RESEO x Bayerische Staatsoper: Transformation Through Participation? 

Access to Participatory Community Projects:
How can we create low-barrier access to projects? What kind of understanding of participation should be used as a basis? This focus is about discussing models and approaches that make engagement possible and encouraging.

Participation in Artistic Processes:
When it comes to collaboration between professional and non-professional theatre creators, how can this work be integrated in a lasting and visible way into regular theater productions? How can participatory projects meet the standards of artistic excellence? How can we balance artistic experience, performance quality, and participant empowerment?

Inclusion of Young People in Decision-Making:
Beyond active participation, how can we ensure young people are truly heard and actively included in decision-making processes? Key questions include how their perspectives—also in a European comparison—are considered in planning and shaping formats and processes.

Vania Cauzillo  

Vania Cauzillo, based in Matera, South Italy, is a stage director, documentarist, and artist-PhD researcher at the University of Basilicata. Her research focuses on community opera formats and co-creation methods, working with local and European communities to develop narratives from personal stories and musical archives. She is the co-artistic director of L’Albero Compagnia Teatrale, recognized by the Italian Ministry of Culture, and has collaborated with Teatro San Carlo in Naples. Vania designed the acclaimed community opera project “Silent City” for Matera European Capital of Culture 2019. She has served as Vice-Chair of RESEO since 2021 and was elected Chair in 2023.

Sarah Théry  

Sarah Théry, a French mezzo-soprano, holds a Master’s degree in Lied and Opera from Leipzig’s University of Music and was an Artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, studying under José van Dam and Sophie Koch. In 2020, she co-founded Collectif Meute, an opera company dedicated to participatory works and socially conscious creations, supported by organizations like Festival Aix-en-Provence and Fedora. As a performer and dramaturg, she specialises in musical hybridisation, blending lyrical repertoire with jazz, traditional, and minimalist music. Sarah also hosts weekly radio shows on Belgium’s national channels La Première and Musiq3, combining her literary background with her musical expertise.

Theresa Schmitz  

Dr. Theresa Schmitz is a musicologist who earned her doctorate from CRAL (EHESS/Paris) and published her PhD research on European lyrical creation for young audiences, *L’Opéra Jeune Public*, in 2023. She spent 12 years as production manager and administrator at Wiener Taschenoper and Opéra national de Lyon before transitioning to freelance work in South France in 2022. Theresa joined RESEO in October 2022 and continues her research on the history and evolution of outreach and education in the arts. Her work focuses on programming for diverse audiences and communities within the performing arts sector.

Bérangère Martin

Bérangère is an art historian and musicologist with a degree from the University of Louvain. Since February 2018, she has served as the Head of Outreach and Participation Projects for schools and families at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie. In this role, she has organised a wide range of activities to introduce children and young people of all ages to opera.

Her work includes overseeing several long-term initiatives, such as three major community projects: Orfeo & Majnun (2018), Push (2019), and Ali (2023). More recently, she developed a digital platform called Behind the Scenes, designed to offer young people and other curious audiences an insider’s perspective on the world of opera and the inner workings of the institution.

He designs and leads outreach projects and training programmes, working with organisations such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Insula Orchestra, and the Paris Conservatoire. In opera, he has collaborated with English National Opera, Glyndebourne, and the Théâtre du Châtelet, while contributing annually to the Festival d’Aix since 2010. Mark has established outreach programmes with ensembles including the Hallé Orchestra and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. With a focus on vulnerable communities, he has directed the LSO’s hospital programmes and works with Jessie’s Fund to bring music to children with disabilities and life-limiting conditions.