ADO - Apprentissage de l'Orchestre

Enabling more conservatory students to explore the operatic repertoire and promoting greater diversity within orchestras.

In September 2023, the Paris Opera Academy launched France’s first youth opera orchestra through the initiative “ADO – Learning the Orchestra.” This project brought together two orchestras comprising 150 musicians aged 8 to 25, from both Seine-Saint-Denis and Paris.

This project reflects the Paris Opera’s commitment to making the operatic repertoire accessible to more conservatory students and to promoting greater diversity in orchestras. To support students on their path to professionalization, ADO offers a program combining instrumental practice, discovery of the operatic repertoire, as well as collective training in choral singing and dance. Rooted in a strong commitment to social inclusion, ADO is entirely free of charge and has been designed to encourage and facilitate family participation.

ADO is under the patronage of Raí, a legendary football figure also known for his advocacy for youth education in underprivileged neighborhoods in Brazil.

Recent developments

ADO currently brings together 160 young musicians aged 8 to 25 under the musical direction of conductor Victor Jacob. The participants are divided into two ensembles: the Rudolf Nureyev Orchestra for beginners (ages 8 to 14) and the Maria Callas Orchestra for more advanced students (ages 18 to 25).

As part of the France-Brazil 2025 Season, the Paris Opera Academy is organizing an artistic and educational exchange with young musicians from EMESP Tom Jobim. In July 2025, the Brazilian orchestra will be welcomed in Paris for an intensive week of workshops, professional encounters, visits to the Opéra Bastille and Palais Garnier, and a joint concert at the Grand Amphithéâtre de la Sorbonne on 11 July 2025. A return concert is scheduled for 26 October 2025 at the Sala São Paulo, bringing together the Maria Callas Orchestra and EMESP Tom Jobim.

ADO is developing a partnership with El Camino Pau, a youth orchestra. Following a first joint concert at the Sorbonne Amphitheatre in Paris, hosted by the Academy, El Camino will welcome ADO for a performance in Pau on 16 May 2026.

On 13 June 2026, a concert featuring both orchestras will be held at the Palais Garnier.

Did you know?

The profession of orchestral musician is one rooted in hands-on experience. As early as the 1940s, many countries—particularly in Northern Europe—established youth orchestras. In France, where individual music instruction long took precedence over group practice, the first national youth orchestra was only created in 1982.

For the first time, with ADO, a training program offers young musicians the opportunity to explore the operatic repertoire from within an opera house itself, in direct contact with professionals in the field—enabling them to share their expertise and passion.