“The Decameron project does genuinely new things with opera, and has lessons to teach the industry that may well outlast the grim pandemic which spawned it.”
Decameron Opera Coalition
The Decameron Opera Coalition is a collaboration of unparalleled scope that aims to keep opera vibrant, new work thriving, singers singing, and audiences enthralled. The coalition is comprised of nine independent opera companies from across the United States: Resonance Works [Pittsburgh], Lyric Opera of the North [Duluth], UrbanArias [Washington DC], Bare Opera [NYC], Opera in the Heights [Houston], Chicago Fringe Opera, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, and An Opera Theatre [Minneapolis], along with composer and librettist Peter Hilliard and Matt Boresi (The Last American Hammer).
The coalition members commission teams of contemporary opera’s most vital and diverse creative voices to illuminate America’s indispensable indie opera scene, with a dedication to new sounds, unparalleled storytelling, and underrepresented voices. Independent opera companies are where new audiences are born, where seasoned opera appetites are fed, where new work is incubated, and where the craft is nurtured. The Decameron Opera Coalition is the future of opera.
“an unbridled success - edgy, novel, richly detailed, musically intriguing”
“An ingenious project”
Tales from a Safe Distance
Ten friends last saw one another on a starlit rooftop in Florence. Now, their only way to share a toast is via a video call from their pandemic lockdown locations. How to pass the time when no one has new developments to share? Make up stories! But will they inspire one another to overcome their COVID-era ennui?
Tales from a Safe Distance is a 21st century operatic adaptation of Boccaccio’s 14th century novel The Decameron, in an unprecedented co-creation from the newly formed Decameron Opera Coalition. These nine indie opera companies from across the U.S. reimagined Boccaccio’s stories for our own pandemic times, each with a unique team of creators and artists. The idea originated with the composer-librettist team of Peter Hilliard and Matt Boresi, who together created the tenth wraparound story, “The Happy Hour”, featuring one character-storyteller from each of the other 9 tales, and a special guest star, the world renowned bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni. The result was an unprecedented operatic co-creation - a new opera, straight to film, that is an anthology of 10 world premieres written by 10 creative teams, and engaging a total of 86 artists from around the world.
Tales premiered in four episodes in October 2020 and ran through December 31, streaming to an audience on 6 continents, in 17 countries, and 43 states and territories. In February 2021, the DOC launched a new partnership with IDAGIO, the leading streaming app for classical music, where Tales from a Safe Distance has been remounted in the Global Concert Hall for streaming in 160 countries worldwide through 2021.
Accolades:
Tales from a Safe Distance has been invited into the Library of Congress’ Performing Arts Covid-19 Response Collection. This new collection will include works by nationally and internationally renowned creators to document the new work that performing artists created during the pandemic.
2020 "Freddie" Excellence in Opera Award from Fred Plotkin ~ WQXR New York Public Radio
OperaWire’s Best of 2020 list of “Industry-Defining Moments of the Year”
Winner of ‘Best Collaboration’ from 360° of Opera®
Resonance Works’ “Tales” chapter is “Sourdough: Rise Up” by Gilda Lyons, with illustrations by Chris Lyons
Singing inside the Box(es) - An excerpt of “The Happy Hour” by Hilliard and Boresi