Professional Development

National Educator Conference

Each season, the Met’s National Educator Conference brings together teachers and administrators from across the United States for an intensive professional development experience. Through workshops, keynotes, and conversations with opera stars and members of the Met’s creative teams, the conference helps educators identify and cultivate strategies for incorporating opera into their classrooms.

This year’s conference takes place on October 7-10, 2025, in New York City. Over the course of four days, teachers will visit participate in hands-on curricular workshops; explore the Tenement Museum; meet with Met artists and administrators; attend two Met performances; and brainstorm strategies for bringing HD Live in Schools to their communities. We welcome back actress and podcaster Susan Blackwell as conference moderator, as well as a roster of special guests from the Met and beyond.

Participating districts are invited to send one educator, all expenses paid, to attend the conference. Additional district representatives are welcome to participate.

Virtual Educator Conferences

Following the annual National Educator Conference, Met Opera Education hosts virtual conferences throughout the school year for those who unable to attend the national conference in person, as well as teachers preparing for upcoming HD Live in School broadcasts. These meetings engage Met artists, academics, and educators from around the globe. In addition to serving our HD Live in Schools core community of educators, they have been attended by teachers and opera lovers from 40+ countries on six continents. Register for this season’s series of virtual conferences below!

January 2026
Exploring I Puritani and Cinderella
Hosted on Zoom; guest speakers to be announced.

April 2026
Exploring Eugene Onegin
Hosted on Zoom; guest speakers to be announced.

Previous Virtual Conferences

Virtual Educator Conference

Fire Shut Up in My Bones and Eurydice

Autumn 2021

Dr. Naomi André, author of Black Opera, discusses the Met’s production of Fire Shut Up in My Bones with composer Terence Blanchard; Dr. Mark Pottinger, a professor at Manhattan College, breaks open the Orpheus myth and its history in performance; and Eurydice composer Matthew Aucoin spends time with HD Live in Schools teachers in a conversation led by Susan Blackwell.

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Virtual Educator Conference

Rigoletto, Cendrillon, and Il Barbiere di Siviglia

Winter 2021

Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe discusses her career with Susan Blackwell; Dr. Kamala Schelling illuminates the art and politics of the Weimar Republic and how they inspired the Met’s new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto; scenic designer Michael Yeargan chats with Susan Blackwell about his career at the Met; and Dr. Emily Sáenz offers a quick curriculum for the Met’s productions of Cendrillon and Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

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Virtual Educator Conference

Hamlet and Lucia di Lammermoor

Spring 2022

Susan Blackwell discusses the Met’s new production of Hamlet with composer Brett Dean and librettist Matthew Jocelyn; Dr. Mark Pottinger, professor at Manhattan College, explores a new production of Lucia di Lammermoor set in the American Rust Belt; and Dr. Dympna Callaghan, a professor at Syracuse University, discusses the history of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

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