Pittsburgh Opera Preview

The 2024-2025 Opera Season

Puccini’s TOSCA

October 5, 8, 11, 13, 2024

She lived for art. Would she die for love?

When painter Cavaradossi—the lover of Rome’s enchanting diva Floria Tosca—decides to harbor a fugitive of the law, he makes himself and his beloved Tosca a target of the corrupt Chief of Police, Baron Scarpia. Now it is up to Tosca to free both her lover and herself from Scarpia’s clutches by making a horrific bargain that will have consequences for them all.

Puccini’s whirlwind political thriller packs high romance, dark motives, love, betrayal, murder, and intrigue all into a plot that unfolds over only 24 hours. See why Tosca is one of the most powerful operas ever written.

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Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci

November 9, 12, 15, 17, 2024

An adulterous double feature
Jealousy, two-timing, and revenge unite the back-to-back tragedies of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci. Possessiveness, machismo, and rage fuel their bloody conclusions.

Cavalleria Rusticana: On Easter Sunday, Alfio discovers his wife Lola has rekindled her old romance with Turiddu.

Pagliacci: Just before a performance of his traveling circus troupe, clown Canio discovers the infidelity of his wife Nedda.

Join us for this back-to-back double feature of love and hate—the first time Pittsburgh Opera has performed these two operas together since 1996!

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Armida

January 25, 28, 31, February 2, 2025

All’s fair in love and war
To prevent the capture of Jerusalem by the knights of the First Crusade, The Prince of Darkness has sent the enchantress Armida into the world to seduce the Christian heroes and turn them from their duty. The bravest of these, Rinaldo, has fallen under Armida’s spell. But, to her surprise, she becomes enchanted by him as well. She comes to love him so deeply that she cannot bring herself to destroy him. For both, duty clashes with desire. As war rages around them, will love conquer them both?

Containing some of Haydn’s most inspired music, not only is Armida Haydn’s most highly regarded opera, but the composer himself referred to it as his best work.

These will be Pittsburgh Opera’s first performances of Armida. Pittsburgh Opera will mount a new production.

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Madama Butterfly

March 22, 25, 28, 30, 2025

His escape is her cage.
In this groundbreaking new production created by an all-Japanese and Japanese American creative team, Madama Butterfly’s story is transported to a fantastical realm where reality and dreams intersect.

Pinkerton puts on a VR headset and transports us into a vibrant virtual reality playground where he has ultimate control. As his avatar, a U.S. Navy Lieutenant, he can seduce and marry his fantasy girl and abandon her just as easily. But to Cio-Cio San, this is no game and the love and betrayal she feels is all too real.

Enveloped in Puccini’s stunning music, this visually beautiful production is the perfect match. Pittsburgh Opera is proud to partner with Cincinnati Opera, Detroit Opera, and Utah Opera to co-produce this reinvention of Puccini’s classic, uncovering new and resonant meaning for all audiences to enjoy.

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Woman with Closed Eyes

April 26, 29, May 2, 4, 2025

A family portrait
When Mona finds a mysterious suitcase filled with stolen masterpieces, she must grapple with a choice to save these priceless paintings or save her son—the thief. Burning the paintings would destroy the evidence of her son’s crime, but one of the paintings—Lucien Freud’s “Woman With Eyes Closed”—looks just like her own mother, a painter who died when Mona was still young. The uncanny resemblance unlocks long-buried memories that fuel the fires of three different possible endings.

This world premiere opera from award-winning composer Jennifer Higdon (Cold Mountain) is inspired by a real-life art heist, and confronts the question “what is the true value of a work of art?” This is an opera that needs to be seen at least twice; each night of the production has the possibility of a completely new ending!

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