The Playground Opera education program is both an in-classroom experience and virtual portal for third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students to be immersed in every aspect of the creation, production, and performance of an opera. A main feature of the program is the students’ interaction with a popular opera that Opera on Tap produces as a video specifically for this age group so that children can joyfully sing along, learn another language, and make their own opera video. For our Hansel and Gretel curriculum, children worked with teachers to become part of a chorus and submitted their video to Opera on Tap; our video editors embedded these into the Hansel and Gretel film. The final project was a premiere of Hansel and Gretel at each participating school where students walked the red carpet in front of their teachers and families for a screening at the school. Our work sample is from our partner school in Nashville, Tennessee.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Dennis Whitehead Darling is an international award-winning director in theater, musical theater, film, and opera with a hefty resume that includes work in shows with Opera Memphis, Spazio Teatro No'hma Milano, Birmingham Opera, Carnegie Mellon University, Red Mountain Theatre, Opera Columbus, UrbanArias, and Hattiloo Theatre, as well as the world premieres of The Secret River with Opera Orlando and Marian’s Song with Houston Grand Opera. In 2018, Darling became the inaugural recipient of Opera Memphis’ McCleave Fellowship, dedicated to fostering the careers of promising stage directors and music directors of color in opera. Throughout his career, he has expressed one major goal: "to tell emotionally engaging and provocative stories that challenge the viewer to see the world from a different perspective." For more information about Darling, check out this website. 

The Awards for Digital Excellence in Opera are supported by The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.