Mildred Miller Posvar News

Free digital tickets are now available for The Anonymous Lover which premieres online Saturday, November 14, at 5 PM Pacific Time. The Anonymous Lover is a 1780 comic romance by pioneering Black composer Joseph Bologne, known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Conducted by Music Director James Conlon and directed by Bruce Lemon, Jr. 

Premiering online Saturday, November 7 at 7:00pm EST, Pittsburgh Festival Opera will present a tribute to its founder, Mildred Miller Posvar, to celebrate her lifetime achievement and continuing contributions to the world of opera.

This season, Pittsburgh Festival Opera will be presenting a Special Mezzo-Soprano Edition in a digital-only format in response to COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings.

Pittsburgh Festival Opera's Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of internationally recognized mezzo-soprano Marianne Cornetti as its new Artistic Director. Founded in 1978 by another famous mezzo-soprano, Mildred Miller Posvar, Pittsburgh Festival Opera is excited to welcome a new artistic vision grounded in Cornetti's 30-plus years as a performer in the world's leading opera houses including The Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera, and Deutsche Oper Berlin among many others.

The Mildred Miller International Voice Competition was founded in 2011 to identify and nurture talented young singers. The competition is named for Pittsburgh Festival Opera founder Mildred Miller Posvar, who sang for 26 illustrious seasons at the Metropolitan Opera and other world capitals. Miller's acclaimed recordings include Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with conductor Bruno Walter, Mozart's Le Nozze de Figaro with Erich Leinsdorf, and the commemorative concert and album celebrating the Boston Pops Orchestra 100th anniversary with Arthur Fiedler.

Pittsburgh Festival Opera presents the 9th Annual Mildred Miller International Vocal Competition 

Pittsburgh Festival Opera has announced the selection of Christopher M. Powell as its new Executive Director, effective March 12th, 2019. Mr. Powell comes to the organization after four years serving as Director of Artistic Initiatives for the world-renowned Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, New York, and will lead the Pittsburgh Festival Opera into its 42nd season alongside Artistic Director Jonathan Eaton.

On Sunday, October 21, 2018 at The Frick Art and Historical Center's auditorium, mezzo-soprano Katherine Beck was named the winner of the 7th annual Mildred Miller International Voice Competition, hosted by Pittsburgh Festival Opera.

Kicking off its 40th season of innovative and intimate opera and music events, Pittsburgh Festival Opera expands to a six-week season in multiple venues in 2017. Opening on June 15 with the world premiere of its commissioned jazz opera A Gathering of Sons, the acclaimed American summer opera festival also presents Handel's Xerxes, Richard Strauss' Intermezzo, and Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street on the Mainstage in Falk Auditorium, Winchester Thurston School in Pittsburgh thriving East End.

Jonathan Eaton, longtime Artistic and General Director of Pittsburgh Festival Opera (formerly Opera Theater of Pittsburgh) is taking on a new position in addition to his duties as Artistic Director in Pittsburgh. In August 2107 Eaton will also become the Professor of Music and Margot and Bill Winspear Chair in Opera Studies at the University of North Texas in Dallas, which boasts one of largest and most respected music colleges in the country.

Strong women are in the spotlight as Opera Theater of Pittsburgh announces its 2016 SummerFest season of opera, musical theater, concerts and cabarets, June 22-July 24.

PITTSBURGH, PA (July 6, 2015) — The world premiere A NEW KIND OF FALLOUT is showcased in Opera Theater of Pittsburgh's fourth SummerFest season. Inspired by environmentalist Rachel Carson (a native of Springdale, Pa.), the new opera features music by acclaimed New York-based composer Gilda Lyons and a libretto by award-winning Pittsburgh playwright Tammy Ryan.