The Transcendence Operas–Tales of Transcendence

Tales of Transcendence: a series of intimate operas celebrating stories of everyday people who, as individuals and groups, have transcended the human divide. 

In June 2021, Working In Concert's Bellissima Opera will premiere two new operas.

FUTURE PERFECT (a 90-minute opera) co-created with 1,300 Chicago area youth. This opera tells the adventures of the intuitive and curious Miranette who leaves a society which has lost its connection to the outside world. Along the journey, she meets a colorful cast of characters, and their encounters become interwoven in quantum entanglement; a state where anything is possible.

ON CALL: COVID-19 (a 25-minute opera) honoring the stories of frontline health-care workers. During three virtual calls, six health-care workers on the frontline of the COVID pandemic support one who is on the verge of collapse from the strain. These workers, residing in Chicago, New York, Lombardy, Seoul, Rio de Janeiro and a Syrian Refugee Camp, each share personal stories of compassion, courage, heartbreak, frustration and hope.

The "Tales of Transcendence" series will continue in subsequent years with these two operas:

Outside the Ring (a 120-minute opera) based on the friendship that developed between the boxers German Max Schmeling and American Joe Louis decades after their two epic fights at Yankee Stadium in the 1930s. The intense focus of those two fighters foreshadowed the impending war between their respective countries.
 
Reconciliation (a 25-minute opera) highlights an extraordinary act of forgiveness that occurred during The Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings following the end of apartheid in South Africa. The opera will examine the concepts of Forgiveness and Restorative Justice in our world.