Denis & Katya

Digital Premiere on Friday, May 1, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
World Premiere during Festival O19
Music by Philip Venables
Libretto by Ted Huffman
Performed in English and Russian with English subtitles
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Opera Philadelphia's first-ever Digital Festival launches on Friday, May 1 with a stream of Denis & Katya. The stream will premiere on Friday, May 1 at 8:00 p.m. and will be available for viewing until Friday, May 8. It will only be available to viewers in North America. Discover more about the Digital Festival.

Digital Festival O is generously funded, in part, by

They could have been your teenage children, best friends, or classmates. Two beautiful 15-year-olds who lived every moment−including their last−online. What led to their violent deaths? Why did they choose to broadcast their final moments on social media? And what does it say about the voyeuristic society who watched, liked, and objectified them, transforming two kids into clickbait?

This visceral production from composer Philip Venables and director Ted Huffman−the duo behind the award-winning 4.48 Psychosis−uses verbatim text to examine the vast public response to the events surrounding the tragedy of Russian runaways Denis Muravyov and Katya Vlasova, exploring how stories are shaped and shared in our age of trolls, conspiracy theories, fake news, and 24/7 digital connection.

This broadcast contains some strong language.

Video by Dave Tavani.

Since its world premiere during Festival O19, Denis & Katya was named one of the best classical music performances of the year by The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer, and is a 2020 International Opera Award nominee for Best New Opera.

Winner of the FEDORA - GENERALI Prize for Opera 2019

Full Synopsis

MapYouTube

Dates are May 2020.

Fri, May 1

8:00 p.m.

The running time is approximately 70 minutes.

Digital Festival O is generously funded, in part, by the John S. & James L. Knight Foundation.

Winner of the FEDORA-GENERALI Prize for Opera 2019

Principal support provided by the William Penn Foundation and The Wyncote Foundation at the recommendation of Daniel K. Meyer, M.D. Leadership support provided by Jean and Gene Stark.

Director Ted Huffman was underwritten by Ira Brind and Stacey Spector. Theo Hoffman's appearance was underwritten by Ellen Steiner. Siena Licht Miller's appearance was underwritten by Carol and Howard Lidz. The Cello Quartet was underwritten by Andrew J. Martin-Weber.

Co-commissioned and co-produced with Music Theatre Wales and Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier