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3Danielle Pastin is radiant in the lead role...Pastin's voice has all the power and refinement needed for the challenging role — and the beauty to make this tragedy a treasure.
Danielle Pastin’s Donna Elvira became an alcoholic psychotic, crazed by love and rejection. Her luscious soft-grained sound was almost too beautiful for Elvira’s Act 1 rantings. Her grand scena, “Mi tradi,” was a veritable mad scene, recoiling against a brick wall, yet fully in control to take the elaborate vocal roulades on a single breath with no apparent strain or loss of focus.
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4In “Silent Spring,” Rachel Carson writes, “a truly extraordinary variety of alternatives to chemical control is available … they are biological solutions, based on an understanding of the living organisms that they seek to control … They recognize that we are dealing with having populations, with all their pressures and counterpressures.” A new exhibit at Carnegie Museum of Art takes its name from this passage of the Pittsburgh native’s book, exploring 10 artists’ relationships with global warming and the transitory state of our environment. The word counterpressures “stood out as a perfect description of the push and pull of back and forth between humans and the earth we live on,” says Hannah Turpin, curatorial assistant for modern and contemporary art and photography at the museum. Developed in partnership with Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, the exhibit includes sculpture, photography, painting, sound installation and performance and video. Tara Fay Coleman’s performance and video piece looks at how low-income and black people, in particular, are affected by the ecological crisis. Stephanie Martin, an art teacher in Mercer who is originally from Johnstown, uses recycled materials as part of her sculptures referencing the mountains and rivers of western Pennsylvania. “She grew up with the industrial impact on the land really impacting her perspective of the landscape and what is viewed as natural or beautiful,” Turpin says. Ginger Brooks Takahashi presents a sound installation, a variation of her work from 2018’s Carnegie International, about what causes one to break their silence and speak out against the environmental crisis. Brooks Takahashi, who worked for the past eight years on a farm in Braddock, offers a poetic accounting of her time there as well as news reports and the experiences of others she’s encountered. “Counterpressures” is the 83rd installment in the museum’s Forum series, which began in 1990. Turpin says programming is a major component of the Forum series, especially for this exhibit, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22.
There’s a reason that Pittsburgh Opera draws attention from around the country and the world, and, if you’ve never been, now is the perfect time to discover this cultural gem. This spring, the company heats things up with “Carmen,” an irresistible thrill ride of lust, deception and murder. This riveting, classic opera makes for an unforgettable night out – as well as a great introduction for first-time operagoers. “Carmen” runs March 28 to April 5 at the Benedum Center. English supertitles will be projected above the stage. Tickets start at just $14, with kids and teens admitted half-price.
It’s a smartly written tale about how the humble servant Figaro and his friends try to outsmart the handsome and powerful Count Almaviva in such a way that all can live happily ever after. You might be put off a bit because it’s in Italian. But somehow with the text above the stage, the mode of the music, and the artistic lighting, I’m sure you’ll understand every word and feeling. It’s been over 200 years since this work had its premier, and yet it almost feels like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is standing in the wings. Almost as amazing as the opera is the talent brought together to make this production a reality. As I watched, I felt like everyone on stage had been singing and performing together for years. However, after reading their biographies, you realize that these extremely talented individuals have traveled many different paths to find themselves in Pittsburgh for our enjoyment. The audience was made up of opera lovers of all ages from teens to retirees. There is no dress code for going to an opera. A small percentage of those in attendance wore jeans and another small group were in formal attire. The Benedum is a gorgeous and an extremely comfortable venue for enjoying any kind of performance. Every time an opera singer takes a part in a production as famous and popular as The Marriage of Figaro, they are compared to the many talented performers who have sang that same part in days gone by. Let the experts compare. All I want to do is to say thanks to all the talented folks that gave me an evening I won’t soon forget. A special thanks to Tyler Simpson, who played Figaro, Joelle Harvey, who sang the part of Susanna, and Christian Bowers who brought to life Count Almaviva. All three were making their Pittsburgh Opera Debut. And a special thanks goes to Pittsburgher Danielle Pastin, who sang the roll of Countess Almaviva. I have always enjoyed opera music, but I sort of kept it to myself. I started to believe being an opera fan must be a cool thing when I learned that the great race car driver, Mario Andretti was an opera fan. Now, I don’t need someone else to validate my appreciation of the art form; I simply enjoy it. And I’m sure you would too.
