In May 2013 we invited 18 artists, singers, musicians and makers to spend one week at the Mediamatic Favela in Amsterdam and create an opera inspired by the concept of favela - a third world solution for the first world problems. We talked to the favela citizens, we discussed what we love and what we hate about opera, we developed a community based working structures avoiding the traditional power structure of opera working processes, we tried to recycle operatic repertoire and our own works in a new creation. That's how Opera Playground 2013 was born. On the 12th of May we invited audience to join our playground to celebrate European Opera Days 2013. Watch how we created Opera for Favela in just one week. Documentary filmmaker John Treffer followed us with his camera.

Read more about the Opera for Favela project here: unitedstatesofopera.com