♦ PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
♦ Gershwin’s An American in Paris
Heinz Hall
May 17, 8:00pm
May 19, 2:30pm
Like Rhapsody in Blue, Gershwin’s An American in Paris is iconic – a warm, jazz-infused tour through Paris that will put a smile on your face and get your foot tapping. Jazz influences continue in Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand – written for a pianist injured in the First World War performed here by the extraordinary pianist Cédric Tiberghien. Poulenc’s Suite from Les biches [The Does] was originally written for Serge Diaghilev and his famous “Ballet Russe”.
♦ PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
♦ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Heinz Hall
May 31, 8:00pm
Jun 2, 2:30pm
The symphony is transformed into a storybook on this literary program. Made famous by Disney’s Fantasia, Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice tells the tale of an apprentice discovering his master’s magic (as told by the trumpets) to bring a broom (as told by the bassoon) to life.
Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony continues down this symphonic storytelling route, bringing to life the 1817 poem Manfred by Lord Byron. In this dramatic poem, the protagonist is riddled with a mysterious guilt, leading him to summon spirits to help him forget his shame.
♦ PITTSBURGH OPERA
♦ The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson
Byham Theater
May 4, Time
May 5, Time
Pittsburgh’s unsung heroine who taught America to sing
In 1943, the National Negro Opera Company is set to perform on a floating barge to evade racially-segregated venues. But when bad weather threatens—pushing the performance to a segregated performance hall—visionary impressaria Mary Cardwell Dawson must find a way forward.
Mary Cardwell Dawson’s dream to provide access for African Americans to perform on stages for all audiences changed the future of opera. Having founded the longest-running, all-Black opera company here in Pittsburgh and organizing opera guilds in the country’s biggest cities, Mary Cardwell Dawson would go on to train hundreds of African American youth to sing.
Written by Mark Twain Award-winning playwright and librettist Sandra Seaton, The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson celebrates the remarkable founder of Pittsburgh’s historic and groundbreaking National Negro Opera Company. This play with music includes selections from Carmen as well as original music by award-winning Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence Carlos Simon.
♦ PITTSBURGH CONCERT CHORALE
♦ Bell Bottoms, Bee Gees and the Brady Bunch
Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church
May 4, 7:30PM
Ingomar United Methodist Church
May 5, 4:00PM
And don’t forget those shiny disco balls either! Saturday Night Fever made us all want to get up and dance during the era which gave us so many great bands and so many great songs. We’ll be wearing our favorite ’70s looks and you’re welcome to get out your bell bottoms and Bee Gees falsetto to get in the groove too.
♦ CITY THEATRE
♦ Andy Warhol In Iran
1800 Bingham Street
Pittsburgh, PA
April 20 – May 12
In 1976, celebrity artist Andy Warhol traveled to Iran to take Polaroid pictures of the Shah’s wife. This imagined experience of an encounter with a young Iranian radical is a fiery, thought-provoking drama about art, revolution, and discovering a world beyond yourself.