Opera Theater in the Media
June 15, 2013
REVIEW: A new chamber version of Daron Hagen’s Shining Brow staged at Wright’s masterpiece home Fallingwater.
The opera tells the story of Wright (baritone Kevin Kees); his mentor, Louis Sullivan (tenor James Flora); his lover, Mamah Borthwick Cheney (soprano Lara Lynn Cottrill); her husband, Edwin Cheney (bass-baritone Dimitrie Lazich); and Wright’s wife Catherine (soprano Kara Cornell).
It spans the years 1903–1914, which cover Wright’s commission to build a home for the Cheneys, his break with Sullivan, his liaison and elopement to Europe with Mamah, his breakup with Catherine, and the murder and fire at Taliesin that leave Mamah dead and Wright bereft. The role of a maid who brings the angry, disillusioned Sullivan his drinks is sung by soprano Anna McTiernan.
June 9, 2013
REVIEW: Shining Brow: My Evening with Frank Lloyd Wright
Last night, my husband and I had the amazing good fortune (and foresight of planning on our cross-country road trip) to celebrate Frank Lloyd Wright’s birthday at his masterpiece, Fallingwater. The brilliance of our planning is completely overshadowed, not only by the place, but by the shear genius of the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh in producing an opera about Mr. Wright, and staging it at Fallingwater, on the day of his birthday!
June 8, 2013
PREVIEW: Opera rings out at Fallingwater, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Edwin Cheney, played by Dimitrie Lazich, hugs his wife, Mamah Cheney, played by Lara Lynn Cottrill, during dress rehearsal for "Shining Brow," performed by the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh at Fallingwater in Mill Run, Fayette County, Wednesday.
The opera, composed by Daron Hagen with a libretto by Paul Muldoon, is based on the life of Fallingwater's architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. The performance, the first opera at the house, ran Friday and will also run today.
June 6, 2013
PREVIEW: Opera Theater and Fallingwater: Two Worlds Making Beautiful Music Together, WESA-FM
Celebrated American architect Frank Lloyd Wright once drew up plans for the area occupied by Point State Park. While those plans didn’t come to fruition, the area is proud to boast two homes designed by the visionary architect – Kentuck Knob and the iconic Fallingwater. This weekend, which would have been Frank Lloyd Wright’s 146th birthday, the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, in conjunction with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, will present Shining Brow, an opera covering eleven years in the life of Frank Lloyd Wright, performed on the exterior terraces of Fallingwater.
June 5, 2013
PREVIEW: Shining Brow—an opera about Frank Lloyd Wright
If there was ever a life that should be made into an opera it is that of America's greatest architect Frank Lloyd Wright. For after all, operas are nothing but drama of great proportions with scandalous goings on in-between.
June 5, 2013
PREVIEW: Opera Theater of Pittsburgh to perform at Fallingwater, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Adultery, betrayal, murder, fire, devastation—it's all there in "Shining Brow," an opera composed by Daron Hagen with a libretto by Northern Irish poet laureate Paul Muldoon. On Friday and Saturday, it will be performed on the outdoor terraces at Fallingwater by the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh as part of its SummerFest. It's the first time this opera has been staged at one of the architect's houses and the first time any opera has been performed at this house.
May 31, 2013
PREVIEW: Fallingwater Backdrop for Wright Opera, Herald-Standard, Uniontown, PA
Shining Brow will take stage at the world-known Fallingwater in Mill Run June 7 and 8. The event marks the first time composer Daren Hagen's opera will be held at one of the famed architect's buildings and the world premiere of Hagen's re-orchestration for chamber opera done specifically for the occasion.
May 25, 2013
PREVIEW: Architecture and Tragedy Inspire an Event, The Daily News, Huntingdon, PA
On June 7–8, this region will experience a singular convergence of art and architecure when Shining Brow is performed at Fallingwater.
July 16, 2012
REVIEW: Opera Theater of Pittsburgh’s ‘Candide’ Ends SummerFest on a High Note, Alexandra Strycula, BroadwayWorld.Com
Opera Theater of Pittsburgh’s SummerFest ended on a high note this Sunday with the festival’s pitch-perfect final showing of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide…This Candide’s standout performance is by far that of Pittsburgh native Abigail Dueppen, who dazzles with her performance as the ditzy-happy Cunegonde. Her rendition of “Glitter and Be Gay” quite literally stopped the show on Sunday with a prolonged – and fully merited – round of vigorous applause…
July 9, 2012
FEATURE: Teaching Voice from the Inside: UPMC and Opera Theater, Andrew Druckenbrod, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Opera singers get plenty of advice, but even the best voice teachers can’t see exactly how larynxes operate during arias and the like. Tomorrow the UPMC Voice Center will do just that when it offers free vocal cord endoscopies to the young singers performing in the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh’s Summerfest…
July 8, 2012
REVIEW: ‘Candide’ and More from Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, Gordon Spencer, WRCT
You’ll hear and see what justifies the acclaim and reputation accorded this, given uniformly magnificent singing, several wonderful character interpretations, filling out plenty of zippy business directed by consistently locally admired Scott Wise and remarkably adept playing by a 12-member orchestra led by Brent McMunn…
July 8, 2012
REVIEW: Opera Theater’s ‘Candide’ has Ups and Downs, Mark Kanny, Tribune Review
Opera Theater’s Summerfest production of “Candide” opened Saturday night and…generated plenty of laughs at The Hillman Center for Performing Arts…FitzGerald’s [Dr. Pangloss]dramatic presence was strong…Daniel Teadt and Abigail Dueppen were appealing as Candide and his lady love Cunegonde…The evening’s standout performer was Andrey Nemzer as The Old Lady in drag and with a heavy Russian accent. His strongly sung portrayal was a hoot, deliciously campy without being overdone…
July 6, 2012
PREVIEW: Opera Theater’s SummerFest Brings ‘The Best of All Possible Worlds’ to Pittsburgh, Alexandra Strycula, BroadwayWorld.Com
Leonard Bernstein’s operetta Candide lands in Pittsburgh this Saturday as part of Opera Theater of Pittsburgh’s SummerFest, a three-week celebration of opera, music and live theater…look out for Countertenor Andrey Nemzer, who sings the role of The Old Lady, a character who accompanies Candide for much of his journey…Pittsburgh natives Daniel Teadt and Abigail Dueppen star as Candide and Cunegonde, respectively…
July 4, 2012
PREVIEW: SummerFest Hits a High Note with Classical Concerts, Mark Kanny, Tribune Review
Opera Theater Summerfest classical concerts start with countertenor Andrey Nemzer on Tuesday and the Pittsburgh Chamber Players on Wednesday…Nemzer will be giving his first solo concert in Pittsburgh since he was named one of five winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions on March 18. Before winning at the Met, Nemzer won the 2011 Mildred Miller International Vocal Competition, which was run the Opera Theater and named for its founder…
July 2, 2012
REVIEW: Inventive ‘Carmen’ Still True to Ideals, Elizabeth Bloom, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
What made SummerFest’s “Carmen” successful was passionate singing matched by authentic emotion — the fundamentals of strong operatic performance…Whenever Carmen (Kara Cornell) came on stage, she might as well have licked her lips, hungry to command the other characters and mesmerize the audience (both of which she did successfully)…she kept the opera’s promise of sultriness…
July 2, 2012
REVIEW: Tough Luck Affects Enjoyable ‘Magic Flute’, Andrew Druckenbrod, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
[Papageno] Mr. Lazich was a marvel, the mix of silliness and strong singing that serves the ludicrous Papageno well. Sabrina Warren had a lovely, gentle texture throughout as Pamina. She channeled Lucia with a knife in her hand. The most intriguing casting was standout countertenor Andrey Nemzer as the despicable Monostatos. Not because of any shock value, at least not to me, but because it juxtaposed his timbre in the head voice compared to Ms. Salas’…
July 1, 2012
REVIEW: Second Performance of Eaton’s ‘Carmen’ is Not to be Missed, Mark Kanny, Tribune Review
Opera directors usually search for new perspectives when staging yet another performance of old masterpieces. Few are as radical or successful as Jonathan Eaton is in his new version of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” called “Carmen – the Gypsy,” which made its debut Saturday at Opera Theater Summerfest…The production would be worth seeing for Kara Cornell’s portray of Carmen alone, but, in truth, the entire cast was outstanding and obviously well-rehearsed…Cornell reveled in Carmen’s earthiness as well as her personal strength and integrity…
June 30, 2012
REVIEW: ‘Magic Flute’ Mostly a Delight, Mark Kanny, Tribune Review
Artistic director Jonathan Eaton’s new staging of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” was a delight to encounter Friday night at The Hillman Center for Performing Arts at Shady Side Academy in Fox Chapel. Eaton found a different angle from which to approach the opera but one that was harmonious with the heart of “The Magic Flute.” He framed it as a dream and placed all the action in a single set, the dreamer Tamino’s bedroom…Beyond the many points of individual excellence, Summerfest’s “The Magic Flute” was an ensemble effort filled with Mozartean joy. The festival is off to a strong start…
June 29, 2012
PREVIEW: Opera Theater of Pittsburgh Presents SummerFest 2012, Alexandra Strycula, BroadwayWorld.Com
Opera Theater of Pittsburgh raises the curtain on SummerFest, a three-week classical music festival new to Western Pennsylvania, on Fri., June 29. SummerFest features opera sung in English, concerts, recitals, cabaret, visual arts and the SummerFest Fringe, June 29–July 15, 2012, at The Hillman Center for Performing Arts, Shady Side Academy, 423 Fox Chapel Road, 15238. Music and theater lovers are invited to step into some beloved works, experience witty world-premiere music dramas and discover seldom-performed masterpieces. Free outdoor fringe performances and other visual and performing arts events add to the festivities…
June 27, 2012
PREVIEW: Opera Theater of Pittsburgh Reinvents Itself as a 17-day Summer Festival, Bill O’Driscoll, City Paper
Opera Theater of Pittsburgh occupies what might seem an unlikely headquarters: the third floor of Lawrenceville’s Stephen Foster Community Center, a hulking old brick building owned by the Catholic Youth Association. The ground floor houses a senior center and the second level is a day care. So while sopranos and tenors rehearse upstairs, toddlers scale the jungle gym and white-haired gents step outside to bemoan the humidity…
June 26, 2012
PREVIEW: Opera Theater SummerFest Gives Classical Feeling to Summer, Mark Kanny, Tribune Review
Opera Theater of Pittsburgh is boldly reinventing itself this year by becoming a summer music festival…The schedule of events offers the extravagant range of choices one expects of a festival. There is a new production of The Magic Flute, a new version Carmen and a revival of Candide, plus six world premieres of 10 to 15 minute operas called Night Caps, four concerts and a Mozart Camp. In addition, there are a wide array of Fringe events, which are free…
June 24, 2012
PREVIEW: SummerFest Set at Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, Andrew Druckenbrod, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
For nearly a decade, the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh has been a roving band, a troupe seeking a different venue for every production…This summer, he [Director Jonathan Eaton] and Opera Theater will finally settle down…
January 1, 2012
REVIEW: Opera Theater Production of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus and Euridice makes Tribune Review Top Ten List for 2011.
December 22, 2011
REVIEW: Opera Theater Production of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus and Euridice makes Post-Gazette Top Ten List for 2011.
Opera Theater director Jonathan Eaton outdid himself this time. He not only staged Ricky Ian Gordon’s touching song cycle “Orpheus and Euridice,” but he did so in the middle of the Allegheny Cemetery. The gravestones, mausoleums and monuments gave poignant meaning to the work written after Mr. Gordon’s partner died of AIDS…
