The Kiss of Life
A common theme binds our season together: that love can triumph over death. We experience two versions of the Orpheus legend, the singer-poet whose music was so powerful and whose love was so strong that he was able to bring his beloved Euridice back from the dead. And we witness a miracle of redemption for Sophocles’ Oedipus in a modern American masterpiece, the smash-hit gospel opera Gospel at Colonus.
Legends rediscovered, myths re-imagined
All of this season’s productions have their roots in Classical antiquity. How do these stories of ancient cultures affect us today? How do we re-imagine them for modern times? Can we still discover ourselves in these timeless sagas? Our journey takes us from the bones of Classical antiquity, through the refined elegance of 18th century Austria to the exuberant mysticism of contemporary America.
Opera Theater reaches parts other arts don’t reach
Each production takes place in a unique venue, creating an all-embracing, overwhelming experience: the classical ballroom of a mansion on millionaire’s row in Allegheny City, the fabulous new August Wilson Center, and, for an extraordinary outdoor experience, a candle-lit lake in the Allegheny Cemetery.
Intimate Opera
The Opera Theater experience is up-close, powerful and personal. It is not grand opera sung in foreign languages and semaphored by unlikely characters on distant stages. It is exciting, provocative, modern music-drama sung in English. And it always offers an extra dimension: a new venue to discover, a new take on a familiar theme, and in some venues a bite of food a glass of wine to fill out an evening you will never forget. Life-enhancing entertainment.