Pittsburgh Opera 'pulls back the curtain' with web conversations

Pittsburgh Opera will “Pull Back the Curtain” in a new weekly web series, giving viewers behind-the-scenes looks at what it’s like to be an opera singer, how operas are made and why opera has thrived for centuries.

The first episode of “Pull Back the Curtain” will livestream at 4 p.m. Thursday.

The free livestreams will be hosted by Pittsburgh Opera Manager of Artistic Operations Rob Boldin. Each week, Boldin will interview special guests from the opera community, including singers, musicians, stage directors and others.

The inaugural episode will feature former Pittsburgh Opera resident artists Brian Vu and Ashley Fabian.

Fabian, a lyric soprano who was a resident artist from 2017-2019, was a winner of the 2020 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in her home district of South Carolina. Vu, a baritone who was a resident artist from 2015-2017, made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera last season in “Der Rosenkavalier.”

Each 15-to-30-minute episode will be broadcast on Pittsburgh Opera’s Facebook page. Following the initial livestream, episodes will be posted to pittsburghopera.org/curtain, on the “Pull Back the Curtain” playlist on the opera’s YouTube Channel and to the opera’s Facebook page.

“(Episodes will) give our audience free opportunities to go backstage, figuratively speaking, and hear candid conversation with some of the many people it takes to make opera happen,” says Pittsburgh Opera General Director Christopher Hahn.

The series is tentatively scheduled to air weekly at 4 p.m. until mid-September, unless otherwise noted.

Details: pittsburghopera.org