Build it. Make it. Wear it. Perform it.

Open
Tue to Sun · 10am to 7pm
For
Kids 2 to 16 + families
Where
Singapore Riverfront
Inside
4 floors of play
How Operaverse works

Like Minecraft, but real

In a game you collect resources and build anything you want. Here you do it for real, and what you build becomes part of Chinese Street Opera.

Step 01

Collect

Bring your own used plastic from home and drop it into the Recycling Centre.

1st floor
Step 02

Craft

Your plastic becomes a 3D printed character. Then head up to the dye farm, make your own paint and colour it in.

1st + 3rd floor
Step 03

Build

Print your character. Make masks, props and costumes with artisans.

1st + 2nd floor
Step 04

Perform

Get your makeup done, rehearse, then step onto the Black Box stage.

1st + 2nd floor
Step 05

Sell

Sell what you made at the Maker Market, then come back and build more.

1st floor
Who you'll meet

Young and old, making together

Operaverse brings kids, artisans and opera troupes into the same rooms, so the craft is passed on hand to hand.

Kids

Gen Alpha. You collect, build, dress up, perform and sell. This place is made for you.

Artisans

Mask, prop, headdress and costume makers who teach you their craft at the bench.

Opera troupes

Real performers who rehearse here, show you their makeup and share the stage with you.

Parents + visitors

Relax in the parents' lounge, eat at the café, watch a show and shop at the market.

What's on

Shows and workshops this week

Pick something you like, then tap the button to book your seat or your spot.

Book a seat

Save your seat in the Black Box

Three quick steps. Pick a show, pick a time, then tap the seats you want.

1

Pick a show or workshop

2

Pick a time

3

Tap your seats

Stageretractable · slides out for shows

Retractable seating · rows fold away on market days

Pick your seats to continue.

Character Studio

Dress your opera character

Drag clothes, headdresses, face paint, weapons and props onto your character. You can also just tap them. This is a taste of what you'll make for real at Operaverse.

My Character
Character
01

Build

Turn old plastic into your own opera character.

■ First floor

The Recycling Centre

Step 1 of 6Drop it in

Bring your own used plastic from home and drop it into the collection bins.

■ Second floor · behind the stage

The Mini Arcade

The mini arcade is a claw machine full of opera characters. Move the claw, press Grab and try your luck. Every figure is a real role from Chinese opera.

Try your luck

Your prize

Try your luck!

Use the arrows to move the claw over a character, then press Grab.

All the characters inside

02

Empower

Make it for real, hands-on with artisans and opera troupes.

■ Second floor

Make it with real artisans

The whole second floor is for making. Learn the old way from an artisan, or jump into a workshop and build something new.

Watch→Try→Make your own→Take it home or sell it

Artisan Studios

Sit at the bench with a master maker and learn their craft, one step at a time.

Mask Studio

Shape and paint opera masks and face designs.

Prop Studio

Build stage swords, fans and spears that troupes really use.

Headdress Studio

Bead, wire and pom-pom the crowns and helmets.

Costume Studio

Sew robes and sleeves with cloth dyed in our rooftop farm.

Kids' Workshops

Drop-in sessions where you make your own things, fast and messy and fun.

Lantern Making

Fold, glue and light up your own lantern.

Prop Building

Build a prop from recycled parts and garden paint.

Garden Paint Lab

Paint with colours made from plants grown upstairs.

Material Lounge

Choose your filament, paints, cloth and bamboo before you start.

Makeup Studio

Sign up to learn opera makeup, and watch the troupes paint their faces before a show.

Music Studio

Drums, gongs and strings. Learn the beats that go with every opera move.

Mini Arcade

Behind the stage. Pick the character you want to print and play.

Parents' Lounge

Up on the mezzanine. Grown-ups relax with a view while the kids make.

03

Perform

Bring what you made to life on the Black Box stage.

■ First floor · the big void

The Black Box changes shape

The heart of the building. The seats and the stage slide away, so the same room can be a theatre, a market or a rehearsal hall. Tap to change it.

MAKER MARKET STAGE SEATS ♪♫♪ PRACTICE FLOOR
Now showing

Show time

The stage slides out and the seats roll forward. Lights down, curtain up.

  • Retractable stage out
  • Retractable seats out
  • Stage lights on

Makeup Studio→Music Studio→Rehearse→Perform!

04

Sustain

Grow your own colours on the roof, powered by the sun and the rain.

■ Third floor

The Urban Dye Farm

Grow indigo, turmeric, butterfly pea and other dye plants, harvest them, and turn them into real paint with an artisan. Every plant gives a different colour. Then take your colours back down to paint your 3D printed character and your masks and props.

URBAN DYE FARM PAINT LAB INDIGOTURMERICBUTTERFLY PEA HARVEST → INDIGOVAT ARTISAN PLANT PAINT ↓ TAKE IT DOWN PAINT & BUILD
In the farm

Plant

Push a seed into the soil. Indigo, turmeric and butterfly pea all love Singapore's warm weather.

  • Plant paint
  • Dyed cloth
  • Costumes
  • Masks
  • Characters

What grows in the dye farm

Each plant hides a colour in a different part. Tap a plant to fill the vat in the Paint Lab.

■ The roof

A glass box roof that works

The third floor sits under a glass box roof covered in solar panels. The sun powers the building, and the rain is caught and used to water the farm.

SOLAR PANELS 3RD · DYE FARM MEZZANINE2ND1ST POWER RAIN TANK
Solar roofPanels on the glass box turn sunlight into power for the lights and machines.
Glass boxLets daylight pour into the farm so the plants can grow.
Rain catchGutters collect rain from the roof into a big tank.
Water reuseThe stored rain waters the dye farm. Nothing is wasted.
■ First floor

The Maker Market

Sell what you make. Kids and artisans sell their characters, masks, props and lanterns here, and the money helps keep the craft alive. It's a circle that never stops.

The
Operaverse
circle
  1. CollectKids bring their own used plastic.
  2. MakeThey become characters, props and costumes.
  3. PerformYour creations go on stage.
  4. SellThey are sold at the market.
  5. AgainMoney and leftovers go back into making more.
Building map

Explore all four floors

Tap a floor to see what's inside.

Why Operaverse

Keeping Chinese Street Opera alive

How can a youth performance arcade in Singapore help bring Chinese Street Opera back to life by getting Gen Alpha and local artisans making, performing and selling together?

Opera is not something to keep behind glass. Here, a generation that grew up on games gets the tools to play it, build it and carry it forward.

BuildTurn waste into characters.
EmpowerLearn and make with artisans and opera troupes.
PerformBring your creations to life on stage.
SustainGrow colours, reuse rain, run on the sun, keep heritage alive.