Student Enrichment Programs
Kentucky Opera’s education programs incorporate essential core curriculum elements such as terminology, singing, improvisation and movement to complement your arts or humanities lesson plans. Contact Deanna Hoying for more information on all of our student enrichment programs.
Student Discount: Students* can purchase $20 tickets to any opera production!
Call the box office at (502) 584.4500 for details.
* Must have valid student ID
Final Dress Rehearsal for Students
As part of its commitment to our community, Kentucky Opera makes its final dress rehearsal available to students and their families.
2011.12 Final Dress Rehearsal Dates
Carmen- September 21, 2011 (reservation form in PDF format)
The Marriage of Figaro - November 16, 2011 (reservation form in PDF format)
The Merry Widow - February 15, 2012 (reservation form in PDF format)
Doors open at 6:15pm. Performance begins at 7:00pm. As with all of Kentucky Opera performances, there is no late seating, so please allow plenty of time to arrive at the theater. All tickets are held at will-call to be picked up the night of the dress rehearsal.
How to Get Tickets
To obtain Final Dress Rehearsal tickets, please call (502) 561.7938 or e-mail the completed reservation form pdf. All reservations are due one week prior to the dress rehearsal performances. Study guides are available for each opera in pdf format here.
Orders received after the due date will not be processed. There are no refunds or exchanges. Ticket prices are $5.00. K-12 student groups should have appropriate adult supervision.
Study Guides
Study guides are available for teachers to help them prepare their students for attending an opera performance and to assist them in incorporating opera education into their classroom curriculum. Study guides include information about the composer, librettists, historical circumstances of the composition, relevant articles for multi-curricular applications, and suggested pre- and post- performance activities. All study guides are available on the Resources.
School Touring Program
We Sing America
In January and February 2012, Kentucky Opera will be touring a brand new program celebrating the history of America through song. We Sing America travels through American history beginning with one of the oldest known folk songs that made the journey from the Old World to the New; Barbara Allen. Then it’s on to the Revolutionary War and building a new nation; Yankee Doodle, Hail Columbia. We journey throughout the country with the pioneers as they begin to explore the new frontiers; Simple Gifts, Shenendoah, Cumberland Gap. We celebrate folk heroes Daniel Boone, John Chapman (aka Johnny Appleseed) and Davy Crockett as well as the Kentucky riflemen who helped win the Battle of New Orleans (Hunters of Kentucky). And we tackle America at war and the songs that inspired the nation; Star Spangled Banner, Dixie, Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!, When Johnny Comes Marching Home, Battle Hymn of the Republic/John Brown’s body, Over There, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. We also sing songs of the working man (Drill ye tarries, drill, Workin’ on the railroad, John Henry, Clementine) and songs of the American West (Home on the range, Git along little dogies). We explore the Great Depression (Brother, can you spare a dime?) and folk songs from Kentucky composers (The Lass from the Low Countree, Blue Moon of Kentucky). And we start and finish the program with Woody Guthrie’s celebration of America in This Land is Your Land.
Throughout We Sing America, we also focus on the role of Kentucky throughout American history both in landscape (Cumberland Gap), folk and war heroes (Hunters of Kentucky, Daniel Boone), and composers (Stephen Foster, John Jacob Niles and Bill Monroe).
The study guide for We Sing America elaborates on the musical and historical eras being performed and will be available here by mid-August 2011. All study guides support Core Content and curriculum.
Book your performance now and ask about discounts for multiple performances in the same venue/same day.
Opera Bound – Love in the Time of Opera
For the 2011.12 Brown-Forman season, the Kentucky Opera will continue the literary campaign Opera Bound. This program ties one or more of KO’s opera productions to its origins and/or themes in literature. For 2011.12 Brown-Forman season, Opera Bound will focus on Love in the Time of Opera and for September’s Carmen, the additional theme of Spanish authors and literature. Themes for this program will include the many forms of love as related in the season’s operas. Carmen will feature the theme of jealous or envious love, The Marriage of Figaro will feature lost and/or found love and The Merry Widow will feature faithful and/or true love. In addition to the love theme, September’s Carmen will also feature literature by Spanish authors like Cervantes’ Don Quixote.
As the live portion of Opera Bound, From the Page to the Stage is a series of events at participating Louisville Free Public Library branches to showcase Kentucky Opera’s 2011.12 Brown-Forman season as well as enhancing the literature chosen to respect each aspect of love.
Choose a theme, join a book club, read the books and come see the opera!
Carmen – theme is jealous or envious love and Spanish authors
Books: Othello by Shakespeare
Wuthering Heights by E. Bronte
Rebecca by DuMaurier
Don Quixote by Cervantes
The Marriage of Figaro – theme is lost and/or found love
Jane Eyre – C. Bronte
The Raven – E. Poe
Frankenstein – M. Shelley
The Merry Widow – theme is true and faithful love
The Princess Bride – Goldman
Romeo and Juliet – Shakespeare
Persuasion – J. Austen
From the Page to the Stage calendar of events:
Mon., Sept. 12th Bon Air Library 7 pm Carmen
Tues., Sept. 27th St. Matthews 7 pm Enemies, a love story
Tues., Jan. 31st Main Branch 7 pm The Merry Widow
Partners include the Louisville Free Public Library and Walden Theatre
