What's Better Than Broccoli? The Opera of Course

The Swedish opera house Folkoperan got over a thousand children to self-willingly choose opera last week. How? By letting them choose between opera and the one thing children dislike even more – broccoli. 

Opera is not only a declining art form, but also a more or less non- existing choice for a younger generation. Therefore, Folkoperan faced a rather big challenge when setting up Neil Gaiman’s Coraline as a family opera. 

“Kids are not stupid. Giving out candy or making funny commercials wouldn’t get us anywhere. So instead we gave them an offer they surely would refuse”, says Susanne Reuzsner, head of communication at Folkoperan. 

Instead of flyers the venue gave away hundreds of broccoli's to parents all over Stockholm, documented an experiment with 30 kids, and even guerilla marketed with real broccoli's inside subways. 

“There need to be a first time for everything. This time we managed to get a lot of children to 'self-willingly' choose us. Fortunately, in the end, we now see that opera actually is starting to sprout among youngsters”, says Susanne. 

Coraline will continue to play on Folkoperan until March 8th and tickets are almost sold out.