Past Pgh Opera Directors Celebrate 75th Anniversary Season

For Immediate Release  
September 19, 2013

Contact:
Melissa Franko, PR Associate
Office: (412) 281-0912 ext 217 or melissafranko@live.com

Past Pittsburgh Opera directors to help celebrate 75th anniversary season

Pittsburgh, PA… Pittsburgh Opera General Director Christopher Hahn has invited both living past company directors to join him in celebrating the company’s 75th anniversary season. Both Tito Capobianco (director 1983 – 2000) and Mark Weinstein (director 1999 – 2008) will be honored guests on opening weekend of AIDA, October 11-12. “I am thrilled that my two predecessors are able to help us celebrate the extraordinary achievement of 75 years of performances by Pittsburgh Opera. Each contributed enormously by building the strong foundation upon which we now stand. We can never find enough ways to thank them for their work, and look forward to welcoming them both.” Mr. Hahn said.

Mr. Capobianco and Mr. and Mrs. Weinstein will attend the Diamond Horseshoe Ball on Friday, October 11, greeting patrons with whom they formed friendships while in Pittsburgh, and enjoying the dinner, dancing, and entertainment for which the gala is known. On Saturday, October 12, they will again greet friends old and new in the lobby of the Benedum Center, and be honored on stage before the first notes of Verdi’s AIDA begin. No doubt they will also be among those applauding when Christopher Hahn makes a special 75th-anniversary event announcement from the Benedum stage.

Tickets to AIDA start at $12, with all performances at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, 7th Street and Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh. For additional information, videos, photos, musical samples, and cast biographies, visit www.pittsburghopera.org.

To purchase tickets, call 412-456-6666 or visit www.pittsburghopera.org.

Pittsburgh Opera celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2013-14 with OPERA FOR A NEW AGE, a mix of long-beloved operas and new favorites. Established by five intrepid women in 1939, Pittsburgh Opera is viewed as one of the most vibrant opera organizations in the U.S., with a rich artistic tradition, outstanding educational programs, an acclaimed artist training program, and a progressive outlook toward the future. Its green initiative culminated in LEED® Silver certification for its Strip District headquarters, and its capacity as a true community partner has increased significantly under General Director Christopher Hahn’s leadership. Tickets for the 2013-2014 season start at just $12.

2013-14 Season
AIDA •• October 12 – 20, 2013
THE MAGIC FLUTE •• November 9 – 17, 2013
DARK SISTERS •• January 25 – February 2, 2014
SECOND STAGE PROJECT: PAUL’S CASE •• February 22 – March 2, 2014
LA BOHÈME •• March 26 – April 6, 2014
ORPHÉE •• April 26 – May 4, 2014
For ticket information, visit our website www.pittsburghopera.org or call (412) 281-0912
Find us on Facebook and Twitter
###


Debra L. Bell
Director of Marketing and Communications
PITTSBURGHOPERA
2425 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh PA 15222
412.281.0912 x 214
412.281.4324 fax
www.pittsburghopera.org          

Coming up:
75th anniversary season 2013-14: Opera for a new age
Support Pittsburgh Opera’s future. Make a secure online donation today.

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Opera Announces 75th Anniversary Season

For Immediate Release August 20, 2013
Contact: Debra L. Bell, Director of Marketing and Communications
Office: (412) 281-0912 ext 214 or dbell@pittsburghopera.org

Pittsburgh Opera puts single tickets on sale August 26
For a limited time: special $5 Kids’ Tickets for Nov. 12 performance of The Magic Flute

Pittsburgh, PA…On Monday, August 26, Pittsburgh Opera offers single tickets to the public for its 75th anniversary season. Opening October 12 with the grandest of all grand operas, Verdi’s Aida, the Pittsburgh Opera season includes three beloved works and three bold new operas, with three of this season’s offerings sung in English. Following Aida in the season are Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Nico Muhly’s Dark Sisters, Gregory Spears’s Paul’s Case, Puccini’s La bohème, and Philip Glass’s Orphée. Single tickets start at $12 and are available at www.pittsburghopera.org, 412-456-6666, or at Theater Square Box Office, 665 Penn Avenue, in the Cultural District.

Pittsburgh Opera thanks the Jack Buncher Foundation for a special offer that also opens August 26: $5 kids’ tickets to the Tuesday, November 12 performance of The Magic Flute at the Benedum Center. Those who wish to bring kids or grandkids (ages 6-12) to the Tuesday 7:00 p.m. performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute may purchase up to four kids’ tickets at $5 each with the purchase of a full-price adult ticket. The Buncher Foundation sponsors the offer, which is available in all Benedum seating areas except Price Zone A. Available by web, phone, or in person, the offer is good until October 31, 2013 or while supplies last. More information, photos of this “gorgeously whimsical” (The Globe and Mail) production, related events, and FAQs about bringing kids to the opera are available at http://www.pittsburghopera.org/pages/Magic_Flute_Kids.

Pittsburgh Opera celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2013-14 with OPERA FOR A NEW AGE, a season of three beloved favorites and three bold new operas. Established by five intrepid women in 1939, Pittsburgh Opera is viewed as one of the most vibrant opera organizations in the U.S., with a rich artistic tradition, outstanding educational programs, an acclaimed artist training program, and a progressive outlook toward the future. Its green initiative culminated in LEED® Silver certification for its Strip District headquarters, and its capacity as a true community partner has increased significantly under General Director Christopher Hahn’s leadership. Tickets for the 2013-2014 season start at just $12.

2013-14 Season
AIDA •• October 12 – 20, 2013
THE MAGIC FLUTE •• November 9 – 17, 2013
DARK SISTERS •• January 25 – February 2, 2014
SECOND STAGE PROJECT: PAUL’S CASE •• February 22 – March 2, 2014
LA BOHÈME •• March 26 – April 6, 2014
ORPHÉE •• April 26 – May 4, 2014

For ticket information visit our website www.pittsburghopera.org or call (412) 281-0912
Find us on Facebook and Twitter

###

Debra L. Bell
Director of Marketing and Communications
PITTSBURGHOPERA
2425 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh PA 15222
412.281.0912 x 214
412.281.4324 fax
www.pittsburghopera.org

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Pgh Opera Announces Paul's Case as Second Stage Project

PITTSBURGHOPERA
For Immediate Release June 18, 2013

Contact:
Debra L. Bell, Director of Marketing and Communications
Office: (412) 281-0912 ext 214 or dbell@pittsburghopera.org

Pittsburgh Opera announces Paul’s Case as Second Stage Project
Idealistic Pittsburgh boy escapes his oppressive world...for a New York minute

Pittsburgh, PA…Pittsburgh Opera General Director Christopher Hahn has announced that Gregory Spears’s opera Paul’s Case is the Second Stage Project for 2014. The Second Stage Project is an additional showcase for the company’s Resident Artists, some of whom have gone on to sing on the world’s most famous stages. The opera runs February 22 – March 2, 2014 in the George R. White Studio at Pittsburgh Opera Headquarters.

Paul’s Case, by 36-year-old Gregory Spears, with a libretto by Mr. Spears and Kathryn Walat, is based on Willa Cather’s 1905 short story. Paul is a high school “dandy” whose artistic and social aspirations drive him to escape from sooty turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh. He defies his headmaster and his father, steals money, and goes to New York City to live the high life at the Waldorf Astoria. After a drunken night with a Yale student, reality comes crashing down, and Paul’s longings are crushed in a wrenching finale.

Scored for a nine-piece orchestra and seven singers,  Paul’s Case premiered in April 2013 at Arlington, Virginia-based Urban Arias, earning rave reviews from The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.  Gregory Spears’s compositional style blends romanticism, minimalism, and early music; his work has been called “astonishingly beautiful” (New York Times), and “some of the most beautifully unsettling music to appear in recent memory” (Boston Globe). His current projects include a new completion of Mozart’s Requiem, commissioned by Seraphic Fire and Firebird Chamber Orchestra, to premiere in Fall 2013.

Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist Stage Director George Cederquist directs Paul’s Case. Specific casting and other details will be announced in August 2013. All tickets are $40 in advance, available exclusively to Pittsburgh Opera season ticket buyers until August 26.

Pittsburgh Opera’s celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2013-14 with OPERA FOR A NEW AGE, a mix of long-beloved operas and new favorites. Established by five intrepid women in 1939, Pittsburgh Opera is viewed as one of the most vibrant opera organizations in the U.S., with a rich artistic tradition, outstanding educational programs, an acclaimed artist training program, and a progressive outlook toward the future. Its green initiative culminated in LEED® Silver certification for its Strip District headquarters, and its capacity as a true community partner has increased significantly under General Director Christopher Hahn’s leadership. Tickets for the 2013-2014 season start at just $12.

2013-14 Season
AIDA •• October 12 – 20, 2013
THE MAGIC FLUTE •• November 9 – 17, 2013
DARK SISTERS •• January 25 – February 2, 2014
SECOND STAGE PROJECT: PAUL’S CASE •• February 22 – March 2, 2014
LA BOHÈME •• March 26 – April 6, 2014
ORPHÉE •• April 26 – May 4, 2014

For ticket information visit our website www.pittsburghopera.org or call (412) 281-0912
Find us on  Facebook and Twitter
###

2425 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15222 www.pittsburghopera.org

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Pgh Opera Director Hahn Contract Extended, New Season Schedule Announced

Embargo date/time: October 20, 2011, 6:30 PM


Contact:

Debra L. Bell, Director of Marketing and Communications
Office: (412) 281-0912 ext 214
dbell@pittsburghopera.org


Pittsburgh Opera General Director Christopher Hahn’s contract extended through 2015-16 season

Pittsburgh, PA… Pittsburgh Opera’s Board of Directors today announced that General Director Christopher Hahn’s contract has been extended through June 30, 2016. Board Chair Michele Fabrizi, President and CEO of MARC USA, said, “We are delighted that we will continue to have Christopher’s leadership at the helm of Pittsburgh Opera. Under his tenure as both Artistic and General Director, the company has flourished and grown exponentially. His vision and flair have put an indelible stamp on the company, and the future looks bright. We especially look forward to our 75th anniversary season [2013-14].”

Mr. Hahn’s tenure as General Director began in 2008, when he was unanimously approved by the Board after serving as Artistic Director since 2000. Mr. Hahn’s artistic and administrative leadership at Pittsburgh Opera has been marked by an expansion of the repertoire to include landmark productions of contemporary operas such Dead Man Walking (2004), Billy Budd (2007), The Grapes of Wrath (2008), and lauded productions of Madama Butterfly (2007) and Turandot (2011), among others. He has developed important partnerships with Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama for the Company’s annual Resident Artist production, and with Chatham Baroque and Attack Theatre.

Under Mr. Hahn’s guidance, the Company moved to its new headquarters in the former Westinghouse Air Brake factory with administrative, rehearsal, and performance space all on site. The building subsequently received LEED® Silver certification in Operations and Maintenance by the U.S. Green Building Council, making Pittsburgh Opera the first U.S. opera company to achieve certification in that category. Mr. Hahn has also led an expansion of audience development initiatives, including the popular Brown Bag Concerts.

“The Board of Directors has been impressed by the way in which Christopher has led the company in these difficult economic times, and we are so pleased that he has agreed to extend his contract. We have stayed true to our mission of producing excellent opera even as budgets became tighter and resources became slimmer. More than ever, we need strong leadership and continuity, and now we have ensured that,” said Pittsburgh Opera Board President John E. Traina.

Pittsburgh Opera’s 2011-2012 season continues a 73-year tradition of excellence in opera and is the first green opera company in the U.S.* As part of the Company’s continued efforts to make opera accessible to all members of the community, single tickets for the 2011-2012 season will again start at $10, with subscriptions starting at just $43 for four mainstage operas.

*U.S. Green Building Council awarded LEED® Silver certification in June 2011 in the Operations and Maintenance category.

2011-2012 Season

La traviata October 15, 18, 21, 23

The Pearl Fishers November 12, 15, 18, 20

Hansel & Gretel January 28, 31; February 3, 5

Tosca March 24, 27, 30; April 1, 3

The Abduction from the Seraglio April 28; May 1, 4, 6

For ticket information visit our website www.pittsburghopera.org or call (412) 281-0912
###