the need to devote a full class session or day-long field trip.” The videos will serve as a teachers’ guide to provide an exciting, behind-the-scenes look at Lyric. Each video will be hosted by a Lyric teaching artist and includes footage from the opera house and recent performances. There also are lesson plans and a variety of other resources that can be used for in-person learning to help teachers utilize the videos in Lyric Opera of Chicago Roark Johns n