Opera Philadelphia's O22 Opera Festival opens later this month, and this year's line-up includes an Opera on Film Festival. The company will screen more than 30 films, including a variety of approaches to full-length productions - like MTV's 2001 hip hop re-imagination of Carmen - and innovative opera-inspired shorts. A Tempo host Rachel Katz speaks with Frank Luzi, Opera Philadelphia Vice President of Marketing Communications and Digital Strategy and a co-producer of the Opera on Film Festival, about the variety of films and how the Covid-19 shut-down encouraged new approaches to bringing opera to digital formats. The program also includes conversations with soprano Karen Slack, who is featured in the one-woman opera dwb (driving while black), and Alexa Dexa, whose film short adaptation of their electroacoustic toy opera Be a Doll will be screened during the festival.
(Note: In addition to this week's program, additional excerpts from the conversations will be posted later in the week)