October 30, 2020
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Pittsburgh Opera to continue performing for live, in-person audiences with dramatic opera Soldier Songs.
Building on the success of its 82nd season-opening opera, Mozart’s Così fan tutte, which concluded a run of six sold-out, socially-distanced performances on October 29th, Pittsburgh Opera will present six performances of David T. Little’s Soldier Songs in front of live audiences at its headquarters at 2425 Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Strip District.
Pittsburgh Opera is keeping the successful COVID-19 safety protocols it had established for Cosi fan tutte in place for Soldier Songs. This includes measures such as reduced seating capacity, mandatory mask wearing, health screenings and temperature checks for all people entering the building, and more. Full details are available on Pittsburgh Opera’s COVID-19 Safety Protocols webpage.
The six performances will be from December 5th through 17th. Although the first four performances are currently sold out, limited seating is still available for the Dec. 15th and 17th performances. Tickets are available online.
The Friday, December 11th performance at 7:30PM will be livestreamed free of charge on both Pittsburgh Opera’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
- Patrons may sign up at pittsburghopera.org/livestreamRSVP to receive a reminder email one hour before the broadcast that will contain links to view the livestream.
- Patrons also have the option of unlocking premium content, including the official program book and the Pre-Opera talk podcast, by making a gift at pittsburghopera.org/unlock.
Overview of Soldier Songs
Soldier Songs combines elements of theater, opera, rock-infused-concert music, and animation to explore the perceptions versus the realities of the Soldier, the loss and exploitation of innocence, and the difficulty of expressing the truth of war.
The libretto was adapted from recorded interviews with veterans of five wars. Soldier Songs traces the shift in perception of war from the age of six to the age of 66. We follow the abstract character through three phases of life: Youth (playing war games), Warrior (time served in the military), and Elder (aged, wise, reflective).
Each of the 11 songs in the production explores a different aspect of the soldier’s experience, ranging from rage, to fear, to joy, to grief. Multi-media is employed as a critique of the media’s ability to both glamorize and falsify the truth of combat.
Soldier Songs asks tough questions and tells tough stories through its poignant libretto, driving and devastating music, and surprising visual counterpoint. The tension between the visual and aural experience works to dispel any potential numbness felt by those lucky enough to only experience war through the comfort of their living rooms.
Originally commissioned by the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, which premiered the work in 2006, Soldier Songs received its workshop premiere in New York on 2008 by Beth Morrison Projects, and directed by Yuval Sharon. The full world premiere production took place in 2011 at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven, CT. Pittsburgh Opera’s performances are by arrangement with Hendon Music, Inc., a Boosey & Hawkes company, publisher and copyright owner.
