Seattle Opera's New Education and Community Engagement Programs Include New Opera Commissions

Seattle Opera has announced several robust new education and community engagement programs, including newly commissioned operas. With the goal of providing more effective cultural service to residents of Washington state, and with a particular emphasis on young people, these new programs offer ways for those who have never before experienced opera to connect with and develop a passion for this art form. Seattle Opera's Education and Community Engagement programs reflect and inspire creativity, provide multiple entry points to the world of opera, foster lifelong learning, facilitate meaningful exchange, and build capacity for opera.

"It is no longer enough for our education programs to introduce youth and interested adults to our mainstage programming," said Speight Jenkins, General Director of Seattle Opera. "We are committed to investing in programs that take advantage of the human capital of our company, by increasing access to the hundreds of incredibly talented people who work for Seattle Opera, forging stronger partnerships with other community organizations, and extending the vitality and passion of opera beyond performances at McCaw Hall. This season we offer two compelling new projects in addition to the opera education programs our community has come to rely on over the years. I'm particularly interested in the new operas we've commissioned, Belonging(s) and Our Earth, which create lyric theater out of people's lives, history, and the environment here in the Pacific Northwest."