the Next
Engaging
Generation
Celebrating the human voice is more than just the sounds we make and the notes we sing. We celebrate the human voice in the stories we tell, both new and classic. It is Project: Opera’s mission to amplify Youth Voice as it sings out loud, begging to be heard.
What is it?
Project: Opera will provide three schools across North Texas with a 30-hour residency with Fort Worth Opera’s professional singers and educators. Each school will spend 30 workshop hours exploring opera through the works of William Shakespeare. Students will then make their mark on these classic art forms by performing, side by side with professional opera singers, a full opera on their school’s campus. The entire project culminates at the end of the school year with students from all 3 schools combining for one performance at Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU.
Why is it important?
Project: Opera offers a new lens for High School students to view not just the past but the current world they navigate. Exploring themes out loud through classic art forms that explore the complexities of the human story, as relatable to today’s adolescents as they have been for centuries.
We believe it is vital for students to spend time with the original text and the operatic work side by side, to dissect different ways of talking about and telling a story, and to show students that the themes of love, loss, honor, and revenge are lasting throughout the centuries. We will continue this work by engaging our partners, such as the Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas and its impactful Teens Can Survive program, to negotiate the deeper topics present in Shakespeare’s work. This partnership, along with others, is vital for our current teens to have access to resources that help them navigate questions outside of their time with our educators.
Romeo and Juliet
This season, Project: Opera is exploring Romeo and Juliet by Charles Gounod.
Watch the cumulative performance, featuring the students and Hattie Mae Lesley Resident Artists, at the Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU on April 18th!
How can I be involved?
Support Project: Opera today and enrich the lives of high school students across Fort Worth. Join us in cultivating the next generation of artists and opera lovers.
See the final Product! On April 18th, 2026 watch as the schools come together with the resident artists at the Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU performing Romeo and Juliet.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skill (TEKS) Alignment:
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Examination of past literary works (TEKS English 110.51 Literary Genres, 110.55 Humanities)
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Exploration of new forms of Art Making and Story Telling (TEKS English 110.51 Literary Genres, English 110.52 Creative Writing)
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Enhanced relationship with classmates (TEKS Fine Arts 117.310 Music)
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Expression of ideas and emotions (TEKS Fine Arts 117.310 Music)
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Exposure to possible careers (TEKS 127.20 Career Prep)
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Connection to Professional Artists (TEKS 127.20 Career Prep)
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Engagement with Fort Worth Opera (TEKS 127.20 Career Prep)