Pittsburgh Opera

For review #300, I figured I’d review the Pittsburgh Opera, one of my favorite arts organizations in Pittsburgh. Although I’d never seen a true opera before coming to PGH, and I’d heard that it’s polarizing (people either love it or hate it), last year, I decided to take the plunge and see a performance. I’m so glad I did, since I really enjoyed it, and it gave me a great appreciation for an unfamiliar art form!
To date, I’ve seen three performances: La Boheme (2014), Otello (2014), and Carmen (2015), all of which were performed at the Benedum, my favorite venue in PGH. All of the performances were very well done, with excellent singing and acting by the artists. Of the three, La Boheme was the most accessible, and Carmen the most dramatic, with music that I recognized, despite never having seen it before. Although none of these performances were in English, subtitles are projected above the stage so that the audience can follow the lyrics and dialogue. Despite sitting in the cheap seats in the second tier, the acoustics are still very good. Unfortunately, opera glasses aren’t available for rental or purchase. However, if you bring a pair of binoculars, they vastly improve your ability to see the facial expressions of the artists, which will greatly increase your appreciation of the shows if you’re sitting in the peanut gallery.
Because I don’t have a standard to judge by, since I haven’t seen performances by any other opera companies, I’m awarding a rating of 4.5. If you live in PGH, or are just visiting, I highly recommend taking advantage of this cultural treasure. Even if you’ve never seen an opera performance before, check it out – if you’re like me, you’ll love it!

I went to my first Pittsburgh Opera back in 1992 in the heyday of Tito Capobianco when I worked at my first office job for the man who once owned Christoper’s Restaurant (now Monterey Bay) in Mount Washington. Christoper’s partnered with the Pittsburgh Opera to have «Tuesday Night at the Opera» galas where people would buy tickets to dinner and the Opera and would be shuttled from the restaurant to the show after dinner and then shuttled back afterwards for a private meeting with Tito and the Opera’s cast. I was 21 at the time and I was lucky enough to be able to attend 1 of the Tuesday night events (don’t asked me how it happened — I think that the angels were smiling on my that day). The opera was Rigoletto and I fell in love with the opera that night. I didn’t make it back to the opera again until the 1993 – 1994 season when I saw La Boheme. I subscribed for the next few seasons with a work friend and it was a very special time — I felt so «adult» and sophisticated and honestly didn’t realize how very lucky we are in Pittsburgh to have such a fabulous opera company in our city until I moved away. I’ve been to the Opera in a few other cities but there is a special magic for me at the Pittsburgh Opera.
I love that Pittsburgh has such a rich cultural history and that we are fortunate enough to have the opera, symphony, and many live venue theaters and musical offerings in our city. I urge people who have never been to the opera before to support the Pittsburgh Opera and take in a show. You will not be disappointed.

I have been a subscriber to the Pittsburgh Opera for 5 years. I have also attended the opera in other cities, most notably New York City and Sidney, and I feel that we are very lucky to have such an excellent company in Pittsburgh. The season usually provides lots of variety, and the artistic standards are very high. The Benedum itself is a magnificent venue to attend an opera, they have done a wonderful job restoring this historic building. The acoustics of the Benedum are also really excellent. The super titles are easy to read from just about any seat. The orchestra is well rehearsed and play beautifully. I also think that most people have misconceptions about opera which can be easily be proved wrong by visiting the Pittsburgh Opera.

This review isn’t for the opera, this is for the venue space.
Attended a wedding reception here and had more than a wonderful time. The space is more than adequate to house all of your guests in a comfortable setting. The staff made this run as smoothly as possible (even though an opera is no wedding I’m sure a wedding could be an opera). The sound system was amazing and more than enough for a wedding.
The building I have to say was quite beautiful. Exposed brick all over the place. Great reuse of a building and quite unique I have to say. Parking to attend anything here I would imagine is hard to find seeing that it is in the Strip District. But once you find your spot and walk into the building you definitely know you’re in for a good time.

Whether you are a headbanger or a punk rocker or a classics kind of person, the Opera is for you. Murder, infidelity, kidnapping, intrigue, music, sex, booze. .. opera has something for everyone. And in a world where everything is instant gratification, the opera has only 5 performances a year, so it’s truly special when they come along. Buy a couple of tickets, get dressed up, splurge on dinner with someone you love, and then enjoy the show.

We went to a couple of performances by the Pittsburgh Opera Center, the Opera Company’s training program — Brecht and Weill’s Threepenny Opera and Bizet’s Carmen. I loved the way both of these (very different) performances were staged, with very creative use of small spaces/​stages and basic props and costumes. The voices were strong and the music was good and the whole thing was intimate and stunning, both times. And both performances had a good amount of humor in them, too. 5 stars.
I also saw the Opera Company proper perform Tosca and Cosi Fan Tutti, but these were less remarkable. I think I might have actually disliked certain performers and the costumes and sets were borrowed design from other companies. I think you can feel it when it’s not a complete production. 3 stars.