Opera in the Neighborhood

Excitement and energy filled the auditorium at Addison Trail High School as 1,894 elementary school students anticipated the production of "The Scorpions Sting”.
​The Lyric Opera of Chicago's Lyric Unlimited performance is part of their "Opera in the Neighborhoods” initiative.

"The Scorpions Sting" is a delightful story that takes place in the Egyptian dessert where a group of archaeology students try to find their professor who, unfortunately, has been stung by a scorpion. While attempting to find a cure to the professors wound, the group stumbles upon the Lost Temple of Isis, the ancient Egyptian Goddess of Healing and by reading the hieroglyphs the mythological story unfolds.
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Addison Center for the Arts is proud to have been the first in the suburban area to present the “Opera in the Neighborhoods” 23 years ago. Since 1994, the Center has presented the performances in collaboration with Lyric Opera of Chicago's Lyric Unlimited. This program is partially funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (Arts in the Communities Grant), the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the Addison Center for the Arts.

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​Arts Alive : An After School Program

The Addison Center for the Arts has offered Arts Alive: An After School Art Program to junior high students in out community since 2013.
Arts ​Alive is offered once again to Indian Trail Junior High School students in grades 6-8. The program enables students to participate in dance, music, theater and visual arts workshops. Mentors offer their expertise while working with students in the arts, above and beyond their academic studies, in a safe setting after school hours. Arts Alive is funded by the JCS Foundation through the DuPage Community Foundation, the Addison Center for the Arts and Addison School District #4.
We believe arts education fosters critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and appreciation of other cultures, as well as helps students develop skills that can be used throughout life. In our Arts Alive program, mentors offer their expertise while working with students, many of whom would not otherwise have the exposure to certain disciplines due to the course of their academic studies.

Partial funding for Arts Alive is provided by the DuPage Foundation. The ACA was one of 30 not-for-profit organizations in DuPage County to receive a grant from the 2013 Fall Discretionary Grant Cycle of the DuPage Foundation, which is based in Wheaton, Illinois.

Opera in the Neighborhoods: Second Nature (Nov. 2015)

Opera in the Neighborhoods brings live performances of youth-focused operas to neighborhood  venues throughout the Chicago area. (See more here.)

A new, original youth opera commissioned by Lyric Unlimited from the brilliant young composer the Wall Street Journal called “the next Leonard Bernstein.”

Set in a future where humans have turned their backs on nature, Second Nature tells the story of two inquisitive and courageous young people who decide to leave the safety of their artificial habitat and work to heal the planet. This entertaining and thought-provoking opera will delight students and inspire further exploration.

~Matthew Aucoin

“Sleeping Beauty: Aurora’s Wedding” by Salt Creek Ballet (Sept. 2015)

The Addison Center for the Arts presented Salt Creek Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty: Aurora’s Wedding with Lecture Demonstration on September 17, 2015.

The ACA was thrilled to bring Salt Creek Ballet’s classic version of Sleeping Beauty: Aurora’s Wedding to Addison Trail High School. There were two performances, which were designed for students in grades 2-5. The performances were accompanied by a lecture demonstration, which highlighted the vocabulary, movement and history of ballet. More than 1,700 local elementary school children attended the two performances, many of them attending from Addison School District #4.