The pioneering educational programme Opera Interactively Into Schools for Secondary Education Schools is the continuation of the programme that had been successfully implemented by the Greek National Opera in primary schools from 2012 to 2015. Interactive Opera in Schools, adjusted to the contemporary digital era and the social concerns of today’s teenagers, aims at acquainting young people with the art of opera through their participation in an interactive opera performance.

This school year, Kornilios Selamsis’ opera Offenbach’s La belle Hélène, directed by Yannis Kalavrianos, will be presented live in 85 Junior High Schools across Greece and in a total of 900 schools via online streaming with the help of the Opera Box App. This new performance reintroduces us to the myth of the Helen of Troy from a contemporary perspective while treating issues of gender stereotypes, roles and identities.

Students in the schools that will be visited by the Greek National Opera will have an active role in the programme, enjoying the chance to live up close the unique experience of the making of a performance and get fully involved in it. Under the guidance of the programme’s educators, students will take part in the artistic workshops with the goal of co-creating an original audio, music and visual material that will be integrated into the flow of the performance that will be presented in schools, thus completing the Greek National Opera’s two-day visit there.

Students that will take part in the programme from distance will have the chance to attend the performance digitally and explore the world of opera and music theatre via the educational digital application Opera Box App. Through webinars, the programme’s educators will guide school teachers through the learning goals, will facilitate the understanding of the work that will be presented as part of the programme, and will suggest practices of strengthening creative expression through the school class, as well as methods of creatively using the Opera Box App.

Creative Team

Planning/Implementation: GNO Learning & Participation Department

Coordination manager: Panina Karydi

Educational planning managers: Kiki Kerzeli, Michalis Moschoutis, Kalliroi Papadopoulou, Kristin Sofroniou

Historian/Musicologist: Artemis Ignatidou

Communication manager: Myrsini Vasilopoulou

Offenbach’s La belle Hélène

Opera for teenagers

Score: Kornilios Selamsis

Libretto: Alexandra K*

Director: Yannis Kalavrianos

Sets, Costumes: Petros Touloudis

Choreography/Movement coach: Marianna Kavallieratou

Application can be submitted by 7 October 2022 exclusively via the form you will find here.

The programme is co-funded by the European Union – European Social Fund (ESF) and National Resources (NSRF 2014-2020) through the Operational Programme “Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning”.