Holly O'Brien

The Metropolitan Opera Guild

The Metropolitan Opera Guild is the world's premier arts education organization dedicated to enriching lives through the magic and artistry of opera. Through our education initiatives, public programs, and publications, the Guild brings the excitement of opera to ardent fans and opera newcomers around the world. The Guild's Education Department provides an innovative network of music and arts education programs for thousands of students and teachers across the country. These programs include rehearsals and performances at the Met Opera, family education programs, professional development courses, and collaborations with colleges and universities. For schools in New York and New Jersey that are unable to offer arts education programs, the Guild provides year-long residency programs designed to integrate music into classroom curriculum. Through these partnerships, students gain skills in literacy and collaboration, self-confidence, and an increased capacity for self-expression. The Guild's Community Engagement Department offers intensive workshops, pre-performance talks, and even a podcast series for the first-time operagoer to the life-long fan. Approximately 130 master classes, courses, lectures and backstage tours are conducted annually by the Guild, giving the public a first-hand look into the art of opera. Through its Public Programs Department, the Guild produces high-exposure events to help raise funds for its education programs and to celebrate opera artists. Foremost among these events are the OPERA NEWS Awards, which recognizes artists for their achievements in opera. The Guild's Annual Luncheon, Met Legends, and Met Mastersingers events also honor the great figures of opera and are attended by thousands of fans each season. As publisher of OPERA NEWS, the world's leading opera magazine, the Guild reaches a global audience with the most insightful and up-to-date writing on opera, helping to maintain opera as a thriving, contemporary art form.