Educator Materials
Opera can easily be integrated into your classroom. These online resources, designed for all grade levels, are designed to help educators connect specific opera performances to classroom curriculum.
Interested in creating lesson plans? Join the Opera Club.
San Francisco Opera Educator Material List
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Arabella is expected to marry for money to save her aristocratic parents from ruin, but she yearns for a soulmate. When she finally meets him, a case of mistaken identity leads to a mix-up that could ruin everything. A romantic comedy of errors set amid the society parlors and costume balls of Vienna’s golden age.
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When young Billy is pressed into naval service aboard the H.M.S. Indomitable, the recruit’s youth and innocence arouse devotion from the crew, but a commanding officer’s suspicions and dark desire threaten to throw order into chaos.
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Seville is a powder keg about to explode: A swirling chorus of factory workers and townsfolk come head to head. A fiery bullfighter entertains a lively crowd. A good soldier wavers between defiance and honor. At the center of it all is Carmen, a free-spirited seductress who is driven by her heart's desire.
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In a tight knit community, secret loves lead to fateful consequences. For the first time in 15 years, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci return in a gripping double feature seething with the raw passion, jealousy and heartbreak that can only result from a scandalous, small-town affair.
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With an open heart and determination, Cinderella triumphs over her mean-spirited relatives.
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A couple of club members engage in a playful bet about the fidelity of their partners. Testing the limits of loyalty and forgiveness, Così fan tutte puts love on trial in this bittersweet comedy where affections become entangled and confused.
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Scorned by three beautiful Rhinemaidens, the dwarf Alberich renounces love and steals the Rhine’s magical gold to forge a ring granting its bearer absolute power.
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In his comic masterpiece, Wagner set aside gods and goddesses to tell a touchingly human story about the power of art.
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The chief god Wotan fathers the hero Siegmund to regain control of the ring. But, when confronted with the futility of his dream, Wotan is forced to forsake not only his son but also his beloved daughter, the warrior-maiden Brünnhilde.
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At the time of Spain’s brutal Inquisition, the king of Spain marries the woman his son loves and sets into motion a tension-filled chain of events.
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Mozart’s smart and otherworldly take on Don Juan explores the darker side of the legend, delivering a brilliant flirtation between comedy and tragedy, lust and logic, pleasure and pain.
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Sparkling with virtuosic singing and playful humor, Donizetti’s boisterous comedy pits the miserly Don Pasquale against his nephew Ernesto and Ernesto’s sweetheart, the crafty young Norina.
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One of China’s greatest classical novels—as famous in China as Romeo and Juliet is in the West—recounts the love triangle between a young nobleman and two very different women: one his spiritual soulmate, the other a beautiful heiress.
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In the wake of the Trojan War, Elektra’s world has come unmoored. When her desire for justice becomes a blood lust, she pushes her fractured family to the brink of destruction.
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Verdi’s rarely performed Ernani is a thrilling operatic discovery, an adventurous tale of love and resistance in a time of political oppression. In 16th-century Spain, Ernani is a deposed nobleman living on the run as a bandit. When two powerful men seek to make a prize of his lover, Ernani hatches a plot to rescue her—and free the country in the process. But in a world where tradition and loyalty rule, can an outlawed love win?
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Two years ago, Leonora's husband disappeared into the depths of a detention facility run by his political enemy. Now, the only way to discover if he's alive is for Leonora to infiltrate the prison disguised as a man.
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In opera’s version of a classic Western, we meet a crafty criminal, a suspicious sheriff and a tough frontier woman with a tender heart. The dramatic love triangle is set in California during the GoldRush.
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Sourced from historical writings, this world premiere opera follows four remarkable characters who flock to Gold Country hoping to strike it rich but are quickly caught up in the optimism, greed and prejudices of a rapidly changing world.
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As the end nears for the gods, and human ambition rules the world, Alberich’s son Hagen hatches a plot to take control of the ring, threatening the union of Siegfried and Brünnhilde. Fueled by greed, Hagen’s actions lead to chaos and destruction, until Brünnhilde steps forward to return the world to its natural order.
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Enter a magical forest where the trees are older than time, fairies lurk in the shadows, and a house of candy sits alone amidst the trees. Experience this cherished musical fairy tale in a charming new co-production with London’s Royal Opera.
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George Bailey stands on a snowy bridge at Christmas and contemplates his end. An angel training for her wings hears his plea and journeys through his memories to save his soul. Based on Frank Capra’s beloved film, this timeless story of second chances debuts just in time for the holiday season.
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Puccini’s portrayal of love and loss among a group of struggling artists has won over hearts for more than a century. Infused with melodies of unforgettable intimacy, buoyancy, and pathos, this masterpiece remains one of the most heart-wrenching emotional experiences on the opera stage.
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When the glamorous but fragile seductress Violetta Valéry and her admirer Alfredo Germont find love, it seems nothing can keep them apart. But the rules of society and family expectations betray them, and Violetta’s fate takes a tragic turn.
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A father’s betrayal. A daughter’s sacrifice. Longing only for love, a brave young woman sacrifices her own happiness in a desperate attempt to save her father’s life.
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Cultures clash when a trusting young geisha marries an American naval officer stationed in Nagasaki. Puccini’s gut-wrenching music takes the audience on an emotionally charged journey through innocence, betrayal and sacrifice towards a heartbreaking finale.
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Composed at the height of the Belle Epoque, Jules Massenet’s bright, sensual opera follows a pair of not-so-innocent young lovers as they tangle with the toast of Paris, inviting dangerous consequences.
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The early opera that skyrocketed Puccini to success, Manon Lescaut brings Italian passion to the tale of a young woman’s conflicted search for satisfaction. Too easily seduced by luxury, Manon leaves her true love for a wealthy older man only to realize her childish mistake …but it may be too late.
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Trapped inside his war-torn mind in a military hospital during WWII, the pilot Orlando can't tell reality from delusion. As he struggles to trust his own perceptions and journey to a clearer world, his trauma ricochets on the people around him—putting love and honor to the test.
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Complete with an elegant heroine, and misbehaving men, Partenope is a romantic comedy about what happens when the battle of the sexes stops being conventional and starts getting surreal.
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When court jester Rigoletto is cursed for a taunt that cuts too deep, a terrible sequence of events is set in motion, threatening his only treasure in life: his daughter.
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Queen Elizabeth's rule over her nation is ironclad, but a secret passion threatens to consume her. At court, the Earl of Essex faces whispers of treason amidst rumors about his relationship with the Queen. She must decide whether to sign his death warrant in an impossible choice between love and country.
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Despite the senseless, bloody conflict between their warring families, two young lovers from opposite sides of the tracks commit to each other in life and death. Experience the rush of first love in one of the most epic tragic romances of literature.
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The sea-princess Rusalka wants nothing more than to live on land with the Prince. To get her wish, she agrees to a fateful spell by a sea witch. In Dvořák’s hands, the timeless fairy tale of a mermaid, who trades her voice for love, is rendered in a powerful, otherworldly fable—a drama of shadowy depths, fervent love songs and endings that may not be what they seem.
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A generation has passed as the cycle’s third opera opens on a despoiled world. Raised by the deceitful dwarf Mime, Siegfried—the mortal son of Siegmund and Sieglinde—rebuffs authority as he wins the ring and forges his own path to the extraordinary woman who awaits him.
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A bloody good story. Exiled by a corrupt judge, a wronged barber returns to Dickensian London to quench his thirst for vengeance.
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With “one device,” Steve Jobs indisputably changed our world. Yet as he tried to make the world more connected, he struggled to truly connect with the people in his own life—his friends, business partners and family. Behind all the disruption and the drive for perfection, what did it all mean?
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Cunning, clever, and big-hearted, Figaro is precisely the sort of person you want as a friend.
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In this delightful comedy, the course of true love is made smooth by a “magic” potion. The production is set in Napa Valley circa 1915.
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Edgar Allan Poe's Gothic tale about a decaying castle inhabited by a tormented man and his sickly sister comes to life—twice!
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In a dystopian future, fertile women deemed sinful are forced into child-bearing servitude by an extremist theocratic regime. Resistance is nearly impossible — but necessary.
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In a fantastical world of ferocious dragons and enchanted musical instruments, a noble prince sets out to rescue a beautiful princess and ensure the triumph of truth and justice.
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The Marriage of Figaro has been called a perfect opera—an irresistible mix of comedy and drama that delivers insight into the heart and soul of everyday life through a sublime score and compelling characters. Through the genius of Mozart, a joyous comedy exposes the universal truths and complexities of human relationships.
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Be transported to 1920s Paris and Le Jazz Hot as composer-conductor Benoît Charest leads Le Terrible Orchestre de Belleville in a live performance of his original score during a screening of Sylvain Chomet's beloved animated film.
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Corruption permeates every corner of Rome under Scarpia, the chief of police. When the fiery diva Tosca finds herself the target of his lust, she takes a stand in the name of all she holds sacred—art, freedom and a boundless commitment to love.
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Turandot—a cold-hearted but exquisitely beautiful princess who challenges her suitors to a deadly game of wits. Only Calaf, an exiled prince, is hot-blooded enough to crack her icy veneer.