Mar 24, 2023
A supporter since 1972, Canada Life is one of Manitoba Opera’s oldest partners. While both organizations have evolved over the past 50 years, they remain connected in their understanding of how important a thriving arts and culture sector is for our community.
The opportunity to improve the well-being of all Canadians, beginning with our littlest citizens, has always been a driving force for Canada Life. As Manitoba Opera’s lead Education and Community Engagement sponsor, Canada Life is contributing to healthy communities by ensuring that access to arts education is available for youth to learn through the magic of opera.
Canada Life’s support helps provide free educational programming to schools all over the province. Demand for these program is high as educators understand how impactful these learning opportunities can be. Opera Class challenges students to create their own opera, while setting the stage for students to feel encouraged in making creative discoveries. Students learn to interact with one another, are provided a safe space to explore ideas in a creative way, and come away with new knowledge about themselves, their peers, and the world.
Canada Life believes that the arts are a valuable platform to host a healthy dialogue about the importance of diversity. With Canada Life’s support, Manitoba Opera has been able to ensure that programs such as Opera Storytime are an inclusive reflection of our community. Through their support, we have been able to translate beloved stories about opera into languages spoken by students in Manitoba, including French, Ukrainian, Korean, and Ojibwe. Students experience these stories in their own language and feel seen and included.
These programs enable Manitoba Opera to open up the conversation about how opera can be used as a creative lens for young minds to explore the world. Canada Life believes this kind of forward thinking is critical for building stronger communities and that arts education is one of the ways that we can achieve this.
