Hero Songs

Commissioned by The Decameron Opera Coalition
Music by Peter Hilliard 
Libretto by Matt Boresi

The Decameron Opera Coalition’s “Heroes” is framed by “Hero Songs”, an original art song cycle by DOC co-founders Peter Hilliard and Matt Boresi, performed by a quartet of stellar singers led by internationally renowned American soprano, advocate, and podcaster Karen Slack.

“Hero Songs” is a meditation on heroism and service. Each song is launched by rhetorical artifact taken from history, public life, or academia. The pieces contemplate the past, present, and future of fortitude, effort, and sacrifice, and prepare us for the one-act operatic films which follow.

The five songs, highlighting key concerns of heroism for our modern world, are titled “The Work”, “The Self”, “The Path”, “The People”, and “The Future” and will be performed by soprano Karen Slack, baritone John Castillo, mezzo-soprano Tesia Kwarteng, and tenor Javier Abreu.

 
Photo: Danielle Thralow

Episodes 1-3

Heroes

Premiered October 1, 2021

 

Cast

Karen Slack, soprano
Tesia Kwarteng, mezzo-soprano
Javier Abreu, tenor
John Castillo, baritone

Jeremy Reger, piano
Peter Hilliard, piano

Creative Team

Music by Peter Hilliard
Libretto by Matt Boresi
Director & Cinematographer: Kathy Wittman, Ball Square Films
Audio Engineer: Kristian Tchetchko
Producer: Maria Sensi Sellner

Javier Abreu

He/Him

Puerto Rican tenor JAVIER ABREU has been described as a commanding force on stage, incorporating a rich, sweet and agile voice, with ample dramatic skills. Recent performances include Pittsburgh Opera as Ernesto in Don Pasquale, his role debut as Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte with Mill City Summer Opera, the world premiere of Bless Me Última with Opera Southwest, Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri with Blackwater Valley Opera in Ireland, and a debut with Chicago Opera Theater as the title role in Il Pigmalione, and Beppe in Rita by Donizetti. A lover of contemporary opera, Abreu has premiered roles in Before Night Falls with Fort Worth Opera, The Long Walk with Opera Saratoga, The Inspector with Wolf Trap Opera, and La cabeza del bautista with Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona. He has garnered critical acclaim for his portrayals of Rossini’s leading men with Central City Opera, Nashville Opera, Israeli Opera, Opera de Oviedo, Theater Basel, Teatro Municipal de Chile, Austin Opera, New York City Opera, Atlanta Opera, Florida Grand Opera and the Stuttgart Staatsoper, to name a few.

John Castillo

He/Him

Baritone John Castillo has been thrilling audiences in various venues throughout New England. Most recently, he performed the role of Carlos in Omar Najmi's opera "En La Ardiente oscuridad” at the Phoenicia Festival for the Voice. John has been featured as a soloist with both Wellesley Symphony and Boston Civic Orchestras and has had recent performances at both Boston Symphony and NEC’s Jordan Hall.

In 2009, John performed a moving duet, “Motherland”, with singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant accompanied by Livingston Taylor on guitar and in 2004, sang the National Anthem at Fenway Park for the Red Sox home opener. He has also performed with the Boston Revels and local folk singer and musician, David Coffin.

In addition to Opera, John enjoys singing jazz, musical theater, contemporary and liturgical music. When he’s not singing, John enjoys playing the piano, accordion, is an accomplished drummer and a huge Red Sox fan.

Karen Slack

She/Her

Hailed for possessing a voice of extraordinary beauty, a seamless legato and great dramatic depth, American soprano Karen Slack has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera where she made her debut in the title role of Verdi’s Luisa Miller, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, and San Francisco Opera. In recent seasons, she has appeared as Alice Ford in Falstaff, Leonora in Il trovatore and Tosca with Arizona Opera, as Aïda at Austin Opera, Emelda Griffith in Champion with New Orleans Opera, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Nashville Opera, Violetta in La Traviata with Sacramento Opera and Sister Rose in Dead Man Walking with both Minnesota Opera and Vancouver Opera and her Scottish Opera debut as Anna in Puccini’s Le villi. Additionally, Ms. Slack portrayed a featured role as the Opera Diva in Tyler Perry’s movie and soundtrack “For Colored Girls.” Ms. Slack is an Artistic Advisor for Portland Opera, Co-Director for the 2020-21 Opera Program at the Banff Centre for the Performing Arts, and Co-Chair of the Women's Opera Network with Opera America.

Ms. Slack’s 2019-2020 season included a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Serena in Porgy and Bess, a recital with Opera Philadelphia, guest soloist for Madison Opera’s virtual Opera in the Park, and a series of recitals throughout the US including the Vilar Center for the Performing Arts in Vail, Colorado with pianist Joe Illick. This season sees her in digital performances with Opera Philadelphia, Houston Grand Opera, Madison Opera, and Minnesota Opera. Additionally, she stars in Driving While Black with UrbanArias. In response to the rash of cancellations due to COVID19, Ms. Slack launched a digital talk show, #KikiKonversations, which has garnered critical acclaim and thousands of views.

Other recent performances include the title role in Tosca with Opera Birmingham, Addie Parker in Yardbird with Arizona Opera, Sister Rose in Dead Man Walking with Atlanta Opera, Serena in Porgy and Bess with Fort Worth Opera, and her debut with Opera Theatre of St. Louis as Billie in Terence Blanchard and Kasi Lemmons' Fire Shut Up in My Bones. In concert, she was a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra in the world premiere of Hannibal Lokumbe’s Healing Tones with Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Union Symphony Orchestra for Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder.

Equally at home on the concert stage, Ms. Slack has performed Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Mahler’s 2nd Symphony and the Verdi Requiem with various orchestras throughout the US. Abroad she has appeared with the Melbourne Symphony, Sydney Symphony, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestras, and most recently, with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic in celebration of the 80th birthday of Mo. Yuri Temirkanov. She made her Carnegie Hall debut as Agnes Sorel in Tchaikovsky’s Maid of Orleans with the Orchestra of St. Lukes and will return in Spring 2022 with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for Beethoven’s Egmont. Additional upcoming engagements for the 2021-2022 season include her stage debut with the Houston Grand Opera in the world premiere of Joel Thompson and Andrea Davis Pinkney's A Snowy Day, a recital with pianist Alan Morrison at Atlanta’s Spivey Hall including the World Premiere of a new work by American composer Adolphus Halistork, Verdi’s Requiem with the Highlander Concert Series at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas and a concert of arias with Omaha Symphony in collaboration with Opera Omaha.

A graduate of the Adler Fellowship and Merola Opera Program at the San Francisco Opera, the native Philadelphian is also a graduate of the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music. She is a winner of numerous competitions and awards: most notably the Montserrat Caballe International Competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the George London Foundation Award, the Marian Anderson ICON Award, the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, the Rosa Ponselle International Vocal Competition, the Portland Opera Lieber Award, the Liederkranz Foundation Award and the Jose Iturbi International Competition for Voice.

Peter hilliard & Matt Boresi

Peter Hilliard & Matt Boresi are the creators of new opera and opera-adjacent works, regularly praised for their "subtlety, humor, charm, and sorrow." Their most recent full-length opera “The Last American Hammer”, (World Premiere, UrbanArias, Washington DC 2018), featuring renowned soprano Elizabeth Futral, was praised by critics as a “beautifully prepared, dramatically taut” production, ”which makes us challenge our cultural, political, racial and regional assumptions head-on”, with “a difficult - but needed - conclusion for these times.” It received a second production at Pittsburgh Opera in 2020. Matt and Peter have created award-winning crossover work from Off-Broadway’s “Don Imbroglio” and “Going Down Swingin’” to the puppet opera “Eat Your Greens: Verdi by Vegetables.” They both hold Master of Fine Arts degrees from the Musical Theatre Writing Program at New York University.

Peter lives in Philadelphia. Matt lives in Chicago.   

Kathy Wittman

She/Her

Tesia Kwarteng

She/Her

Tesia Kwarteng is a Ghanaian-American multi-faceted artist equally at home on the operatic stage, on screen and in the studio. She will next be covering the role of Ruby/Sinner Woman in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones at the Metropolitan Opera. She recently was seen as Maurya in What Lies Beneath with On Site Opera and she also participated in the Written in Stone workshop at Washington National Opera where she sang the role of Laurel in Carlos Simon’s It All Falls Down and the role of Victoria Wilson in Kamala Sankaram’s Rise. Ms. Kwarteng made her Austin Opera debut featured in recital as a part of their Live from Indy Terrace Broadcast. Tesia was also a featured soloist in the ensemble of the Grammy Award winning production of Porgy and Bess at The Metropolitan Opera. She will make her Off Broadway debut at Lincoln Center Theater in Ricky Ian Gordon’s new opera Intimate Apparel understudying the role of Mayme and performing in the ensemble. She has participated in the Young Artist Programs at the Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Tri-Cities Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Chautauqua Opera and Virginia Opera. For more information visit her website at www.tesiakwarteng.com or follow her on Instagram @tesiatee.

Jeremy RegerHe/HimInternational pianist and educator Jeremy Reger maintains an active performing, teaching, and coaching career. He has served on the music staff of Virginia Opera, Opera Steamboat, Eugene Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater, Mill City Opera, Central City Opera, Minnesota Opera, Skylark Opera and Aspen Opera Theater. He has performed in recital for the Ravinia Festival with mezzo soprano Michelle DeYoung and for Seattle Opera. He is an associate professor of vocal coaching at CU Boulder. Prior to that position, he taught at the Music Academy of the West, Christopher Newport University, the Opera Studio of Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil, and at the Jacob’s School fo Music at Indiana University. A strong advocate of new opera, Reger has participated in workshops of new opera by composers such as Jake Heggie, Tom Cipullo, Ricky Ian Gordon, Kevin Putz, and Mark Adamo. Reger maintains an active opera coaching studio throughout the United States and South America. He has a doctorate from the University of Michigan, studying under Martin Katz.

Jeremy Reger

He/Him

International pianist and educator Jeremy Reger maintains an active performing, teaching, and coaching career. He has served on the music staff of Virginia Opera, Opera Steamboat, Eugene Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater, Mill City Opera, Central City Opera, Minnesota Opera, Skylark Opera and Aspen Opera Theater. He has performed in recital for the Ravinia Festival with mezzo soprano Michelle DeYoung and for Seattle Opera. He is an associate professor of vocal coaching at CU Boulder. Prior to that position, he taught at the Music Academy of the West, Christopher Newport University, the Opera Studio of Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil, and at the Jacob’s School fo Music at Indiana University. A strong advocate of new opera, Reger has participated in workshops of new opera by composers such as Jake Heggie, Tom Cipullo, Ricky Ian Gordon, Kevin Putz, and Mark Adamo. Reger maintains an active opera coaching studio throughout the United States and South America. He has a doctorate from the University of Michigan, studying under Martin Katz.

Origin Story

Composer Peter Hilliard, librettist Matt Boresi, director/cinematographer Kathy Wittman, soprano Karen Slack, and lead producer Maria Sensi Sellner talk about the creation of “Hero Songs”.

 
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