Welcome to Tales of Transcendence: New Operas for Today's World. 

Bellissima Opera, founded in 2010, serves as an incubator for new classical works for voice. Through the medium of music and theatre, we honor the stories and give voice to the individuals and groups transcending the human divide. We seek to engage creators, production staff, artists and audiences as diverse as Chicagoland itself.

Radio

WHOLE NOTES - Music of Healing and Peace
98.7 WFMT December 13, 2019

This 60-minute program, featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma, soprano Christine Steyer and others, features music in response to gun violence in our cities. Steyer and pianist Marta Johnson perform the aria "Red is a Trick" from Bellissima's upcoming opera, FUTURE PERFECT by David Shenton, with lyrics drawn from the writings by Chicago youth.

Christine Steyer is interviewed by Kerry Frumkin, followed by her performance with pianist Marta Johnson. (Courtesy of WFMT)

The entire 60-minute broadcast of Whole Notes. 
(Courtesy of WFMT)
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Video

Artist-led music and poetry sessions in classrooms result in student art and writings. Bellissima Opera's five-year project with 1,300 Chicago area youth culminates in the opera Future Perfect.  

Produced by Working In Concert’s Bellissima Opera, FUTURE PERFECT premieres at the Vittum Theater in Chicago in the summer of 2021. (Note: this is a revised premiere date.)

Support

Visit the DONATE page to lend your support to our not-for-profit initiatives. 
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For further information, contact Bellissima Opera Artistic Director Christine Steyer at Christine@workinginconcert.org.

Bellissima Opera Outreach

In 2019 our outreach program performed at Kinzie Elementary, Lane Tech HS and Al Raby HS in Chicago, bringing the number of students to whom we have brought free music exceeding 23,000.

Help us bring our new 25-minute opera, On Call: COVID-19, the stories of 6 frontline health-care workers, to Chicago area schools 2021.

Bellissima Opera - a Working In Concert Initiative 501(c)3