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

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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

Holiday Brown Bag Concert

For Immediate Release        November 19, 2012

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

Pittsburgh Opera spreads holiday joy in annual family-friendly Brown Bag concert December 8

What:           Family-Friendly Holiday Brown Bag concert

Who:            Pittsburgh Opera’s Resident Artists

Where:         Pittsburgh Opera Headquarters, 2425 Liberty Avenue

When:          Saturday, December 8, 12 pm – 1 pm. Doors open at 11:30 am.

Tickets:         Free and open to the public. No RSVP required.

Parking:        Ample parking available on Penn Avenue or in surface lots in the Strip

Pittsburgh, PA… For the past four holiday seasons, Pittsburgh Opera’s Resident Artists have surprised and delighted audiences at the December Brown Bag concert with breathtaking renditions of holiday classics like “O Holy Night” as well as unexpected charmers such as “It must have been the mistletoe” and “Snow” from the film White Christmas. The concert is free and open to the public, and guests are encouraged to bring a friend and a lunch; there will be goodie bags and activities for the kids. Doors open at 11:30. No reservations are required except handicapped parking requests. For more information, call 412-281-0912, x 0 (zero) or visit www.pittsburghopera.org.

Pittsburgh Opera’s 2012-2013 season continues a 74-year tradition of excellence in opera. As part of the Company’s continued efforts to make opera accessible to all members of the community, single tickets for the 2012-2013 season again start at $10.

2012-2013 Season
Rigoletto October 6, 9, 12, 14, 2012
Don Giovanni November 3, 6, 9, 11, 2012
Il matrimonio segreto January 26, 29; February 1, 3, 2013
Cabaret 2013 February 22, 23, 24, 26, 2013
Madama Butterfly March 16, 19; 22, 24, 2013
La cenerentola April 27, 30; May 3, 5, 2013

Single tickets for as little as $10; season subscriptions for as little as $22.
For ticket information visit our website www.pittsburghopera.org or call (412) 281-0912
Find us on Facebook and Twitter

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

Mozart's Don Giovanni Opens on the 3rd

Pittsburgh Opera presents a Mozart favorite in a new production: Don Giovanni opens November 3

What:               Wolfgang Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni

Where:            Benedum Center for the Performing Arts
                        7th Street and Penn Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh

When:              Saturday, November 3, 8:00 PM                 Tuesday, November 6, 7:00 PM
                        Friday, November 9, 8:00 PM                     Sunday, November 11, 2:00 PM

Run Time:        3 hours, 10 minutes, including 1 intermission

Language:       Sung in Italian with English titles projected above the stage

Tickets:           Start at $10 for all performances.
                       Call 412-456-6666 for more information or visit pittsburghopera.org

               
Pittsburgh, PA…Pittsburgh Opera presents the Mozart favorite Don Giovanni, November 3 – 11 at the Benedum Center. Based on the Don Juan legend and starring Michael Todd Simpson as Don Giovanni, the opera showcases a sterling ensemble cast and a new production built in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Opera presents at least one new production every season, but it is unusual that the company presents three new productions in a single season. Its Don Giovanni is the first built-in-Pittsburgh production for the 2012-13 season. At press time, the distinctive “bullring” set is near completion in Ambridge, PA, and costumes and wigs are being fitted at the company’s Strip District headquarters.

Don Giovanni is the story of a dissolute nobleman who chafes against the repressive culture of his native Seville, and pays the ultimate price for his philandering and lack of remorse. Featuring the popular duet “La ci darem la mano” and the humorous “Catalog” aria, the opera blends humor, drama, and the supernatural. Mozart and librettist Lorenzo da Ponte drew from an earlier Don Juan opera as well as Moliere’s play and other works to craft the opera. Mozart presumably worked on the overture right up to the night before the opera’s first performance. While it was obviously completed under some stress, the opera made a lasting impression on the likes of E.T. A. Hoffmann, Kirkegaard, Tchaikovsky, and Chopin, all of whom created homages to the opera: a popular classic.

The ensemble cast features debuts by Wayne Tigges as Leporello and Caitlin Lynch as Donna Anna, and returns for former Resident Artists Sean Panikkar (The Pearl Fishers, 2011) and Jennifer Holloway (Romeo & Juliet, 2006). Also returning are Michael Todd Simpson (The Marriage of Figaro, 2010; La bohème, 2009), Sari Gruber (The Marriage of Figaro, 2010; Cosi fan tutte, 2006) and Hao Jiang Tian (Turandot, 2011); Resident Artist Joseph Barron appears as Masetto. Music Director Antony Walker returns to conduct; Justin Way debuts as stage director. Mr. Way gives an overview of his vision for the opera in a video found at www.pittsburghopera.org.

Tickets to Don Giovanni start at $10, with all performances at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, 7th Street and Penn Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh. For additional information or to purchase tickets call 412-456-6666 or visitwww.pittsburghopera.org.

Facts about the opera

      The Don Giovanni libretto was written by Lorenzo da Ponte, who shared some characteristics with the title character: he was friends with Casanova, and trained for the priesthood before falling out with the establishment for his libertine leanings. He had affairs with married women, and declared bankruptcy. However, his legacy of 28 librettos and his passion for teaching came with him to the U.S. when he became the first professor of Italian Literature at Columbia College (now Columbia University).
      In rehearsals for the premiere, Mozart was dissatisfied with the scream given by his Zerlina when the Don makes advances to her. Mozart sneaked up behind her and gave her a hard pinch at the right moment. Zerlina gave a very realistic shriek, and Mozart said he was finally satisfied.

The story, in brief
Don Giovanni, a dissolute nobleman of Seville, kills the Commendatore in a duel after he tries to seduce the Commendatore’s daughter, Donna Anna. Giovanni escapes, and Anna makes her fiancé, Don Ottavio, swear vengeance on the killer. Outside a tavern, Giovanni flirts with Donna Elvira, whom he once seduced and who has been looking for him ever since. Giovanni’s servant Leporello distracts Elvira by reciting his master's long catalog of conquests. Peasants arrive, celebrating the wedding of Zerlina and Masetto; Giovanni joins in and applies his charm to the bride, but Elvira whisks the girl away. When Elvira returns to denounce Giovanni as a seducer, he is caught between her and Anna, now in mourning. Anna recognizes him as her attacker.

Preparing for the wedding feast he has planned for the peasants, Giovanni exuberantly downs champagne. Outside the palace, Zerlina begs Masetto to forgive her apparent infidelity. Giovanni manages to corner Zerlina again, and when the girl cries for help, Giovanni blames Leporello. No one is convinced, and Elvira, Anna and Ottavio confront the Don, who barely escapes Ottavio's challenge.

Later, at Elvira’s inn, Leporello exchanges clothes with Giovanni to woo the lady in his master's stead. Leporello leads Elvira off, leaving Giovanni free to serenade Elvira's maid. When Masetto comes by with a band of peasants bent on punishing the Don, the disguised rake gives them false directions and beats up Masetto. In a courtyard, Elvira and Leporello are surprised by Anna, Ottavio, Zerlina and Masetto, who, mistaking servant for master, threaten Leporello. Frightened, he unmasks and escapes.

Leporello catches up with his master in a cemetery, where a voice from the Commendatore’s statue warns Giovanni of his doom. The Don proposes that Leporello invite the statue to dinner. When the servant stammers an invitation, the statue accepts. Leporello is serving Giovanni's dinner when Elvira rushes in, begging the Don, whom she still loves, to reform. But he waves her out, and her screams announce the arrival of the statue. Giovanni boldly refuses warnings to repent, Hell opens before him, and he is drawn in. Arriving too late, the others plan their future and recite the moral: such is the fate of a wrongdoer.
Don Giovanni opens Saturday, November 3 and continues November 6, 9, and 11, 2012. Tickets start at $10.  Call 412-456-6666 or visit www.pittsburghopera.org .

The Pittsburgh Opera 2012-2013 season is generously sponsored by PNC Foundation.
 
Tickets and Group Discounts
Tickets for all performances of Don Giovanni start at $10. Group discounts are available. For tickets, call (412) 456-6666 or visit www.pittsburghopera.org. For discounted group tickets (6 or more), contact Randy Adams at 412-281-0912, x 213.

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

Rigoletto Opens Opera Season

For Immediate Release                                                                          September 24, 2012

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

Pittsburgh Opera opens 2012-13 season with Rigoletto

What:  Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Rigoletto

Where:  Benedum Center for the Performing Arts
                        7th Street and Penn Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh

When:  Saturday, October 6, 8:00 PM      Tuesday, October 9, 7:00 PM
                               Friday, October 12, 8:00 PM       Sunday, October 14, 2:00 PM  

Run Time:  2 hours, 30 minutes, including 2 intermissions

Language:  Sung in Italian with English titles projected above the stage

Tickets:  Start at $10 for all performances.
                  Call 412-456-6666 for more information or visit www.pittsburghopera.org

Related Events:     FREE Meet the Artists and Brown Bag Concert.


Pittsburgh, PA…Pittsburgh Opera brings a handsome production of Verdi’s Rigoletto to the Benedum stage to begin the 2012-13 opera season of classics. The tragic tale of the court jester bent on revenge features Pittsburgh favorite Mark Delavan (Falstaff, 2009; Tosca, 2012) in the title role, with Lyubov Petrova (Ariadne auf Naxos, 2006) as Gilda and Michael Wade Lee in his Pittsburgh Opera debut as the Duke of Mantua. Rigoletto’s dramatic twists and turns and its well-known tunes such as “La donna è mobile,” “Si, vendetta” and “Questa o quella” make this opera a perpetual favorite. It’s said that immediately after Rigoletto’s premiere in 1851, “La donna è mobile” was sung and whistled in the streets, making it an instant classic.

Opening on the grandeur of the Duke’s of Mantua’s court and ending with tragic death outside a seedy inn, Verdi’s masterful Rigoletto is the story of a father’s love for his daughter, a curse, rage, revenge, and ultimately, tragedy. The impressive cast features a debut by Raymond Aceto as the assassin Sparafucile, a return for former Resident Artist Adam Fry (Tosca, 2012; The Abduction from the Seraglio, 2012), and also showcases seven Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artists in supporting roles: Juan José de León as
Matteo Borsa; Jasmine Muhammad as Countess Ceprano; Kyle Oliver as Marullo; Joseph Barron as Monterone; Nicole Rodin as Giovanna; Meredith Lustig as the Page, and Samantha Korbey as Maddalena. Music Director Antony Walker returns to conduct, fresh from critically-acclaimed performances of Bellini’s La sonnambula (The Sleepwalker) at Washington Concert Opera; Linda Brovsky (L’elisir d’amore, 1998) returns as stage director.

Tickets to Rigoletto start at $10, with all performances at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, 7th Street and Penn Avenue, Downtown Pittsburgh. For additional information or to purchase tickets call 412-456-6666 or visit www.pittsburghopera.org.

Facts about the opera
 Rigoletto underwent many revisions during arguments with censors who thought the royal antagonist’s amoral character too closely resembled a real French monarch (Francis I, lampooned by Victor Hugo in Le roi s’amuse). Verdi and librettist Piave finally settled on a duke from the extinct Gonzaga noble family in Mantua, so that no living officials could be offended.

At the premiere of Rigoletto, Verdi had to roughly shove his anxious, overly-humped Rigoletto (Felice Varesi) out onto the stage, so that he appeared to tumble on his first entrance. The audience thought it was intentional, and applauded.

The story, in brief
Rigoletto, a jester in the Duke of Mantua’s court, is suspected of keeping a mistress. When the nobleman Monterone denounces the Duke for seducing his daughter, Rigoletto ridicules him, and he curses both the Duke and his jester. At home, Rigoletto reminisces about his late wife with his daughter, Gilda, whom he keeps hidden. Nevertheless, the Duke gains entry, claims to be a student, and declares his love to Gilda, but runs away when the courtiers stop Rigoletto outside his house. They blindfold him while they abduct Gilda, and, hearing her cries, Rigoletto rushes into the house. Realizing she is gone, he remembers Monterone's curse.

Mark Delavan

At court, the Duke is distraught over Gilda’s disappearance until the courtiers reveal that she is in his bedchamber, and he rushes to the conquest. Rigoletto comes in looking for Gilda, and reveals to the courtiers that she is not his mistress, but his daughter. A disheveled Gilda appears and Rigoletto vows revenge.

At night, at the assassin Sparafucile’s inn, Rigoletto and Gilda watch as the Duke flirts with the assassin's sister and accomplice, Maddalena. Rigoletto sends Gilda away to prepare for escape, and pays Sparafucile to murder the Duke. As a storm rages, Gilda returns to hear Maddalena persuade her brother not to kill the Duke, but kill the next visitor instead. Resolving to sacrifice herself for the Duke, Gilda enters and is stabbed. Rigoletto comes back to claim the Duke’s body and gloats over the sack Sparafucile gives him, only to hear his supposed victim singing in the distance. Frantically opening the sack, he finds Gilda, who dies asking forgiveness. Monterone's curse is fulfilled.

Rigoletto opens Saturday, October 6 and continues October 9, 12, and 14, 2012. Tickets start at $10.  Call 412-456-6666 or visitwww.pittsburghopera.org .

The Pittsburgh Opera 2012-2013 season is generously sponsored by PNC Foundation.


Tickets and Group Discounts
Tickets for all performances of Rigoletto start at $10. Group discounts are available. For tickets, call (412) 456-6666 or visit www.pittsburghopera.org. For discounted group tickets (6 or more), contact Randy Adams at 412-281-0912, x 213.

Pittsburgh Opera’s 2012-2013 season continues a 74-year tradition of excellence in opera. As part of the Company’s continued efforts to make opera accessible to all members of the community, single tickets for the 2012-2013 season again start at just $10, with subscriptions starting at just $43 for four operas.
2012-2013 Season
Rigoletto October 6, 9, 12, 14, 2012
Don Giovanni November 3, 6, 9, 11, 2012
Il matrimonio segreto January 26, 29; February 1, 3, 2013
Cabaret 2013 February 22, 23, 24, 26, 2013
Madama Butterfly March 16, 19; 22, 24, 2013
La cenerentola April 27, 30; May 3, 5, 2013

Single tickets for as little as $10
Season subscriptions for as little as $43
For ticket information visit our website www.pittsburghopera.org or call (412) 281-0912
Find us on Facebook and Twitter

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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

Mozart's Comedy The Abduction from the Seraglio Concludes Opera Season

For Immediate Release
April 3, 2012

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

Pittsburgh Opera  season concludes with Mozart’s  comedy

The Abduction from the  Seraglio

Opera to be sung  in English

 What: Pittsburgh Opera’s production of Mozart’s The Abduction from the  Seraglio

When: Saturday, April 28, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, 7:00 p.m.
Friday,  May 4, 8:00 p.m. Sunday, May 6, 2:00 p.m.

Where: Benedum Center for the  Performing Arts, 7th Street and  Penn  Ave., Downtown

Tickets: Start at $10. Call 412-456-6666 or visit  www.pittsburghopera.org

Pittsburgh, PA… Pittsburgh Opera concludes the  2011-12 season with an effervescent comedy from Wolfgang Mozart,  The Abduction from the  Seraglio. On stage April 28, May 1, May 4 and May 6 at the  Benedum Center, Abduction will be sung  in English,  with English texts projected above the  stage. Set in a pasha’s harem aboard the  luxurious  Orient Express train and  featuring showpiece arias such as “Martern aller arten” (featured in the  film Amadeus, 1984), the  opera also provides plenty of physical  comedy. The fine and  funny ensemble cast  features David Portillo  and Paolo  Pecchioli  (both  appeared in The Barber of Seville,  2010), Pittsburgher Joseph Gaines (Turandot, 2011), and  debuts by Lisette Oropesa and  Ashley Emerson. Music Director Antony Walker conducts; Michael Shell directs. Tickets  start at $10. Call 412-456-6666 or visit www.pittsburghopera.org.

Events  associated with The Abduction from the  Seraglio (* = FREE event):
• Brown Bag concert, Saturday, April 14, 12:00 p.m.,  Pittsburgh Opera Headquarters, the  final Brown Bag concert of the  season, featuring Mozart arias and  ensembles*
• Opera Up Close,  Sunday, April 15, 2:00 p.m.,  Pittsburgh Opera Headquarters*
• Paolo  Pecchioli  in Concert, Monday April 16, 6:00 p.m.,  Pittsburgh Opera Headquarters
• Meet the  Artists,  Tuesday, May 1, after the  performance. Free  to Tuesday ticketholders.*

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 again start at $10.

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

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

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
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