Pittsburgh Opera has announced that “Soldier Songs” will no longer be performed with an audience.

The company announced that due to the Official Advisory from the Health Director of Allegheny County issued on Nov. 18, entitled “COVID-19 Related Stay-at-Home to Stop Social Gatherings Advisory,” Pittsburgh Opera will no longer have in-person audiences for its upcoming production.

As a result, the company will showcase the work in the previously-planned livestream of the Friday, Dec. 11 performance, free of charge, on both Pittsburgh Opera’s YouTube channel and Facebook page at 7:30PM EST.

Pittsburgh Opera’s General Director Christopher Hahn said, “Prior to the advisory, Pittsburgh Opera had planned on having six performances of the opera in front of limited, masked, and socially-distanced audiences. “The health and safety of our patrons and entire community is of utmost importance to us. We would have loved to have patrons in our theater again to see this opera in-person, but we fully understand social gatherings are not practical given the significant spike in COVID-19 cases in the area. We are proud to give people the opportunity to still experience this compelling opera via livestream.”

Due to the changes, Pittsburgh Opera will ensure that the cast, orchestra, and production personnel will be compensated for all originally planned performances.

Meanwhile, ticket holders can choose to either donate their tickets back to Pittsburgh Opera to help offset production expenses, apply them towards future Pittsburgh Opera performances, or receive a refund.