“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…” Mezzo-Soprano Marianne Cornetti started singing those words when asked about the inspiration of holiday music for her upcoming performance. “I could listen to Christmas music all year long,” said Cornetti, who will be Mrs. Claus at the Ho-Ho-Holiday Extravaganza on Dec. 19
Courtesy of Josh Brown
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Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s upcoming schedule is based on three V’s “to be visible, viable and victorious even during a pandemic,” according to Artistic Director Marianne Cornetti.
“Because we are still in a pandemic year, and not knowing how confident our audience would be in attending performances before July, we wanted to maintain being visible, but not having huge production costs,” she said. “It was time to get creative.”
To that end, the PFO season will offer a blend of indoor, outdoor and virtual events, along with an original film production.
On February 14, 2021, Valentine s Day, Pittsburgh Festival Opera presented seven singers in a romantic concert entitled
Some Enchanted Evening. James Lesniak and Robert Frankenberg provided thoughtful and supportive piano accompaniment while Festival Opera Board members added charming love stories. Bass Brian Kontes opened the program with a smooth, legato rendition of its namesake: Richard Rogers Some Enchanted Evening from
South Pacific. It was a delightful way to start off an in-home program for couples of all descriptions.
Alice Chung is a dramatic mezzo currently attending the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Fabulous singers graduate from that school and Chung will be no exception. She has both the silvery high notes and the resonant low tones needed for Bizet s