The bolts of fortune
episode 4
Tales from a Safe Distance, 2020
Purpose examined and re-defined. Fortunes lost and gained and lost again. When the world falls to pieces, what becomes of our plans? And when much is taken away, how do we learn to appreciate what we have? In Pam’s tale, three friends ponder objectives and ambitions through a carb-laden life-lull in “Sourdough: Rise Up”, and a modern-day brigand sails beyond the bounds of his own hustle in Cory’s hip-hop infused “Corsair”. “The Happy Hour” concludes with a message on moving forward while being forced to stay in place.
The Happy Hour (Interstitials & Finale)
by Peter Hilliard and Matt Boresi
Commissioned by the Decameron Opera Coalition
sourdough: rise up
by Gilda Lyons
Commissioned by Resonance Works - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Everyday life in the spring of COVID-19 is refracted through a graphic-novel lens as three friends—Shazam, Rockstar, and Boss—wrestle with the changing world around them and theirplace in it. Linked by a shared sourdough starter, these normal-person superheroes consider their fears and the small, ordinary acts of courage that define them. Together, they reach toward hope, celebrating resilience, change, honesty, and the boundless possibility of freshly baked deliciousness.
corsair
by K.F. Jacques
Inspired by The Decameron Day 2, Story 4
Commissioned by Chicago Fringe Opera - Chicago, Illinois
You have everything you need. Then you double it. Then you lose it all. How do you get it back? Where do you end up? “Corsair” is one man’s journey from greed to humility, from isolation to community, all told through the epic form of hip-hopera.