Opera is the theatre of emotion. It can speak to audiences across societies, continents and even centuries because the core themes and struggles of the human condition remain the same.
Opera has always spoken to both elites and people, expressed both authority and revolution. But in recent decades, this art has too often lost sight of its popular roots and radical edge.
Researchers sought to put opera back at the heart of living culture, giving some of society’s most-marginalised groups – young offenders, migrants and the rural poor shared ownership of the culture that expresses European values.
People at risk of social exclusion co-created opera performances with professional artists, telling stories that are important to them, and reconnecting the form with its socially progressive potential. Community opera trials used a special stage to connect locations and people in real-time, allowing participants in different places to perform together.
11 opera performances involved more than 1 300 non-professional artists and community members. The operas were enjoyed in person by more than 8 000 people, and over 766 000 remotely.
Performances included a community opera with and for the young inmates of Leiria Youth Prison, Portugal, an opera about life in Raval featuring amateur choirs from the neighbourhood in Barcelona, and the world’s first virtual reality-based opera, co-created with teenagers in remote areas in Ireland.
The arts are central to how societies talk to themselves, researchers say. They can be used to include those left behind in wider prosperity, and build societies in which all members belong.