On Call: COVID-19, A New Opera
On Call: COVID-19, A New Opera
and Aria Showcase
Western Michigan University School of Music
Pre-recorded Performance
Sunday 2 May 2021
3 p.m.
On Call: COVID-19
Libretto by Christine Steyer
David Shenton (b. 1975)
The opera’s three scenes look in on a series of online conference calls by six medics from Chicago, Seoul, Rio de Janeiro, Lombardy, New York City, and a Syrian refugee camp near Beirut as they each struggle with the unfolding pandemic. During these calls, they provide a lifeline to each other, and ultimately discover kindness and compassion can be as powerful as a tool as a vaccine and a ventilator. "On Call" is drawn from 200 articles about global healthcare workers facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Each cast member has chosen their own character’s name to honor either a healthcare worker or someone who has died from COVID.
Immediately following each of the two scheduled performances, you can meet the cast and creative team online at:
Workinginconcert.org/WMUArtistZoom
Program:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b8ua...