Pittsburgh Symphony and Opera performers grateful to play live concert

A small group of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians and a pair of singers from the Pittsburgh Opera stepped on an outdoor stage in front of a live audience Sunday night.

It was the first high-profile concert in Pittsburgh since the start of the covid-19 pandemic and the first time these performers have been able to look into the eyes of patrons in six months.

“It’s so nice to be playing in front of people again,” PSO cellist Charlie Powers told the audience. “I can’t tell you how grateful we are to be here tonight.”

Where they were was a mobile stage in the parking lot of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Strip District headquarters on Liberty Avenue. The ballet purchased the stage for the purpose of bringing back live arts performances. The ballet held shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of last week. Sunday was the symphony and opera’s turn.

The audience was limited to invited guests and seats were socially distanced. Everyone was required to wear masks. Hand sanitizing stations were placed in multiple locations. Between 40 and 50 people were in the audience.

“It’s invigorating to hear live music and feel the enthusiasm and the energy of the players,” said audience member Pat Atkins of Point Breeze. “It’s so much different than listening on a radio.”

Atkins’ wife, Michele, said Sunday’s live show was much better than the virtual performances they have watched and listened to lately.

“Actually being outside and able to hear it firsthand, not through a device, makes a big difference,” said Michele Atkins.

The evening began with four cellists from the PSO. Joining Powers were Will Chow, Michael Lipman and Bronwyn Banerdt. Last Thursday the quartet rehearsed inside Heinz Hall for the first time since March; on Sunday, they played flawlessly through pieces by Bach and Saint-Saëns.

However the highlight was arguably Carlos Gardel and Alfredo Le Pera’s “Por una Cabeza,” the famous tango featured in the movies “Scent of a Woman” and “Schindler’s List.”

Members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra cello section play a tango at tonight's outdoor concert. pic.twitter.com/UzREgV35mR

— Paul Guggenheimer (@PGuggenheimer) September 13, 2020

After loading her cello into the trunk of her car, Banerdt became emotional, describing the evening as surreal.

“It feels like coming home, getting back on the stage. That’s where we want to be all the time,” said Banerdt. “It’s incredibly difficult not being able to do this every day. I think it’s going to take some time to be able to process this. I don’t think I’ve gone six months without performing since I was 5 years old. But this feels good.”

A brass quartet that included trumpeters Micah Wilkinson and Charles Lirette and trombonists Peter Sullivan and Jeffrey Dee finished the first half of the show with pieces that included Josquin des Prez’s “Fanfare for a King.”

An intermission followed and the stage was cleaned and disinfected before two magnificent performers from the Pittsburgh Opera took the stage — resident artist Yazid Gray and resident artist alumna Danielle Pastin. They were accompanied by pianist Mark Trawka.

Gray had fun with Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” and its famous “Figaro, Figaro, Figaro, Feee-gar-row” lines. Another highlight featured Gray and Pastin performing a longingly beautiful Silvio/Nedda duet from Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci.”

Danielle Past and Yazid Gray perform Silvio/Nedda duet from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci pic.twitter.com/jdK1fBmVEx

— Paul Guggenheimer (@PGuggenheimer) September 13, 2020

The prevailing feeling in the open air was that the evening, from the performances to the safety precautions, was a triumph.

“If you love the arts, this is what makes Pittsburgh spectacular,” said audience member Chris Howard, president of Robert Morris University and a Sewickley resident.

“It sounds kind of cliché but it’s that resilient ‘can do’ Pittsburgh spirit, that ‘I don’t care if it’s steel prices collapsing or bad water or pollution, we’re going to find a way to overcome.’ ”

For her part Banerdt, the PSO cellist, said the evening provided a map for how to move forward with live performances.

“Between doing what we love to do and not endangering public health, hopefully we’ve found a middle ground,” she said. “I think we feel pretty good that we were able to do something that was both safe and artistically worthwhile.”

Sponsors for the event included BNY Mellon, the RK Mellon Foundation, Edith Trees Charitable Trust and the Buncher Foundation.