Sustenance
episode 3
HEROES, 2021
Our final episode features two “Hero Songs” by Hilliard and Boresi and operas by Milwaukee Opera Theatre and Bare Opera exploring the subtle but crucial heroism of people who keep communities healthy and growing.
Heroes is recommended for viewers age 13 and up.
This episode contains a frank, though tasteful, discussion of sex work.
Hero Songs: The people
by Peter Hilliard and Matt Boresi
Commissioned by the Decameron Opera Coalition
Javier Abreu, tenor
Creating and sustaining a thriving community is a daily challenge, but one with daily satisfactions.
Home Cooked Heroes
By Brit Nicole & Ms. Lotus Fankh
Commissioned by Milwaukee Opera Theatre - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Home Cooked Heroes is a spoken-word opera with text by Brit Nicole and music by Ms. Lotus Fankh. Together, with staff and volunteers from Milwaukee’s Tricklebee Café, they explore what it means to operate a pay-what-you-can restaurant from the center of a food desert, revealing how simple acts of generosity can transform a neglected building into a thriving hive of connection and community.
Heroes of New York
By Dina Pruzhansky & Briana Hunter
Commissioned by Bare Opera - New York, New York
The piece ‘Heroes of NY’ celebrates unknown people who make New York City a special place in the world. Inspired by a famous Facebook page, the opera features several characters inspired by everyday heroes, whom we can run into in the streets of the city. We will meet a doctor, an environmental activist, a bodega owner, a sex worker and an aspiring singer, who will each share with us a moment of their lives.
Hero Songs: The Future
by Peter Hilliard and Matt Boresi
Commissioned by the Decameron Opera Coalition
Karen Slack, soprano
Tesia Kwarteng, mezzo-soprano
Javier Abreu, tenor
John Castillo, baritone
Across the songs and the operas contained in our “Heroes” project, DOC artists have explored fortitude, creativity, vision, caring, and persistence. Our heroes of yesterday, today, and tomorrow hold safety, identity, and belonging in high regard, and tend the seeds of the future with generosity and warmth. In our final song, we celebrate ideas from each of our operas, and look ahead with hope and determination.