Kinderopern­orchester

With the start of Matthias Schulz’s directorship, the Opernhaus Zürich will expand its educational offerings by creating the Kinderopernorchester, a children’s opera orchestra, supporting the valuable work carried out in music schools. The Kinderopernorchester will be realized in close cooperation with all 36 music schools in the Canton of Zurich and the Orchesters des Opernhaus. Talented children between the ages of 7 and 14 from all areas of the canton will be given the opportunity to develop their musical skills, experience collaborative music-making, discover well-known works from the opera repertoire, and perform on the internationally renowned Opernhaus stage. Led by orchestra members and experienced teachers from music schools, more than 90 children will work on excerpts from the operas «Carmen» and «Hänsel und Gretel» – opera literature that is usually only performed by professional orchestras. The children work with together and experience what playing in the orchestra at the Opernhaus Zürich is like from the inside. Over a period of ten months, they expand their musical abilities and experience what it means to be part of an orchestra and become part of a larger whole. They learn to take responsibility for creating music together,  ultimately performing it under the musical direction of General Music Director Gianandrea Noseda and Ann-Katrin Stöcker, together with artists soloists and the Kinderchor der Oper Zürich.