Schedule
Rusalka
Third Wood Sprite
September 17, 20, 23 & 25, 2022
Rusalka is the Czech version of the popular fairy tale The Little Mermaid, called a water nymph in this version. Rusalka falls in love with a human Prince and she has a witch turn her into a human in exchange for her voice. Rusalka must win and keep the Prince’s love, or else there will be disastrous consequences for them both. Will true love triumph?
Le nozze di Figaro
Cherubino
November 5, 8, 11, & 13, 2022
Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro is one of the most popular comic operas of all time. Filled with amusing cases of mistaken identity and romantic subterfuge, plus music by a Mozart at the height of his powers, The Marriage of Figaro has stood the test of time for centuries.
Figaro is in love with the Countess’s servant Susanna, who he plans to wed that very day. However, their employer Count Almaviva has his eye on Susanna. In fact, the Count intends to invoke the hated feudal practice of droit de seigneur—the infamous right of the lord to sleep with a commoner’s bride on her wedding night. Figaro, Susanna, and the Countess are understandably outraged at this possibility, and are determined not only to prevent it, but to teach the Count a lesson.
Ariodante
Ariodante
January 21, 24, 27 & 29, 2023
Ariodante is a beautiful opera seria composed by the prolific Baroque master George Frideric Handel in 1735. These will be its first-ever Pittsburgh performances.
Set in Medieval Scotland, Ariodante tells a tale of love, jealousy, deception, and redemption. Princess Ginevra, daughter of the King, loves and is betrothed to Prince Ariodante. Faithful to Ariodante, Ginevra rejects the advances of the vile Polinesso, Duke of Albany, who views Ginevra as a path to the throne. Dalinda, a lady of the court who has feelings for Polinesso, explains to Polinesso that Ginevra is marrying Ariodante. Polinesso cynically tricks Dalinda into making it appear that Ginevra has been unfaithful to Ariodante. Both Ariodante and the King fall for the ruse. Dalinda and Ariodante must work together to clear Ginevra’s name, and the King must learn of Polinesso’s treachery, so that Ariodante and Ginevra can live happily ever after.
Denis and Katya
Girl
May 6, 9, 12, 14, & 18, 2023
On November 14, 2016, Denis Muravyov and Katya Vlasova, fifteen-year-olds in the rural Pskov region of Russia, died after a three-day standoff with Russian Special Forces. They live-streamed their last hours onto internet sites, leaving behind a trail of devastating video footage: drinking and smoking, cuddling and crying, and preparing to die.
Denis and Katya could have been your children, best friends, or classmates. Two teenagers who lived every moment—including their last—online. What led to their violent deaths? Why did they choose to broadcast their final moments on social media? And what does it say about the voyeuristic society that watched, liked, and objectified them in real-time, transforming two kids into clickbait?