Pittsburgh Opera to offer 6 wide-ranging works in 2015-16
Pittsburgh Opera will expand its range in the 2015-16, restoring the balance artistic director Christopher Hahn feels is important to offer to its audience.
The company dropped one of its main stage productions at the Benedum Center in the current season in response to financial trends and replaced it with a gala concert.
“We're not cautiously peering over the parapet,” Hahn says. “We're jumping into the fray again. We're pushing a little ahead of the trend, but we're very hopeful the audience will respond in a positive way.”
Hahn says he always tries to create a span of operas to provide a mix of styles and approaches.
Pittsburgh Opera's six operas in 2015-16 range from one from the late 18th century to two well-contrasted ones from the first half of the 19th century, mid- and late-20th century repertoire and one which premiered less than a year ago.
The performances are at the Benedum Center, Downtown, except as noted.
• The opera which made Giuseppe Verdi famous, “Nabucco,” opens the season, Oct. 10, 13, 16 and 18. Written in 1842, “Nabucco” features the contrast of epic scale and intimate emotions on which Verdi thrived. It includes the chorus “Va, pensiero,” one of the composer's most loved creations. The production will star Mark Delavan in the title role.
• “Cosi fan tutte” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Nov. 7, 10, 13 and 15, is subtitled “The School for Lovers,” and was written in 1790. Baritone Sir Thomas Allen will direct and sing Don Alfonso, one of many roles in which he has often been brilliant.
• Pittsburgh Opera's resident artists will fill the cast of “Little Women” by Mark Adamo, Jan. 23, 26, 29 and 31, at the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts school. Written in 1998, Adamo's “Little Women” is a surprisingly beautiful opera based on Louisa May Alcott's famous novel.
• The resident artists also will be featured in “27” by Ricky Ian Gordon, Feb. 20, 23, 26 and 28, 2016, at the opera's headquarters in the Strip District. The title refers to the address of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas' salon in Paris in the 1920s. The opera was first performed in June 2014 and is said to be “a humorous snapshot of the women's shared lives and their famous visitors, including Picasso, Hemingway and Matisse.”
• “The Barber of Seville” by Gioachino Rossini, April 2, 5, 8 and 9, 2016, is the high-spirited and sharply drawn comedy featuring the same characters we encounter when they are a few years older in “The Marriage of Figaro.” The production will feature former resident artist Jonathan Beyer in the title role, rising star Emily Fons as his romantic interest, Rosina, and Kevin Glavin as Bartolo.
• The season concludes with “The Rake's Progress” by Igor Stravinsky, April 30, May 3, 6 and 8, 2016. Inspired in part by engravings by William Hogarth, the opera features a libretto by poet W.H. Auden and a score by Stravinsky that was influenced by Verdi. The cast includes Alex Shrader as Tom Rakewell, Layla Claire as Anne Truelove and David Pittsinger as Nick Shadow.
A subscription to the four productions at the Benedum costs $43 to $607.50.
Single tickets will go on sale Aug. 24.
Details: 412-281-0912 or pittsburghopera.org
Mark Kanny is classical music critic for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7877 or mkanny@tribweb.com.
