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!
