Access All Arias Is opera outreach work merely bleeding-heart liberalism and patronising to boot? Not necessarily, discovers Dominic Dwight ‘I don't mind what language an opera is sung in so long as it is a language I don't understand.' Physicist Sir Edward Appleton might have been joking but, when it comes to opera education, his words are sometimes all too ironic. ‘It saddens me that so much of the commentary on “opera in education” is merely dewy-eyed in its appreciation,' bemoans Rupert Christiansen, opera critic at The Daily Telegraph.

‘Too often the quality of the music-making I have heard is poor, failing to stretch or challenge the children enough, especially in the matter of disciplined singing. The sector needs more rigour, more candour, more distinction between good and bad practice.
‘However gentle the tactics employed,' he continues, ‘a school-based introduction to opera can have the unfortunate consequence of making children think that it is something that has to be taught before it can be enjoyed. Leave the word “opera” out, I sometimes think – everyone can understand the idea of telling a story through music. The power and charm of Carmen and The Magic Flute don't need lectures or classroom projects to be felt.'
What, then, is opera education and – more importantly – what is ‘good' opera education? Even Reseo, a European network of opera house education departments, acknowledges that it means different things to different people. ‘Some houses would see education work purely as a means to develop present and future audiences,' Reseo states. ‘At another extreme, other houses are motivated to use opera in social initiatives as a means to deliver better community relations.'
Broadly speaking, opera houses undertake education work to bring more people to the artform. Educational activities might range from discussions and seminars to performances, workshops and operas produced with the participation of a particular group.

They might occur in the opera house or beyond, in schools, hospitals or community settings. Yet despite the advances made in opera outreach, the artform still faces its greatest challenge in overcoming perceived barriers of elitism and inaccessibility.

Catherine Sutton, head of the English National Opera (ENO) Baylis education programme, recognises the dilemma. ‘There are some people who will never think that opera is for them,' she says, ‘and that's where we come in, in terms of brokering those connections and giving people an opportunity to try out opera – hopefully fostering an idea that opera has meaning for them and that they have an entitlement to be part of the world of this company.'
ENO Baylis started life in 1985 with two people. Today, its core team of six (plus more than 1,000 freelancers) are involved a huge variety of projects annually. ‘Essentially,' explains Sutton, ‘it's about making the resources of this company available to the broadest possible audience.'

ENO certainly seems to have the hang of reaching big audiences, as anyone who remembers Channel 4's Operatunity (an operatic take on Pop Idol) will know. But the hit TV show was just a tiny part of the company's education work. It also has training groups such as Saturday Live!, a performing arts course for nine- to 18-year olds run in collaboration with a performing arts school in Westminster (‘a really diverse group from different London boroughs,' says Sutton); and The Works, which covers a broader range of styles.

The Knack offers more specialised vocal coaching for would-be professionals. Then there are the full-scale performances put together using non-professionals, such as For The Public Good (which involved 450 amateur singers) or The Early Earth Operas (a huge show performed by hundreds of children from inner-London schools). One opera company that's reaching out to people in a particularly inspirational way is Streetwise Opera. A small company, it focuses on homeless and previously homeless people in London and works with them to put on an opera – once a year and as high quality as a professional show. Its key aim is to use opera to help people overcome a crippling lack of motivation or self-confidence. But it's not by patronising them – the company is extremely serious about the standard it works to. And if, at first, it sounds a bit too kooky or bleeding-heart liberal, it's far from a joke.

‘One of the first reviews that we got, from The Times, said “people who suspect that this is political correctness in overdrive would be over the moon” – I'm paraphrasing because I can't remember the exact quote – “if the performances were mediocre but, actually, musically it was superb”,' enthuses Kirsten Mason, general manager of Streetwise and former head of professional development at Arts & Business.

Streetwise was the brainchild of Matthew Peacock. Working as an opera journalist and a key worker with the homeless at the same time back in 2002, he began to see how one could help the other. However much of a success it's been, it still sounds a bit wacky.

‘Erm, I think it can take some getting your head around,' admits Mason, ‘because opera and homeless people are often seen as being at different ends of the social spectrum…but I would say the proof is that it works. Opera has as many misconceptions attached to it, in different ways, as the homeless do. Both can be perceived quite negatively by the public so providing an arena which puts both of them in a really positive light is a great thing.'

Colin Virr, education manager of Aldeburgh Productions in Suffolk , is a fan of Streetwise – understand-able given the similarities between each company. Though Aldeburgh is much more established (it was instigated by composer Benjamin Britten just shy of 60 years ago), it shares many of the values of the younger London company and may well be collaborating with it in the future.