The Pittsburgh Opera has announced that it will receive a $25,000 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to help support the new production of “Moby-Dick” by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer. The grant is part of the more than $25 million in grants which NEA Chairman Jane Chu has approved as part of {…}
The Pittsburgh Opera has announced its 2018-19 season, which, after a season of modern opera, is slated to take a look back at some of the major repertory hits. The season kicks off with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” which will star Dina Kuznetsova in her company debut. Cody Austin will appear as Pinkerton. Performance Dates: Oct. 6-14, 2018 In November, the {…}
The Pittsburgh Opera will presents Jake Heggie’s acclaimed “Moby-Dick” for the first time. As part of the company’s initiative to bring new, American operas, the Pittsburgh Opera will showcase the work in March. Based on the famous novel of the same name by Herman Melville, the opera will be showcased in a co-production with the Utah Opera. OperaWire’s review noted, “Jake Heggie’s {…}
As we go deeper into January, we see more and more opera companies returning to business. The Metropolitan Opera is still very much at the forefront of some of the richest opera experiences of the weekend, but this weekend we will turn to other exciting companies taking on projects with greater risk. The majority of this weekend’s list consists of {…}
The Pittsburgh Opera has announced its second world premiere in two years. The company will present “Ashes & Snow” composed by Douglas J. Cuomo and directed by Jonathan Moore in February 2018. The opera will premiere at Pittsburgh Opera’s historic headquarters in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. The opera is based on Wilhelm Müller’s 24-poem cycle which was used as the text for Franz Schubert’s famous “Winterreise” and {…}
Pittsburgh Opera has announced its next production for the year. The company will bring the contemporary American opera to the CAPA School Theater in Jeremy Howard Beck’s “The Long Walk.” The libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann is based on the book “The Long Walk: A Story of War and the Life that Follows” by Brian Castner. The opera is an exploration of a soldier’s return {…}
Talk about a busy weekend. There will be over 70 opera performances around the country this weekend with a wide range of repertoire. North of the border, Pacific Opera Victoria showcases “Rattenbury” on Friday and Sunday and Opéra de Montreal showcases “La Cenerentola.” Teatro Municipal De Santiago presents “Aida” on Friday and Saturday while Atlanta Opera does a showcase of {…}
Leah Crocetto is having an epic season. While performing at Glimmerglass in upstate New York late this summer, she got the call as a late replacement for the Washington National Opera’s “Aida,” which she squeezed in just prior to her triumphant role debut last night as Tosca with the Pittsburgh Opera. If that last minute opportunity to portray Verdi’s final {…}
The Pittsburgh Opera will present Mozart’s beloved masterpiece “The Marriage of Figaro,” at the Benedum Center this upcoming November. The production will include a quartet of talented American singers making their Pittsburgh Opera debuts. The debutantes will include bass-baritone Tyler Simpson, a mainstay at the Metropolitan Opera, as Figaro, star soprano Joélle Harvey as Susannam, baritone Christian Bowers, who recently sang in Bordeaux and {…}
The Pittsburgh Opera will open the 2017-18 season with Leah Crocetto in the title role of “Tosca.” The opera opens on Oct. 7 and marks Crocetto’s role debut as well her return to the company for the first time since 2014. Crocetto will be joined a cast of all-stars including company favorite Mark Delavan in the role of Scarpia and tenor Thiago Arancam, who {…}
As we get deeper into the summer, the opera world starts to slow down ever so slightly in North America. But there are still some major events taking place over the weekend, including a historic one. San Francisco Opera closes out its run of “Don Giovanni” which features a stellar cast that includes Ildebrando d’Arcangelo and Ana María Martinez among {…}
