The Company
Pittsburgh Opera’s 2011-2012 season continues a 73-year tradition of excellence in opera. The season opens on Saturday, October 1, 2011 with the Pittsburgh Opera Association's 57th annual Diamond Horseshoe Ball, in an exciting new location: The Fairmont Pittsburgh. The opera start in earnest with Verdi’s beloved La traviata on Saturday, October 15, and continues with Bizet's The Pearl Fishers, oening Saturday, November 12. The Resident Artists of Pittsburgh Opera once again delight audiences in a new production of Humperdinck's Hansel & Gretel in the intimate space of CAPA Theater, opening Saturday, January 28, 2012. Spring in Pittsburgh brings Puccini's dramatic Tosca to the stage, opening March 24, along with the uproarious Mozart comedy The Abduction from the Seraglio, opening April 28.
No Pittsburgh Opera season would be complete without its closing event – the Maecenas Gala. Past Maecenas events have been consistently ranked among the Top Ten Parties in Pittsburgh, and Maecenas XVIII will carry on the tradition with an illustrious celebration to close the 2011-2012 season, on May 12, 2012.
Building on the successes of the New Year’s Eve celebrations in 2009 and 2010, Pittsburgh Opera is proud to present the third annual Auld Lang Syne New Year’s Eve gala and concert on December 31, 2011.The annual Cabaret! featuring the Resident Artists of Pittsburgh Opera with cocktails, dinner and a free-wheeling, funny, sometimes naughty revue will be held on February 24, 2012.
Pittsburgh Opera strives to bring opera to all members of the greater Pittsburgh community and is proud to continue to offer several free event series in the 2011-2012 season. The introduction of the 2011-2012 Resident Artists at the annual Rising Stars event will be held on September 24 in the George R. White Opera Studio at Pittsburgh Opera headquarters (2425 Liberty Avenue). The Pittsburgh Opera Brown Bag Concert Series will continue on selected Saturdays, October 2011 – April 2012 as well as the insightful Opera Up Close on Sundays prior to each production’s opening. After a successful first season of open Art Song Recitals in the 2009-2010 season, the talents of the Resident Artists will once again be showcased with these intimate performances, generously hosted by the Pittsburgh Opera Guilds. The community is also invited to several Master Classes throughout the season where they can observe stars of the opera world as they coach and critique the singing and performance of Pittsburgh Opera’s Resident Artists. And once again, all Tuesday performance ticketholders are invited to Meet the Artists with Pittsburgh Opera General Director Christopher Hahn, immediately following each Tuesday performance. New to the lineup of Pittsburgh Opera community events is the Pittsburgh Opera Film Series, hosted in collaboration with Point Park University. Subscribers and Guests are invited to enjoy films inspired by the season’s operas and gain insights into how opera has affected popular culture.
As part of Pittsburgh Opera's continued efforts to make opera accessible to all members of the community, single tickets for the 2011-2012 season will again start at just $10, with subscriptions starting at just $43 for four Benedum operas. Single ticket sales begin August 29, 2011.
Pittsburgh Opera's 2009 Green Initiative was awarded LEED(R) Silver certification in June 2011 by the U.S. Green Buildings Council, in the Operations and Maintenance Category. Pittsburgh Opera is now the first green opera company in the U.S. in this category, and its headquarters in the Strip District is now the oldest green building in Pittsburgh. Long-range strategic plans include making additional upgrades in operations and maintenance to achieve LEED(R) Gold certification.
Pittsburgh Opera maintains an active Facebook presence, with over 2200 fans, and tweets frequently about its productions, the arts scene, and community events, via Twitter.