(Pictured: Takesha Meshé Kizart-Thomas, Credit: Maja Slavec)

On April 30, 2022, Resonance Works will present a one-night only concert of opera, art song, jazz, and more, titled “The Phenomenal Woman.”

The concert will feature Takesha Meshe Kizart-Thomas in her Piitsburgh debut, as she pays tribute to some of opera and music’s heroines such as Shirley Verrett, Leontyne Price, and Jessye Norman. There will be jazz standards popularized by Ella Fitzgerald, art songs by contemporary Black composers, and new pieces commissioned and created by Kizart-Thomas.

Resonance Works will conclude its ninth season on May 20, with Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” Held at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, stage director Mo Zhou brings the story to 1930s Hollywood. Baritone Andrew Cummings plays the title role, with soprano Maria Brea making her role and company debut as Gilda. This production will also be accompanied by a streaming of “L’assassino,” a hip-hop opera creation by composer/performer K.F. Jacques, which serves as a prequel to “Rigoletto” and follows the origins of Sparafucile.

“We’re excited to once again be bringing so many world-class artists into collaboration with our vibrant artistic family in Pittsburgh,” says company Founder and Artistic Director Maria Sensi Sellner. “Over the last two years, we’ve seen how fragile our art-making can be, and how necessary it remains. We are grateful for every opportunity to share live performance with our Pittsburgh community.”