Pittsburgh Opera Announces its 88th Season

April 2, 2026

Pittsburgh Opera announces its 2026–27 season, the company’s 88th. The season once again demonstrates Pittsburgh Opera’s commitment to producing world-class operas spanning classical and contemporary works, including the company’s sixth world premiere in the past ten years.

Pittsburgh Opera will be producing five operas, which will be performed across a total of four different venues—the Benedum Center, the Byham Theater, the Pittsburgh CAPA School Theater, and Pittsburgh Opera’s headquarters the Bitz Opera Factory. The different venues give audiences a chance to experience opera on both a grand and intimate scale.  

Download the full PDF, which includes descriptions of each production, information about the cast and artistic teams, and full event dates and descriptions.

The Operas

Rigoletto

  • Music by Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Le Roi s’Amuse by Victor Hugo
  • Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, downtown Pittsburgh
  • October 10, 16, 18, 2026

Orpheus & Eurydice

  • Music by Christoph Willibald Gluck (1762), with instrumentation by Hector Berlioz (1859), libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi
  • Byham Theater, downtown Pittsburgh
  • November 14, 20, 22, 2026

Partenope

  • Music by George Frideric Handel, original libretto by Silvio Stampiglia
  • Pittsburgh CAPA School Theater, downtown Pittsburgh
  • January 23, 26, 29, 31, 2027

Working for the MacbethsWorld Premiere!

  • Music by Johanny Navarro, libretto by Marcus Yi
  • Bitz Opera Factory, in Pittsburgh’s Strip District
  • February 27, March 2, 5, 7, 2027

Romeo & Juliet

  • Music by Charles Gounod, Libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on the play by William Shakespeare
  • Benedum Center for the Performing Arts
  • April 17, 22, 23, 25, 2027
Special Events

Bravo Academy (summer camp for grades 5 and up)

  • Week 1: Monday, July 6 – Friday, July 10, 2026
  • Week 2: Monday, July 13 – Friday, July 17, 2026 

Outside the Salon events

  • Friday, October 23, 2026 – “Sip & Sing” 
  • Wednesday, March 31, 2027 – “La Belle Epoque”

Fashion Show – Monday, March 15, 2027

Maecenas XLII – Saturday, May 1, 2027

Free, Low Cost, and Other Events

FREE Pre-Opera Talks– one hour before each performance

FREE Meet The Artists – following each Friday evening performance

FREE Rising Stars concert – Sept. 19, 2026 at the Bitz Opera Factory

FREE Song Shop concerts – selected Saturdays during the season at the Bitz Opera Factory

FRIENDS of Pittsburgh Opera events

Pittsburgh Opera New Guard events

WQED Previews and broadcasts

Tickets

Season tickets (subscriptions) are now available. Subscription packages range from $36-595.

Pittsburgh Opera’s Opus Pass lets patrons see as many live opera performances as they want all season. For one low monthly price, passholders get a year’s worth of unlimited admission to every performance of every opera, subject to availability.

Single ticket sales begin in August

Group discounts, including student discounts, are available. Children and teens ages 6–18 are half-off for all operas.

Sponsors

Pittsburgh Opera’s season is made possible, onstage and off, by support from all corners of the community.

Pittsburgh Opera offers a range of flexible gift options and potential tax benefits for individuals, local businesses, and corporations. Sponsorship opportunities include:

  • Production Sponsorships – Help bring a production to life while pulling back the curtain and entertaining clients or friends. Gifts begin at $25,000.
  • Resident Artist Sponsorships – Support future opera stars while building personal relationships with artists. Gifts begin at $16,250.
  • Family Day & Community Programs – Underwrite free or low-cost concerts, because everyone deserves access to opera. Gifts begin at $5,000.
  • Parties & Events – Sponsor Galas, networking events, parties, and happy hours. Gifts begin at $1,000.

To learn more about becoming a sponsor, contact Pittsburgh Opera at 412-281-0912 x226 or email us.

PNC is Pittsburgh Opera’s 2026–27 Season Sponsor.

WQED-FM is Pittsburgh Opera’s Media Sponsor.

Ambridge Regional Distribution and Manufacturing Center is the Friday performance and ‘Meet the Artists’ post-show event sponsor.

Pittsburgh Opera is supported in part by the taxpayers of Allegheny County through a public grant from the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD). RAD works here.