Pittsburgh Opera announces its 2021-22 season

The Pittsburgh Opera returns to larger venues with a mix of contemporary and traditional operas for its 2021-22 season.

Included in the schedule released Wednesday are favorites such as “The Magic Flute,” originally scheduled for November 2020, and “Carmen,” which was in rehearsals when the pandemic shut down production in March 2020, as well as the Pittsburgh premieres of “The Rose Elf” and “Blue.”

With the constraints of the pandemic easing, the company has scheduled performances for its upcoming season at the Benedum Center and August Wilson African American Cultural Center.

The schedule also includes performances in its own headquarters building and some digital programming.

“We are just itching to get back into the bigger theaters and welcome larger audiences,” said Pittsburgh Opera General Director Christopher Hahn. “It’s that collective sense that we’ve missed so much and not been allowed that we’re all very eager to embrace and to welcome audiences back to show them that things will be as safe as we can make them.”

Hahn added that he pushed back the start of the season from October to November for safety reasons.

The season opens with “The Magic Flute,” Nov. 6-14 at the Benedum Center and continues Jan. 22-30, 2022 with “The Rose Elf” at Pittsburgh Opera headquarters. It’s followed Feb. 19 to March 3, 2022 by the world premiere of “In a Grove,” a chamber piece composed by Christopher Cerrone, also at Pittsburgh Opera headquarters. It was also delayed by the pandemic.

“It’s a fascinating piece,” said Hahn. “The story is based on perceptions and truth and there couldn’t be a more timely subject matter at the moment. Both the musical language of ‘The Rose Elf’ and ‘In a Grove’ are part of this new renaissance of opera composition which is embracing a lot of eclectic sounds from world music.”

“Carmen” returns to the Benedum Center March 26 to April 3, 2022, followed by the season finale performance of the relatively new opera “Blue” April 2 to May 1, 2022, at the August Wilson Center. The story centers on a Black police officer and what he deals with.

“It’s a very timely opera, very raw and wrenching and powerful,” said Hahn. “It’s very important for us to try to consciously reach for a more diverse audience for our offerings. I’ve always tried to reach for as much variety in our programming as possible.”

Hahn said the coming season features more contemporary works than traditional ones, which is unusual for an opera company, even in the best of times.

“I’m very, very happy that we’re able to offer this wide range of real family favorite, traditional composers and pieces by Mozart and Bizet but then also these fascinating new works,” said Hahn.

The Pittsburgh Opera said it will continue adhering to shifting covid protocols and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as state and county health departments, in consultation with a local epidemiologist.