Chris Powell To Leave Pittsburgh Opera For Glimmerglass Festival

"Pittsburgh Opera music administrator Chris Powell will leave the company on April 13 to grow to be director of administration and community engagement beginning on April 20 for Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, N.Y. He will oversee advertising, planning, artistic administration, public relations and community engagement. 'This is a truly exceptional chance for Chris,' says the Pittsburgh Opera's general director Christopher Hahn. Hahn hired Powell in 2001. 'He's worked through a range of responsibilities and is in a very very good position to move forward in his profession,' Hahn says. 'Glimmerglass is certainly a incredibly fine festival enterprise and the possibilities this will afford him are fantastic. I'm extremely pleased for him.' Powell, 43, is a Mt. Lebanon native who graduated from Duquesne University and the University of Miami. He was a winner as a horn player of the Music in Mt. Lebanon competition in 1991. He also was personnel manager from 2005 to ‘09 for the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra in the course of James Levine's tenure with the Boston Symphony and the Tanglewood Festival. As Pittsburgh Opera's music administrator, Powell has been in charge of procurement of all added musical instruments, was personnel manager for the chorus and orchestra, in charge of the daily and extended term schedules and took care of visa, immigration and other problems for guest artists. He's also managing director of 3 Rivers Ringers, a handbell choir." [Source]

Former Steel Worker Would Go Nude For Pittsburgh Opera "Aida"

"At 69 years old, heavier than he'd like to be, former steel worker Fred Rokasky knew he might not get one of the roles as the scantily clad, buff spear carriers for the Pittsburgh Opera's upcoming production of Verdi's famed ancient Egypt-based opera, Aida. 'You don't get to pick, so I'll probably be a [uniformed] soldier,' said Mr. Rokasky of Squirrel Hill, one of nearly 50 men who turned out Saturday at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History for the Pittsburgh Opera's open casting call for spear carriers, soldiers, priests, slaves, boatmen and litter carriers. Appropriately, the auditions were held in front of the museum's Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt. Still, Mr. Rokasky said, if they need him for one of those roles as a spear carrier -- who would have to appear in front of up to 3,800 opera fans for four shows at the Benedum Center in October wearing what amounts to a mere loincloth -- he is ready. 'It wouldn't bother me, standing there topless,' he said. 'I'm a nudist anyway. So being partially nude wouldn't bother me.' [Source] Optional casting photo after the jump.

Lindsay Ammann Apartment Shops On "House Hunters International"

Season 51, Episode 11: "Till Death Do Us Part, in Stuttgart, Germany" (March 25, 2013) "While Lindsay was singing with the Pittsburgh Opera, she met and fell in love with a young patron named Linas. Shortly after, the love birds flew to his native Lithuania to live with his family and plan their wedding. One week after they tied the knot, the couple was en route to Stuttgart, Germany where Lindsay accepted a job at the city's Opera House. But, before she can begin work, the newlyweds must agree on an apartment that's quiet and close to public transit. With rentals hard to come by, will they be in for marital bliss or property pains? Find out, when House Hunters International takes the stage in Stuttgart, Germany." [Source]

Pittsburgh Opera Performs "Pearl Fishers" With Sean Panikkar

Devoted Fishermen: Panikkar, left, plays opposite Verm.

"The plot is straight-forward. Zurga (Craig Verm), chief of the island, rekindles a friendship with Nadir (Sean Panikkar) only to see it dismantled when the woman they both love, Leila (Leah Partridge), shows up. She's a priestess threatened with death if she interacts with a man, but for forgoes all when she sees Nadir for the first time in years. The Pearl Fishers not a tragic opera, however, and after much soul searching, Zurga frees the couple even as it costs him his life. How satisfying it was to see Mr. Verm in a major role as his career continues to rise. We have watched

Lovers Reunited: Leila (Leah Partridge)
and Nadir (Sean Panikkar).

him grow up, as it were, from a singer in the Pittsburgh Opera's resident artist training program taking bit parts to larger roles in such operas as Turandot (Ping) and Tosca (Angelotti). Here he was a commanding figure, stiff and formal until he breaks down after Leila appears. Mr. Verm's voice has matured into an oaken timbre. It is not big, but potent and steady. Mr. Panikkar also was a resident artist here and has a bright future, too. He just happens to be of Sri Lankan decent. His parents immigrated to the United States and -- get this -- his uncle was a pearl diver in his youth. But that, of course, doesn't mean a thing in opera, and it was Mr. Panikkar's lyric tenor that made him the fit for the role. He didn't often sing at full bore in this opera, per the score, but when he did, it

Love Triangle: Zurga (Verm), Leila (Partridge)
and Nadir (Panikkar) together at last.

radiated throughout the hall. When he held back he offered a silky timbre that sounded like an amplified version of someone whispering sweet nothings in your ear. Singing in French, diction aside, is a boon for a singer like him, and even with a few issues with his head voice, he was tremendous. While Andrew Gangestad was solid in the small role of Nourabad, Leah Partridge was inconsistent. She handled the most difficult work the best, intoning the cavatina 'Comme autrefois dans la nuit somber' with lovely shades. But her vibrato at other times got in the way of Bizet's flowing score. She did unquestionably look the part. That was also the case for the barely dressed beefcake male and sensual female dancers, although they weren't always together in their heavy, stomping and leaping choreography by John Malashock and general conception by stage director Andrew Sinclair." [Source] For a feature story on Sean Panikkar and his family's ties to Sri Lanka, click here.

Mob Mentality: Leila and Nadir face the wrath of Nourabad and the guards.

Photos by David Bachman/Pittsburgh Opera

Pittsburgh Opera Helps Promote 10-Year Old Jackie Evancho

Jackie: The little "opera singer"
(Photo: Michael Levine)

"Christopher Hahn is the first to admit that when a friend told him about the 10-year-old from Richland who sang classical music, he was a bit skeptical. 'I thought, ‘Yeah, right,' but I was really glad that I watched, because right after her performance, my phone started ringing,' he said. Hahn is the general director of the Pittsburgh Opera, and he is, of course, referring to Jackie Evancho’s appearance last summer on America’s Got Talent. Although Hahn doesn’t typically watch the TV show, he gravitated toward the little singing sensation and followed the rest of her appearances on the show. When he was approached about having Jackie appear with the Pittsburgh Opera, he 'jumped at it.' Jackie will perform with the Pittsburgh Opera at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at the Benedum Center. Tickets go on sale to the general public July 25 but already are available to Pittsburgh Opera season-ticket subscribers. According to Hahn, the ticket sales have been exceeding his expectations. 'I wasn’t sure how [subscribers] would view the concert as it isn’t one of our typical performances, but we already have about half of the tickets for the performance sold,' he said. Hahn said the fact that Jackie is from Pittsburgh has

Fan of Jackie Evancho:
Christopher Hahn

increased interest with local subscribers, but they also have received calls from as far away as North Carolina about the sales. 'When we throw it open to the general public, [tickets] will sell extremely well,' he said, 'People love the idea that they can see this performance right in their own backyard.' Hahn views Jackie’s appearance as a benefit for the opera, for the area and for Jackie. 'The Pittsburgh Opera is very highly respected. We are the eighth oldest opera in the country, and we are well known in the opera world, but this opportunity allows us to reach people that may not typically attend the opera,” he said. He looks at the upcoming appearance as the opportunity “to remind everyone that we have this wonderful opera in our own backyard.'" [Source]