It’s rare that kids — or even adults, for that matter —get a backstage pass to the inner workings of a classic professional musical theater genre. But the annual Seattle Opera’s Opera Center Open House offers that rare opportunity.
On Saturday, Sept. 26, from 1 to 4 p.m., families are invited to visit the opera house at Seattle Center for an afternoon of hands-on activities and learning about an art form that is nearly four and a half centuries old. The event is free.
Opera is known for its big voices and extravagant costumes, and young visitors will get a real feel for the pageantry as they try on real opera costumes, participate in arts and crafts stations, and learn dance segments from the opera “Salome” (onstage starting Oct. 17) alongside the production’s choreographer, Carmine De Amicis. A group sing-along of opera favorites led by chorus master Michaella Calzaretta is also planned. Don’t be intimidated; no musical background is needed to join in.
Visitors tour the props department at Seattle Opera’s 2025 open house. (Photo by Sunny Martini)
Is opera a fit for kids? You bet. As Washington Parent Publisher Ronel Hentschel recently wrote on the benefits of the art:
“Watch children in tantrum or glee. Their voices peak, plummet and soar. Their feet pound, kick and leap. They draw their feelings in pictures, scribbles and vibrant color. Children live out their daily lives quite naturally on an operatic scale.
It is their job when they are young to try to understand what it means to be human, what it is to build relationships, make discoveries, feel feelings,” Henschel continued. “This is opera’s area of expertise. Words are insufficient to contain and communicate the depth and breadth of the human experience. As adults, we turn to song, dance and visuals as outlets and reflections of our complex emotions. By teaching children to do the same, we are providing them with invaluable tools for communication.”
Beyond the craft tables, the company will offer tours of the costume shop and props department. Kids will be able to see performers close to their own age take the stage, including a mariachi group made up of Highline School District students and a showcase from the Youth Opera Project, which gives youth performers the chance to take center stage as they learn, rehearse, and perform a fully staged, fully produced production.
