Lyric Opera of Kansas City is proud to offer customized residency courses to schools and organizations across the Kansas City area.
Residency courses can be crafted according to partner needs, accommodate varying timeframes ranging from one class session to several months, and provide instruction in areas ranging from vocal performance to technical theater. The possibilities are endless! See examples of recent partnerships below:
In January of 2024, Lyric Opera of Kansas City Learning staff facilitated a lesson for choir students at St. Teresa’s Academy in Kansas City, Missouri. This session was developed to support the choir’s upcoming trip to Italy. Students were provided with a comprehensive overview of Italian opera through instruction on its history and role in major European social movements. The event was supplemented by performances of Italian arias by our Resident and Apprentice artists.
In April of 2024, the Academy for Integrated Arts (AFIA) welcomed Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s touring production, The Haberdasher Prince to perform for their entire student body. The following day, Lyric Opera Learning staff returned to AFIA 3rd and 4th grade classrooms for an immersive workshop on costume design. Students were introduced to the fundamental principles of characterization through costume design and were challenged to build their own costumes in small groups using found materials.
Lyric Opera of Kansas City Learning staff lead a week-long educational initiative in partnership with Young Women on the Move. This program combined choral instruction and poetry and included a tour of Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s production building and the Kauffman Center of Performing Arts. Choral instruction focused on vocal quality, tone, and blending through songs of empowerment. Students took an active role in self-expression in lessons on reading, analyzing, and writing poems in various styles. The week culminated in a showcase in which students performed choral pieces and their original poems for an audience of friends and family.
In response to a Facebook post seeking a theater professional to teach 7th hour Repertory Theater class, Lyric Opera collaborated with Associate Principal Britton Haney to design a custom residency experience for students. Neal Long, Lyric Opera Director of Learning, was in residence at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School three days a week and led 15 students through an exploratory process of unlocking opera’s potential.
To begin planning your residency course, email Manager of Learning Emily Bridges at ebridges@kcopera.org.
Plan your residency course
Lyric Opera education staff will work with teachers and administrators to ensure all activities are aligned to curricular standards and satisfy learning objectives.
Pricing is scalable. Contact Manager of Learning Emily Bridges at ebridges@kcopera.org to learn more and receive a quote.
In the last month of a residency at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, Lyric Opera worked alongside incoming Theater Teacher Shawnasea Holst. Mrs. Holst reflects:
“There was no designated classroom teacher due to unexpected illness, and Lyric Opera was a saving grace for the program. The students were eager to learn, and this program offered them opportunities I’m personally quite envious of. I was hired to fill the classroom vacancy at the beginning of 2022 and I had the great privilege of working directly with Dr. Long in staging our summative assessment: a musical revue showcasing all the skills the students had gained during Lyric Opera’s residency. The show was absolutely phenomenal, and I was so proud of the efforts and growth of our students. Neal and I made a great team and I hope to work with the Lyric Opera again in the future.”
