Long Beach Opera

Lbos opera school brings free live opera to long beach unified school district schools and beyond. Our most popular show, the playground king, created by sarah squire, unfolds on an actual school playground, featuring melodies from famous operas like carmen and la boheme. Performed by professional opera singers, the story follows a selfish bully who learns kindness and sharing after being invited to play with three classmates. Through familiar opera excerpts, children learn about problem-solving, teamwork and confronting bullying. Afterward, our singers lead a discussion on these themes, teach opera basics and answer questions--providing students insight into both anti-bullying and the lives of performing artists. In fy 24, the opera school program reached approximately 3000 students at 24 title i schools in long beach.