PRESTINI Oceanic Verses

Hila Plitmann, Soprano
Helga Davis, Vocalist and Improviser
Christopher Burchett, Baritone
Claudio Prima, Folksinger and Accordionist
Paola Prestini, Composer
Julian Wachner, Conductor
Decoda Orchestra
The Choir of Trinity Wallstreet
Released on VIA Records (Vision Into Art) in November 2014.
"Stunning multimedia Opera"
- Huffington Post
With a libretto by Donna Di Novelli, and poetry culled by Paola Prestini, Oceanic Verses is a 60 minute work featuring improviser Helga Davis, soprano Hila Plitmann, folksinger Claudio Prima and baritone Christopher Burchett. A meditation on fading civilizations, the exploration is led by an archaeologist, whose investigation into the ‘artifacts of song’ carries her into a collision of the past and present.
A film by Ali Hossaini within the opera, offers a contemporary perspective of the character’s emotional journeys. The sequences are a part of a larger video environment that immerses the opera’s players and audience in the folkloric landscape that inspired it.
"A sweeping social portrait of southern Italy." - Allan Kozinn, New York Times
"Characters you can connect to, music that engages." - The Washington Post