Chicago Fringe Opera announces the autumnal half of its 2020-2021 season

Chicago’s “alt-opera company” (John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune), Chicago Fringe Opera (CFO) announces the fall portion of its sixth season. Built within the parameters of the pandemic, the company’s upcoming projects feature an eclectic mix of virtual and in-person productions. CFO is dedicated to presenting innovative vocal works with an emphasis on contemporary music, engaging with a diverse Chicago community through intimate and immersive performance experiences, and empowering local artists. 

FALL PROJECTS 

Tales from a Safe Distance 

An online short film series 

The Decameron Opera Coalition is a newly-launched collaboration between nine US-based opera companies that will premiere Tales from a Safe Distance, a epic project to be broadcast online in October 2020. 

This bold new series is inspired by a historic text, Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, a tale of ten people quarantined together outside of Florence during the Black Plague in the 14th Century. Tales from a Safe Distance reimagines this story to reflect the way people currently connect with each other through technology during this extraordinary time in the world’s history. Tales from a Safe Distance features nine world premiere ten-minute operas, and a tenth framing story starring internationally-renowned bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni. Episodes will be released weekly, featuring multiple stories from participating companies and their unique creative teams. 

Episode 4: The Bolts of Fortune (premiering October 30, 2020) will feature CFO’s chapter entitled Corsair. Inspired by Day 2, Story 4 from the Decameron, Corsair follows one man’s journey from greed to humility, from isolation to community, all told through the epic form of hip-hopera. Previous CFO collaborator K. F. Jacques (The Rosina Project) returns as composer, librettist, and featured performer, alongside soprano Takesha Meshé Kizart-Thomas. 

Date & Time: October 9, 16, 23, & 30, 2020 | 7:00 PM (CT) | Available digitally

A City of Works 

A site-specific digital experience 

As many find themselves without work in these unprecedented times, artists search for new and innovative ways to produce meaningful experiences for audiences. CFO uses this opportunity to expand the boundaries of the operatic art form, embracing new concepts, ideologies, and approaches, while redefining how and where audiences experience the power of opera. 

CFO has always held the support and engagement of Chicago artists as core to its mission, consistently hiring local musicians and production staff. A City of Works furthers that commitment by commissioning short songs from nine Chicago composers. Each composition is written for one or two vocalists along with a single instrumentalist, and each work is inspired by one of Chicago’s 50 unique wards. Now more than ever, a variety of voices must be given a platform to be heard; CFO commits to ensuring that the artists commissioned and the neighborhoods selected represent the many aspects - including those of race, ethnicity, economics, gender, sexuality, and ability - that contribute to the rich cultural scene of our city. 

A City of Works - an oblique reference to former Mayor Richard J. Daley’s moniker for Chicago - combines the power of music and design in a series of site-specific digital experiences. Evoking the ethereal nature of theatre itself, audiences embark on individual journeys to landmarks throughout our city, unlocking audio and video content, and joining a collective experience to watch performances through individual personal devices. 

Arriving at specific locations, audiences scan a QR code on their smartphone to access a music video of a given newly-commissioned work, the piece having been filmed at that locale, creating a fleeting yet shared theatrical experience. The project eliminates the need for the gathering of groups of people while leaving content both free of charge and accessible at any time to audiences. 

The composers, singers and other artists behind A City of Works will be made public closer to the project’s release date. 

Date: November 2020 | Available digitally, activated on locations throughout Chicago FALL EVENTS 

Sounds of Pride 2020 

After postponement in response to Chicago’s pandemic guidelines, CFO celebrates Pride Month by featuring musical programming composed and performed by members of the LGBTQ community. 

Date & Time: September 23, 2020, 7:30 PM | Available digitally 

ChicagoFringeOpera.com

Additional fall programming is in process, and details will be announced in subsequent press releases.