Traditionally enjoyed by aristocracy, opera will be used to reach out to migrants, rural poor and young offenders. The EU-funded TRACTION project will use opera to define new forms of artistic creation through which marginalised groups can tell the stories that matter now. Experimental projects will be held in Barcelona's inner-city neighbourhoods, Ireland's rural communities and Portugal's prison for juvenile delinquents in Leiria. It will propose new approaches as regards opera creation, digital media, and social integration and community development. It will identify new routes for social and economic integration and form stronger ties between opera producers and society. In the long term, it will define how art can be used to build cohesive societies in which all members belong.