OCEANIC VERSES

CREATIVE TEAM

created and composed by PAOLA PRESTINI | libretto by DONNA DI NOVELLI

story in collaboration with PAOLA PRESTINI, ALI HOSSAINI, KEVIN NEWBURY & HELGA DAVIS

music direction by JULIAN WACHNER | film by ALI HOSSAINI 

choreography for film by PIETER SCHOLTEN & EMIO GRECO 

​

​

Full Production: 80 minutes

projection by S KATY TUCKER | costume and set design by VITA TZYKUN

lighting design by ALLEN HAHN

Multimedia Cantata Touring Version: 35 minutes

​

​

ABOUT

A meditation on fading civilizations, the exploration is led by an archaeologist, played by improviser Helga Davis, whose investigation into the ‘artifacts of song’ carries her into a collision of the past and present. The past, present and future crash onto the ancient coast of the Mediterranean Sea offering a promise and a dare to those willing to cross the oceans to reach it.

​

A film by Ali Hossaini offers a contemporary perspective on the struggles within the opera through the prism of the character’s emotional journeys. The sequences are a part of a larger video environment that immerses the opera’s players and audience in the folkloric landscape that inspired it.

The work was workshopped as part of New York City Opera’s Vox series, then went on to be performed at the Kennedy Center, LMCC’s River to River Festival, and the Barbican Centre. Performed by the Washington Chorus, the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and conducted by Julian Wachner.

A VisionIntoArt and Beth Morrison Projects Production.

PRESS

“Stunning multimedia Opera”

- Huffington Post

​

“A sweeping social portrait of southern Italy.”

- Allan Kozinn, New York Times

​

“Characters you can connect to, music that engages.”

- The Washington Post

​

VIDEO

Full Production Trailer

Touring Version Trailer

Film by Ali Housaini, Photos by Jill Steinberg