On December 3, Chautauqua Opera Company premiered Part One of a new three-part song cycle entitled, “In our Silence.”

Part Two is set to premiere on Dec. 10 and Part Three on Dec. 17, with each performance broadcast at 8:00 p.m. EST. The pre-recorded performances will stream on Chautauqua Institution’s CHQ Assembly streaming platform and will be available for on-demand viewing post-premiere. The cycle was composed by Chautauqua’s Composer-in-Residence Frances Pollock in collaboration with playwright and librettist Jerre Dye.

When the pandemic forced Chautauqua to rethink its summer 2020 season, the organization decided to create a fully virtual experience for its audience. According to Chautauqua’s press release, the idea of “In Our Silence” blossomed over four days in early June during which time the composer and librettist interviewed the 2020 Chautauqua Young Artists about the emotional and professional impact of COVID-19. What followed was a 10-day creative marathon during which the composer and librettist wrote two to three songs per week.

“In Our Silence” is an intimate, 75-minute cycle in which the members of the 2020 Chautauqua Young Artists use their own words — versified by Dye — to express their experiences through song. The soloists self-recorded the pieces in their home, singing Pollock’s music acapella. Interstitial solo piano works performed by Hilda Huang fill an important gap, as art song is traditionally a two-artist performance made up of the singer and their accompanist.

“We wanted to capture this idea that the piano and the voice are always searching for each other, always just out of reach, but trying to be together,” Pollock stated in the organization’s press release. While Pollock focused on composing pieces that reflected each of the singer’s personalities and vocal aesthetics, Dye worked the interview material into text.

Chautauqua’s General and Artistic Director, Steven Osgood noted in the press release that, for many of the Young Artists, performing “In Our Silence” was the first time they sang pieces written expressly for them. “The goal was to capture the voice and spirit of the singer as much as possible…to find the texture and the honesty in the conversation,” Dye said in the release.

Themes connect the songs within each of the three parts. Pollock and Dye subtitled Part One “Discovering;” Part Two, “Deepening;” and Part Three “Transforming.” Live Q-and-A’s with the creators follow each performance. The streaming also features “Making Of…” segments. For each of the Parts, Dye provided the screenplay, with Danilo Gambini as director for the project, Michael Baumgarten as video editor, and Martin Gimenez as sound editor.

Chautauqua set a release date of December 25 for on-demand viewing of the full cycle on CHQ Assembly, Chautauqua’s subscription-based streaming service. Special event tickets for non-subscribers include access to the December 3, 10, and 17 performances, with on-demand access running through January 3, 2021.