An evening of short films commissioned and produced for streaming on the Opera Philadelphia Channel in 2021, making their theatrical debuts in Festival O22.
Save the Boys, Tyshawn Sorey's world premiere inspired by an 1887 poem by abolitionist, writer, and Black women’s rights activist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, performed by countertenor John Holiday and pianist Grant Loehnig.(21:02)
Blessed, composer Courtney Bryan’s multi-layered exploration of darkness and light, hope and love, created as a response to the milestone events of 2020, in collaboration with filmmaker Tiona Nekkia McClodden, soprano Janinah Burnett, vocalist Damian Norfleet, and sound designer Rob Kaplowitz. (22:02)
We Need to Talk, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw and director Maureen Towey create an environment filled with tension and energy in this short film based on a poem by Anne Carson. Soprano Ariadne Greif stars as a young woman in conversation with herself, reminiscent of our isolated days of quarantine: days of frustration, joy, and grief.(10:44)
TakTakShoo, composer Rene Orth’s fusion of opera and K-pop, marimba, electronics, and dance, that creates an eclectic sound and movement world. With a libretto by playwright Kanika Ambrose, the film stars mezzo-soprano Kristen Choi as an energizing life force inviting people to come into the world anew, and is directed by Emmy Award-nominated director and choreographer Jeffrey L. Page (11:58)
