PRESS RELEASE
NEW YORK, NY 07/16/2020 - Engaging with opera will now be easier than ever. Today marks the launch of OSSIA, a new media company dedicated to expanding online access to the world of opera and its culture. OSSIA’s inaugural offering is a digital content channel, Op Culture, which will distribute original, artist-centric content directly to audiences worldwide.
In music, the term ossia means an alternate passage, similarly, OSSIA’s goal is to provide an alternate engagement point for opera audiences, new and existing, beyond the traditional theater experience.
Co-founders Joseph Lattanzi, Alyssa Martin, Marcus Shields and Patricia Westley developed the platform with the central mission of providing the increasingly internet-facing world with a novel way to experience the art form and the vibrant, culture contained within. Having grown up with the innovative examples set by YouTube creators, Lattanzi, Martin, Shields, and Westley understand the power of the personal perspective and its ability to connect directly with a wide audience, even if that audience is brand new to opera.
“Conventional attempts by the establishment to engage new audiences have failed and we are attempting to create something more human and intimate, while also communicating the massive talent, skill, and expertise of the operatic community”, says co-founder Marcus Shields.
"Ultimately, we want to make engagement simple and fun.” says co-founder Alyssa Martin. “An audience should be able to enjoy a YouTube video about Anna Moffo, immediately connect to a related Spotify playlist, and jump over to a blog post expanding on the topic.”
OSSIA’s Op Culture content is designed to serve a dual function: firstly, to lighten the tone, excite the style, expand the form of internet-based operatic content, and secondly, to increase the speed and quality of content provided across digital media platforms. The initial video offerings will include a broad range of repeatable styles from game shows and documentary-style video essays to reimagined live performance films.
OSSIA’s immediate video content includes these series:
QUESTIONNARIA, a rapid fire Q&A interview series
GUESS THAT VOICE, a drop-the-needle game show, where contestants identify an opera singer, opera, and aria from a series of brief clips.
SONG ASSOCIATION, a take on the Elle series: 1 word. 2 languages. 15 seconds. Finding the common link between opera and popular music.
OBSESSIONS, a video essay on obsession-worthy parts of operatic culture.
Op Art, an exploration of the operatic music video.
New content will appear weekly and will be distributed across OSSIA’s Youtube channel, the Op Culture website and blog, Facebook, and Instagram.
