UC Merced Children’s Opera, a performance that delights and enlightens thousands of schoolchildren a year while giving Bobcat students experience in theater, has received support from a generous grant from the Central Valley Opportunity Fund.
The three-year, $90,000 grant to the opera and the Merced County Office of Education (MCOE) will strengthen the sustainability of the opera, which is produced annually by UC Merced Arts and operates largely on the work of dedicated contractors and the seemingly bottomless energy of Jenni Samuelson, the opera’s director and a music lecturer for UC Merced Global Arts Studies.
“This grant provides the sustainability we need to keep the Children’s Opera thriving,” said Samuelson, an opera singer herself who grew up in Merced and has taught at UC Merced since 2011. “It ensures we can continue presenting engaging, high-quality performances that connect our community’s youth with our campus through music and storytelling.”
The Children’s Opera is performed each spring in coordination with MCOE’s arts program. This academic year’s production, “The Ghost in the Opera House,” marks the opera’s 16th year, with a free community performance scheduled for May 23, 2026, at the Art Kamangar Center at The Merced Theatre downtown.
Each performance features professional opera singers, musicians and designers. UC Merced students work alongside these professionals, both on stage and in the production crew. The book and lyrics for each show are written by Nancy Steele Brokaw, an Illinois-based educator and writer.
The shows feature classic opera tunes recognizable from pop culture but with words rewritten to fit a family-friendly plot. Audience members are taught songs and cues early on and are urged to interact with the performers.
