Pittsburgh Festival Opera, our local “Intimate Opera Theater,” has added much to the summers’ musical offerings for some years now, and the ambitious company’s new season begins Friday, July 12, with a “concert” performance of Richard Strauss’ The Love of Danae, which will be followed by an opening night party at the Falk Auditorium of Winchester Thurston in Shadyside. The music begins at 7:30 pm, with the festivities following at 10 pm.
“For us, theatrical experience and authenticity are as important as musical excellence, and they go hand in hand,” Artistic Director Jonathan Eaton stated in a recent press release. “We hope very much that an evening in our company, with our exciting repertoire and imaginative productions, offers our audiences the unique combination of festive, intimate, contemporary opera theater. That is the Pittsburgh Festival Opera experience.” Having enjoyed many summer evenings listening to the company’s performances, I agree that he sums up a night with “PFO” rather well.
The opening night will be unique in several ways. Recent seasons of the company’s performances have ended with a Strauss rarity rather than beginning with one. The Love of Danae (Die Liebe der Danae) will be sung only once, and will be the first time so much of the work has been performed in Pittsburgh. Indeed, no recollection of even an excerpt being done on the concert stage comes to mind. And in what is certainly a major departure from the norm for PFO, the music will be sung in the original German language, rather than English, but, as always, the English translation will be projected above the stage. The vocal demands and the complexity of its stage directions make the opera, in any form, a major scarcity. The Love of Danae, a mixture of Greek mythology with comedy, wasn’t staged in its entirety until 1952, in Salzburg, by which time the composer had been dead for a few years.
Anyone who has heard Meghan DeWald, a brilliant soprano, will be happy to hear her again, singing the music of Danae. Ben Makino will conduct the performance, which will be directed by Rose Freeman. Also in the cast will be Ryan Milstead (Jupiter), Brendan Sliger (Mercury), Robert Chafin (Pollux), Melissa McCann (Xanthe) and Kevin Ray (Midas). Hannah Brammer, Courtney Milstead, Rebecca Sacks and Molly Burke will sing the music of the four Queens; John Park, Matthew Brooks, Chris Curcuruto and Andrew Potter that of the four Kings, and Mitch Fitzdaniel, Marcus Simmons, Benjamin Strong and Joseph Baunoch will sing the four Guards. A large ensemble of mostly new names will also appear in the opera’s single performance. The one chance to hear The Love of Danae should not be missed.
The multi-talented Robert Frankenberry has arranged and will conduct the performances of Mister Rogers’ Operas, the world stage premiere of two original one-act operas written by the beloved television personality, Fred Rogers. Originally appearing on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” the operas Windstorm in Bubbleland and Spoon Mountain, will be staged for the first time since they were filmed at Pittsburgh’s WQED studio, and will be directed by Tomé Cousin, who performed as Tomé the Ragdoll on the “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” TV show. The works are said to charm “children of all ages,” and will be in keeping with the original PBS production. Kara Cornell, Alex Boyd, Jenna Weaver, Fulton Eaglin, Mitch Fitzdaniel and Claire Choquette are among the singers who will perform roles in both operas, produced by Lynne Squilla. The first performance will take place at the Falk Auditorium on Saturday, July 13, at 7:30 pm, with repetitions on Sunday, July 14 (2:00 pm), Saturday, July 20 (7:30 pm) and Thursday, July 25 (7:30 pm).
Last summer’s The Rhine Gold (Das Rheingold) was an impressive first installment of Richard Wagner’s monumental “Ring Cycle,” and this year’s The Valkyrie (Die Walküre) promises to be a genuine thrill from the mere mention that Jeremy Galyon will return to PFO to appear as Wotan, the beleaguered king of the ancient Norse gods. The magnificent bass has been heard previously with the company in Strauss rarities, and fairly swept all before him with his sensational voice and movie star presence. The “Pittsburgh Ring Cycle,” as it’s come to be known, was originally commissioned by Birmingham Opera Company, and prepared by Jonathan Dove, John McMurray, and Graham Vick. Until PFO (then Opera Theater of Pittsburgh) first performed the four works in 2005-2006, none of the colossal “music-dramas” that comprise “The Ring” had been staged locally in 75 years. Judging from the estimated run-time of 2 hours and 45 minutes (with one intermission), more than an hour of the music will be missing. But truth be told, The Valkyrie (Act II in particular) can survive such pruning with minimal damage to the mighty composer’s intentions. Walter Morales will conduct the performances, directed by Jonathan Eaton, and the vocal talent line-up indicates that the production will be a must-see.
In addition to Mr. Galyon, the cast will boast tenor William Joyner and soprano Elisabeth Rosenberg as the ill-fated, incestuously star-crossed Siegmund and Sieglinde; bass Andrew Potter in the comparatively small but psychologically and dramatically complex role of Hunding, and mezzo-soprano Leah Heater (well remembered as Leah de Gruyl in her impressive seasons with Pittsburgh Opera) as Fricka, Wotan’s consort and the justifiably displeased goddess of marriage. Dramatic soprano Melanie Henley-Heyn will sing the role of Brünnhilde (the Valkyrie, Wotan’s favorite daughter), a warrior demi-goddess with the compassion of a mortal woman. Hanna Brammer, Maria Bozich, Amanda Levy, Rebecca Sacks, Megan Potter, Kelly Lynch and Kristin Starkey will appear as Brünnhilde’s sisters and fellow Valkyries (one seems to be missing from the provided cast), taking the famous “Ride” that opens Act III. The Valkyrie will be first heard on Friday, July 19, at 7:30 pm (followed by an Opening Night Party), with repetitions on Sunday, July 21 (2:00 pm) and Saturday, July 27 (7:30 pm).
Scandals and Schicchi, featuring the music of Giacomo Puccini’s comedic opera, Gianni Schicchi, is scheduled for two performances, the first being Friday, July 26 (7:30 pm) and the second, on Sunday, July 28 (2:00 pm), will serve as the season’s “Closing Party.” A special performance of Gianni Schicchi “as is” will be given at Snuggery Farm in Sewickley, following a gourmet picnic, on Saturday, July 20, at 6:00 pm. Scandals and Schicchi, with Puccini’s music and Jonathan Eaton’s spin on the libretto, will be conducted by Brent McMunn and directed by Derrick R. Brown. The large cast will include Joel Balzun in the title role and as Puccini himself in Eaton’s retelling of the tale, along a host of others.
In addition to the works above, the season’s offerings will include PFO’s “Music that Matters” series, showcasing a workshop of scenes from two new operas currently in development. Each opera will be presented in its entirety next summer. The Night Flight of Minerva’s Owl, by Guang Yang and Paula Cizmar, and Virgula Divina, by Karen Brown and Jessica Lanay Moore, each feature “stories that both demonstrate and celebrate women’s multifaceted roles and impacts on contemporary society.” Other events to note include The Enchanted Forest, “an opera specifically created for children and families”; two Wagner concerts performed by the Festival’s “Mastersingers Program,” under the artistic direction of renowned soprano Jane Eaglen; masterclasses led by Eaglen, local soprano Danielle Pastin and Pittsburgh Opera Chorus Master Mark Trawka; a “Degenerate Art Concert,” showcasing the music of Jewish composers banned in Germany during World War II, and contralto Daphne Alderson taking on the persona of Lotte Lenya, in a tribute concert to composer Kurt Weill entitled Lotte in the Light.
Earlier this year, the company suffered a significant loss with the death of Dr. Jerry Clack, the board chairman. “In the short time we shared together,” PFO’s new Executive Director Christopher M. Powell shared with me recently, “it was clear that his love for Pittsburgh Festival Opera was an extension of his passion for the entire operatic art form. There are people who know opera and then there was Jerry, who was like an operatic encyclopedia! His ability to share that knowledge with humor, a bit of hilarious sarcasm, but still utter reverence of the art – well, that was special. Our organization will miss him. Jerry was a singular support structure that allowed us to produce the rare works by Richard Strauss over the last several years. This season’s concert performance of The Love of Danae, a story that might be as complex as the man Jerry was, is how I will personally remember his legacy as I begin my career at the helm of this ambitious company.” The entire 2019 summer festival, he added, is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Clack.
For tickets, a complete calendar of events, full production details and more, visit Pittsburgh Festival Opera.
A Pittsburgh native, George B. Parous began his studies of music and the ‘cello in grade school before his interests turned to opera, its performers and history while in his teens. He has been acknowledged as a contributor or editor of several published works (the first being “Rosa Raisa, A Biography of a Diva,” Northeastern University Press, 2001), and is currently working on his own biography of the German-American dramatic soprano, Johanna Gadski, who sang at the Metropolitan during the “Golden Age of Opera.” A retired IT Analyst, he is an avid genealogist, and has traced his maternal line to 8th century Wessex, England. He’s been a contributor to Pittsburgh in the Round since 2014.