In Song: Amina Edris (Amina Edris and Amir Awad) Photo: Mostafa Abdel Aty

SF Opera Nominated for “Webby Awards”

San Francisco Opera’s In Song, an intimate video portrait series produced with Lumahai Productions, is one of five nominees for best “Video Series & Channels: Music” in the 26th Annual Webby Awards. Featuring notable figures from the world of opera, the Company’s digital series is rooted in classical music and spans spirituals, bluegrass, Samoan, Egyptian and mariachi music. 

In Song is also included in the “Webby People’s Voice Award” where the public can vote online for their favorites through Thursday, April 21 at 11:59 pm Pacific. The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), a global organization of industry experts and technology innovators, will announce the 2022 Webby Award winners on April 26.

Shot on location in cities ranging from Nashville and New York City to Auckland and Cairo, each In Song explores, through story and song, the diverse cultural traditions that inform an artist’s personal and musical journey. Featured artists include soprano Amina Edris, mezzo-sopranos Jamie Barton and J’Nai Bridges, and tenors Arturo Chacón-Cruz and Pene Pati.

The free, 15–19-minute episodes can be viewed at sfopera.com/insong, YouTube and Facebook.

Touted by the New York Times as “The Internet’s highest honor,” the Webby Awards have honored excellence in digital media since 1996. San Francisco Opera’s In Song was chosen for the Internet’s most coveted award from a record 14,000 international submissions. This is the first time San Francisco Opera has been nominated for a Webby.

Of In Song, the Wall Street Journal observed, “Such appealing portraits, offering insights into the artists we appreciate onstage, also help position opera as part of a rich musical continuum” and “offer a new level of accessibility to the art form.” The episodes have been viewed widely throughout the United States, but also in Egypt, Mexico and American Samoa, a testament to the universality of song, regardless of genre.

Voting for the People’s Voice Award will remain open through Thursday, April 21 at 11:59 pm Pacific. To register and cast your vote for “Video Series & Channels: Music”, visit: vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2022/video/video-series-channels/music

In Song was launched in April 2021 by Executive Producers Matthew Shilvock (San Francisco Opera General Director), Gregory Henkel (San Francisco Opera Managing Director: Artistic) and Elena Park (Lumahai Productions President & Founder). The Series Producer is Molly McBride.

Series Director: Elena Park, Series Producer: Molly McBride (Co-Director for J’Nai Bridges, Jamie Barton), Series Editor: Steven E. Mallorca, Editor & Director of Photography: Jonathan David Kane (Arturo Chacón-Cruz). Directors of Photography: Bassem El-Kashef (Amina Edris), Justin Ervin (J’Nai Bridges); Timothy Flower (Pene Pati); and Roger Pistole (Jamie Barton).