1. art and entertainment
2. music
3. music genres
4. opera

European Opera Days accessible everywhere
The 9th edition of the European Opera Days embraces new technologies on the weekend of
8 to 10 May 2015.
This year’s European Opera Days challenge opera companies around Europe to engage
with audiences through different channels.
Opera should be experienced ‘live’ – nothing compares with the theatre experience. Sitespecific performances have proved that unusual settings can enhance it. Audiences are
curious to discover a building and its inner workings – from front of house to stage, from
auditorium to workshops. It is an opportunity for them to understand the complex machinery
that is opera on a practical side. Better yet is when they come to appreciate the beauty of it
all – be it by the proximity to instruments playing or choristers singing, or speaking,
questioning and debating with artistic teams.
But today’s audience increasingly interacts with the rich and diverse cultural offer through
digital means. It may prefer to discover things from the comfort of home, behind a familiar
computer screen or on a convenient hand-held device. That is why this edition of the
European Opera Days coincides with the launch of the Opera Europa Digital Platform, a
project supported by Creative Europe.
This year, almost 100 opera companies in 24 countries celebrate opera, its diversity, its rich
heritage and its contemporary message through free activities, tours of theatres and
workshops, rehearsals, performances and online events.
Since 2007, opera companies from all over Europe have been collaborating on this project. The
European Opera Days are an open invitation to discover opera in all its forms on the weekend closest
to 9 May, Europe Day.
The European Opera Days are a joint initiative of Opera Europa, the leading organisation for
professional opera companies and festivals throughout Europe, serving over 155 members in 37
countries (www.opera-europa.org), and RESEO, the European network for opera and dance
education, supporting participation, creative learning and youth productions of 95 members in 25
countries (www.reseo.org), in partnership with la Réunion des Opéras de France (www.rof.fr),
ANFOLS (Italy), Opera Norge (Norway), Ópera XXI (www.operaxxi.com), the UK National Opera
Coordinating Committee.
For more information on the Opera Europa Digital Platform, please subscribe to its newsletter here.
For more information, please contact [email protected].
Highlights of this year’s programmes
The Opera Europa Digital Platform
Opera Europa Digital Platform is a partnership
between Opera Europa, representing 155 opera
companies and festivals; the cultural broadcasting
channel ARTE; and 15 carefully selected theatres
from across Europe. It is supported by the EC’s Creative Europe programme and by the European
Broadcasting Union (EBU). It welcomes
contributions from all those committed to sharing
opera with a wider public. The launch is timed to
coincide with Opera Europa’s conference in Madrid from 6 to 8 May and with European Opera
Days 2015 whose theme is opera alive and online.
On the evening of 8 May, as Madrileños enjoy the
performance live from Teatro Real on big screens
at Museo Nacional del Prado, El Matadero and
Plaza de Oriente, La traviata will be streamed on
the platform for audiences all around the world – and it will be available there for 6 months. The platform will offer
extra material about the piece, but is already rich with other content from many European opera houses.
Full operas online
From GöteborgsOperan’s Hänsel und Gretel to extracts of Glyndebourne’s Don Pasquale and Perm State Opera’s Tchaikovsky festival, many opera companies are offering the opportunity to discover their work from the comfort of
your home, some for the first time!
Réunion des Opéras de France on Culturebox
The French national opera organisation has entered a partnership with
France Télévisions’ Culturebox, contributing to the promotion of the rich
operatic offer in the country.
Vamos a la ópera
Opera XXI, the Spanish national organisation of opera
companies, celebrates the European Opera Days and their 10th
anniversary with the launch of two apps: Play Opera, about
operatic love stories, and Vamos a la ópera, inviting young
children to discover the insides of an opera house and all its
professions.
Outdoors
Many opera companies are invading public spaces. Teatro Sociale di Como will be showing Teatro Real’s La traviata
on Friday evening and hold events in public parks and gardens during the weekend, while AGAO’s opera chorus will perform in the centre of the city, followed by a parade through the main streets with the city band and dancers, and
Lithuanian National Opera organise a picnic in front of the theatre with soloists as guests.
Brussels’ La Monnaie is presenting Kaffe Matthews’ opera Finding Song Home, which is experienced by taking an
audio-bike ride through town. The bikes play extracts of music depending on your journey, mixing and re-composing
the opera for each participant.
Crowd-pleasers
Since their beginning, the European Opera Days have encouraged participating opera companies to open their doors
and invite audiences to discover a theatre and an art form. As always, many theatres will be hosting guided tours of
the front of house, but also of the stage and various workshops. Participants will discover how special effects are
made, try on costumes and make-up, see sets being built and listen to open rehearsals… An incredible opportunity to understand the ‘making of’ opera. These open doors, guided tours, opera chorus karaoke and ‘opera for dummies’ sessions always have a great success. Every year, opera companies that survey their attendees notice their
participants are majorly new visitors, and mostly young ones. The European Opera Days therefore meet a need and
create excitement in local communities!
Participating opera houses
Austria
Wien, Wiener Staatsoper
Toulouse, Théâtre du Capitole
Tours, Opéra de Tours
Portugal
Lisbon, Opera do Castelo
Belgium
Brussels, La Monnaie / De Munt
Liège, Opéra Royal de Wallonie
Germany
Berlin, Komische Oper Berlin
Düsseldorf, Deutsche Oper am Rhein
Düsseldorf-Duisburg
Gelsenkirchen, Musiktheater im
Revier
Karlsruhe, Badisches Staatstheater
Karlsruhe
Magdeburg, Theater Magdeburg
Stuttgart, Staatstheater Stuttgart
Wiesbaden, Camerata Nuova
Russia
Moscow, Moscow Music Theatre
"Helikon-Opera"
Moscow, Moscow State Opera and
Ballet Theatre for Children and
Young People Named After Natalia
Sats
Perm, Perm State Opera and Ballet
Theatre
Rostov-on-Don, Rostov State Opera
Bulgaria
Sofia, Sofia National Opera and
Ballet
Czech Republic
Brno, National Theatre Brno
Denmark
Arhus, Den Jyske Opera
Copenhagen, Royal Danish Opera
Copenhagen, Nordic Network for
Early Opera
Finland
Helsinki, Finnish National Opera
France
Aix-en-Provence, Festival d'Aix-enProvence
Avignon, Opéra du Grand Avignon
Bordeaux, Opéra national de
Bordeaux
Caen, Théâtre de Caen
Clermont-Ferrand, Centre lyrique
Clermont Auvergne
Compiègne, Théâtre Impérial De
Compiègne
Dijon, Opéra de Dijon
Lille, Opéra de Lille
Limoges, Opéra de Limoges
Lyon, Opéra national de Lyon
Marseille, Opéra de Marseille
Massy, Opéra de Massy
Metz, Opéra-Théâtre de Metz
Métropole
Montfaucon, Festival de BesançonMontfaucon
Montpellier, Opéra Orchestre national
de Montpellier
Nancy, Opéra national de Lorraine
Nantes, Angers Nantes Opéra
Nice, Opéra de Nice
Orange, Chorégies d'Orange
Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
Paris, Opéra-Comique
Paris, Opéra national de Paris
Paris, Théâtre Athénée Louis-Jouvet
Reims, Opéra de Reims
Rennes, Opéra de Rennes
Rouen, Opéra de Rouen HauteNormandie
Strasbourg, Opéra National du Rhin
Toulon, Opéra de Toulon
Hungary
Budapest, Hungarian State Opera
Iceland
Reykjavík, Icelandic Opera
Italy
Bergamo, Teatro Donizetti Bergamo
Bologna, Teatro Comunale di
Bologna
Como, AsLiCo / Teatro Sociale di
Como
Macerata, Sferisterio Macerata
Modena, Teatro Comunale Luciano
Pavarotti
Parma , Teatro Due Parma
Pesaro, Rossini Opera Festival
Piacenza, Fondazione Teatri di
Piacenza
Reggio Emilia,Teatro Reggio Emilia
Rome, Associazione Musicale Tito
Gobbi
Torino, Teatro Regio di Torino
Latvia
Riga, Latvian National Opera
Lithuania
Vilnius, Lithuanian National Opera
and Ballet Theatre
Netherlands
Amsterdam, Nationale Opera & Ballet
Rotterdam, Operadagen Rotterdam
Norway
Bergen, Bergen National Opera
Oslo, Den Norske Opera og Ballett
Stord, Stord Haugesund University
College
Serbia
Belgrade, Madlenianum Opera and
Theatre
Belgrade, Operosa Foundation
Belgrade, National Theatre Belgrade
Spain
Madrid, Teatro Real
Oviedo, Opera de Oviedo
Pamplona, AGAO
Peralada, Festival Castell de
Peralada
Sabadell, Associació d'Amics de
l'Òpera de Sabadell
Sevilla, Teatro de la Maestranza
Valencia, Palau de les Arts Reina
Sofia
Sweden
Göteborg, GöteborgsOperan
Stockholm, Royal Swedish Opera
Switzerland
Biel, Theater und Orchester Biel
Solothurn
UK
Cardiff, Welsh National Opera
Canterbury, English Touring Opera
Glasgow, Scottish Opera
Glyndebourne, Glyndebourne
Festival Opera
Leeds, Opera North
London, Royal Opera House Covent
Garden
London, English National Opera
Ukraine
L'viv, L'viv National Academic Opera
and Ballet Theatre
Poland
Poznan, Teatr Wielki - Opera Poznan
Warsaw, Teatr Wielki - Polish
National Opera
Visit http://www.operadays.eu/en/participating-houses for the updated list of participants!