DOC THE HALLS A Streaming Collection Of World Premiere Holiday Songs Launches December 2, 2022

Decameron Opera Coalition, the celebrated national alliance of independent opera companies, is together again with a digital video songbook for the holiday season.

DOC the Halls includes 8 world premiere songs from creators and performers from across the country which explore the season - its holidays, its quirks, and its beauty - all framed by a the antics of a comic quartet of carolers in "A Christmas Carol (& Bob & Ted & Alice)" by DOC co-creators Peter Hilliard and Matt Boresi.

With a mix of themes and perspectives, the songs of DOC the Halls take a varied look at this special time of year in pieces commissioned by the coalition member companies:

Bare Opera celebrates their city with a new setting of Langston Hughes "Christmas Eve: Nearing Midnight in New York" by composer Thomas Cabaniss. UrbanArias' "Holiday Ex-Lover" takes a look at the dudes we've dated (and dumped) in December in a team-up with "electric opera queens" Britt Olsen-Ecker and Melissa Wimbish of the band Outcalls. Lyric Opera of the North celebrates an important time in Duluth with "Little Spirit Moon at Solstice" by composer Daniel Nass and librettist Linda LeGarde Grover. The universal theme of light amidst the darkness is further explored in Resonance Works' "Rededication" by composer Nancy Galbraith and librettist Sara Stock Mayo. Milwaukee Opera Theatre's "The Meaning of Christmas" by Adam Qutaishat takes a look at all of the history, traditions, stories, and carols of Christmas from around the world and throughout the years...in about five minutes, as a woman prepares to introduce her partner to her family. A grandfather cherishes memories of holidays with his granddaughter in Opera in the Heights' "Carta de Inés" by composer Alejandro Basulto and librettist Bruno Rios. Separation and togetherness is further reflected upon in "Come Home" by composer Matthew Recio and Librettist Jenna Lanzaro, produced by Chicago Fringe Opera. Fargo-Moorhead Opera's "A Perfect Gift" by composer Michael Ching and librettist Reg Huston considers how each child is a perfect gift to the world.

The cycle will be available for streaming on Dec 2, 2022. You can purchase tickets and find more information here.

The hour-long video songbook will be released on December 2, 2022 on the AÏRIS video streaming platform and also as an audio album release through all of the major music services.

Tickets are available for pre-sale on AÏRIS, where you can also watch the DOC's acclaimed previous productions: Tales from a Safe Distance and HEROES. www.watchonairis.io/decameron-opera-coalition

For more information, visit: www.decameronoperacoalition.org/doc-the-halls

The Decameron Opera Coalition is a collaboration of unparalleled scope - nine independent opera companies representing local flavors and voices, leveraging the strength of shared creativity and resources, united to cultivate new opera. Together we reach across the country to reshape how opera is created and enjoyed, and what it can accomplish.

The Decameron Opera Coalition was born in the winter of 2020, when the COVID19 pandemic had shut down opera for an indefinite period of time. Small companies from across the country came together to pool creativity and resources and use their combined energies, flexibility, and perspectives to create new work during the pandemic.

The founding members of the coalition are Resonance Works [Pittsburgh], Lyric Opera of the North [Duluth], UrbanArias [Washington DC], Bare Opera [NYC], Opera in the Heights [Houston], Chicago Fringe Opera, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, and An Opera Theatre [Minneapolis], along with composer and librettist Peter Hilliard and Matt Boresi (The Last American Hammer).

Each DOC project employs nearly 100 artists, and have been headlined by such internationally renowned guest stars as bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni and soprano Karen Slack.

The coalition members commission contemporary opera's most vital and diverse creative voices to illuminate America's indispensable indie opera scene, with a dedication to new sounds, unparalleled storytelling, and underrepresented voices. Independent opera companies are where new audiences are born, where seasoned opera appetites are fed, where new work is incubated, and where the craft is nurtured.

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