For our Esperanza Academy Charter High School students, opera brought a mock trial case to life. Read about Opera on Trial below.
Although a trick of acting and stagecraft, the case at the center of the Esperanza Academy Charter School mock trial was somehow more real than others the students had worked on before. The case didn’t just exist within a packet of papers, it played out in front of them – at the opera, no less.
In 2017, Michael Bolton, Vice-President of Community Initiatives at Opera Philadelphia, had a lightbulb moment: Why not create a crime scene of Carmen, the upcoming spring production?
In fact, why not do a mock trial and use the opera to teach students about the legal system?