Houston Grand Opera To Present Free Programming For Students During Spring Break

Houston Grand Opera has announced plans to present a week of free arts programming for students in grades Pre-K-2 to enjoy. During Spring Break, from March 8 to 15, 2025, families are invited to join company teaching artists in spaces including Levy Park in the Upper Kirby District, Lynn Wyatt Square in the Downtown Theater District, the Alief Community Center in Alief, and Rodeo Houston at NRG Park.

The company will be offering several types of programs as part of this initiative. Sing! Move! Play! celebrates opera's greatest hits through action-packed workshops filled with singing, rhythmic movement, and creative play, while sharing music from classic operas. Storybook Opera brings children's books to life through song as HGO teaching artists present an engaging and enjoyable introduction to opera for students. Opera to Go! brings fully-staged, high-energy, 45-minute operas to spaces throughout the city.

HGO's Spring Break Schedule: Free Programs for Children, Grades Pre-K-2

Saturday, March 8

• Sing! Move! Play!: Bizet's beloved Carmen. Levy Park. 11 a.m.

Monday, March 10

• Opera to Go!: Mo Willems's Bite-Sized Operas! This special double bill, presented as a bilingual English and Spanish edition, features two operatic works, both based on children's books by bestselling, Emmy Award-winning author Mo Willems, with music by Grammy Award-nominated composer Carlos Simon: Slopera! and Don't Let the Pigeon Sing up Late! Theater District Open House performance at Lynn Wyatt Square. 1 p.m.
• Storybook Opera: The Armadillo's Dream by HGO chorister Dennis Arrowsmith, about an armadillo with opera-star dreams. Levy Park. 2 p.m.

Tuesday, March 11

• Opera to Go!: Mo Willems's Bite-Sized Operas! Alief Neighborhood Center. 11 a.m. 
• Storybook Opera: Westward Ho, Carlotta! by Candace Fleming, about an opera singer who follows her dreams out West. Levy Park. 2 p.m.

Wednesday, March 12

• Opera to Go!: Mo Willems's Bite-Sized Operas! Houston Rodeo Community Day performance. 11:30 a.m.
• Storybook Opera: Opera Cat by Tess Weaver, about a cat and her opera-diva owner. Levy Park. 2 p.m.

Thursday, March 13

• Storybook Opera: Lula the Mighty Griot by former Houston Poet Laureate Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, about a girl who defends her village from ravenous alligators. Levy Park. 2 p.m.

Friday, March 14

• Storybook Opera: Maria's Magical Musical Adventure by Emma Kent Wine, about a little girl who travels through time to meet Vivaldi. Levy Park. 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 15

• Storybook Opera: Morry the Moores Opera House Mouse by Sara McClung, about a mouse that loves opera and mischief. Levy Park. 11 a.m. 

Storybook Opera has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.