In March 2020, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Opera Program was in rehearsal for David Conte’s Firebird Motel.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced all in-person rehearsals and classes to cease, students were mandated to return home. Refusing to let the project end there, the creative team and young artists chose to continue the production using technology they had never attempted before.

We also set out to document this extraordinary process to chronicle our journey. The result is a short documentary film, shot and edited by Emmy award winning cinematographer Steve Carolo, presented here.