The National Aviary: Review

I should open this post with a quick disclaimer and state that I have a personal connection to the National Aviary, so I'm a little biased.  Nonetheless, I wanted to write about it, because I really do feel that it's an extraordinary place worthy of attention and accolades. 

The facility, located on the North Side of Pittsburgh, has undergone some major changes and additions, and they continue to renovate exhibits frequently.  This is always done with the birds' happiness in mind, accommodating their need for stimulation in their spaces.  In fact, the birds' happiness and well-being are truly of utmost importance at the Aviary.  My experience with their practice behind-the-scenes is totally consistent with that idea - they have fine-tuned their training practices, trainers are constantly providing new activities for the birds to keep them engaged and active, and even the volunteers and interns undergo extensive training to ensure the safety and comfort of the birds.  And don't even get me started on the incredible veterinary staff.

I have always felt that zoos are a "necessary evil" - that while it's not ideal to keep an animal in an artificial environment rather than out in nature, we need zoos to educate and to inspire.  The Aviary really embodies this - their educational programming is absolutely fantastic, and really targets different age groups well.  It's a great way for kids of all ages to learn about the birds and about preserving the natural habitats of all creatures for the future survival of at-risk species. 

One of the greatest things at the Aviary is their devotion to the Species Survival Plan.  Staff members are very knowledgeable about this program, and many of the birds at the Aviary are part of the plan.  It's a collaboration between zoos the world over to preserve both numbers of individuals and genetic diversity of the population (in order to ensure strong offspring).  The African Penguins and Guam Rails recently hatched at the Aviary are examples of the success of this program.

Stepping off my soapbox now, the main point about the Aviary is that it's just such a neat place to be!  The different environments that visitors walk through seem to have their own unique moods and rhythms.  My favorites are the tropical rainforest and the grasslands - both spaces are usually active yet mellow. 

Here are my photos from today, using my shiny new camera:

Benito the Hyacinth Macaw shows off for the camera

White-Cheeked Turaco

Burrowing Owl

African Penguin - this is one of the recently-hatched young'uns!

 Adult African Penguins

 

Shaft-Tail Finches

African Gray Parrot

Inca Tern

Victoria Crown Pigeon

Guam Rail

Cape Thick-Knee

This is just a snippet of what's on offer at the Aviary.  Better yet, there are interactive feedings run by the trainers, where guests can even get a chance to feed a bird.  There are also fantastic bird shows, run by an extremely capable show staff.  The training process for the shows is absolutely amazing, and very intense.  Since training must be consistent across the board, there is a very precise training protocol that the staff follows. 

The Aviary has great summer programming, as well as some summer camp sessions, and tours for large groups.  Wing your way over to their website for more information!

Pittsburgh Opera: Review

This isn't really so much a formal review of one opera so much as a review of our overall experiences there.

We have now seen several things at the Pittsburgh Opera - Turandot, Dialogues of the Carmelites, La Traviata, The Pearl Fishers and Tosca.  We loved every last one of them - except the Carmelites, but that was really the fault of the opera rather than the opera company.  More on that later.  We headed down to the opera on a beautiful Spring evening...

 ...passed by the robot repair shop, where the poor little guys seemed to be getting even more anxious...

 ...and made it to the lovely Benedum Center.  It is a majorly over-the-top opera house, decked out from head to toe in gold-encrusted moldings and other crazy details.  It narrowly misses tackiness and instead is just dripping with awesome, like these fabulous chandeliers:

 Seriously, I need one of those for my house.  Also, I need a giant house to put one of those chandeliers in.

 I trotted out the antique opera glasses - my Christmas gift from my husband - at Tosca.

They have great little side rooms for intermission, too...

Fabulousness of the Benedum Center set aside, the Pittsburgh Opera is a fantastic company.  I was so spoiled, going to operas at the Kennedy Center when I was in college, and having seen Renee Fleming sing at the Met in New York.  I didn't expect Pittsburgh to measure up, and yet it turns out some really wonderful performances.

Turandot was great, in particular Naguanda Nobles, who brought down the house.  The tenor the night we went was a replacement, and he seemed to be perhaps under rehearsed or not feeling well.  But overall, the performance was fantastic.

The Dialogues of the Carmelites was an extremely well-done production of an abysmal opera.  I should note here that I'm sure there are many who appreciate this sort of opera.  I am not one of them.  It's gloomy, with a story that starts out promising.  I think the biggest problem with it is that the music doesn't match the action of the story - there are many moments of either dramatic music during a banal moment, or dull music at an important time.  That said, the Pittsburgh Opera company did the best I can imagine anyone doing with it, featuring some lovely singing talent.

La Traviata was absolutely superb.  The set design was over-the-top in a very good way, and the garden/conservatory setting in Act 2 was particularly gorgeous.  The soprano starring as Violetta, Anna Samuil, was stunning in both voice and acting ability, and she was perfectly matched with the baritone, Stephen Powell, who sang Giorgio Germont (the male lead's father) in some very touching duets in the second act.  The tenor, Giuseppe Varano, was also excellent.  But really, it was the second act moments between Samuil and Powell that were the most moving for me, which is unusual, because I normally find that to be the least interesting part of the opera.  The two of them were just enchanting together.

The Pearl Fishers was a lot of fun, featuring Zandra Rhodes' spectacularly wacky set design - bright colors and bold shapes everywhere!  The production featured two resident artists, tenor Sean Panikkar and baritone Craig Verm, and these two were an excellent match for each other.  I hadn't really been exposed to this opera before, but was completely charmed and am still listening to it often.  It was so nice to see such phenomenally talented young singers developing their careers in Pittsburgh.

Finally, we saw Tosca, an event much touted in the press due to the soprano, Angela Brown, who definitely delivered on all the hype.  She was a superlative performer in every way.  I feel very fortunate to have seen her sing such an emotionally significant role - one of the most difficult to sing, I believe.  Mark Delavan was the perfect villain, and Hugo Vera's "e lucevan le stelle" was very moving.

We loved going to the Pittsburgh Opera, and were we not trying to move back North as soon as possible, we would have already renewed our subscription for next year - I am nearly peeing my pants over next season's lineup!  Rigoletto, Don Giovanni (one of my favorites!!), Madam Butterfly, La Cenerentola and Il Matrimonio Segreto.  Don Giovanni is the only one of those I have seen before, and given the choice, I'd see it again, along with Rigoletto and Butterfly, which I am also dying to see!

Please consider subscribing to the Pittsburgh Opera if you are looking for some interesting cultural events to explore.  They really put on great productions, and they do a great job of cultivating local talent, which I think is very important for a strong opera house.  Plus, their tickets start at something like 10 dollars - a seriously great bargain!