Conductor Oliver Zeffman has commissioned a new opera, “Eight Songs From Isolation,” which bring together prominent composers and artists to explore themes of distance.

Zeffman conducts the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and features artists such as Sarah Connolly, Iestyn Davies, Sophie Bevan, Toby Spence, Julia Bullock, and more. Over 50 people across North America, Europe, Africa and Asia worked to help make the opera possible while remaining home.

“Crises have often been the catalyst for artists to develop not only new work, but also new ways of working,” writes Zeffman. “The current pandemic gripping the world has made impossible the two fundamental requirements of most art forms – the interaction of artists with each other, and between artists and audiences. Rather than trying to repurpose something written in another context, I felt it artistically imperative to commission something that is very much of and for our current situation that speaks to the shared experience we are all going through. Music is the great unifier and I wish to thank everyone who came together with such enthusiasm and commitment to create a new opera that we hope will resonate with audiences and bring people together around the world.”

The work is available exclusively on Apple Music, and was shot entirely on an iPhone by director Billy Boyd Cape.