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| Alexandra Loutsion Credit: Kristin Hoebermann |
Hey, fellow Washington County residents. We have one more thing to be proud of - Greek American soprano, Alexandra Loutsion, a native of Canonsburg. Last evening, I caught her performance with Pittsburgh Opera as Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore. She's sensational, both on and off stage I might add.
At the Meet and Greet session after the opera, some man tapped me on the shoulder rather aggressively and asked if the room we were in was the venue for the Meet and Greet. I said yes and he confided that his wife taught Alexandra in school and that she came to their house for their Christmas parties and sang. "How lucky, I replied." Before you know it he was off as fast as he arrived to fetch his wife. I wish he would have given me his name. (If you read this, please get back to me). During the Meet and Greet, Loutsion was completely unabashed. There's nothing shy about this woman as she exchanged some humorous banter with general director, Christopher Hahn.
The critics praised her performance as Leonora highly. In his review for onStage Pittsburgh, critic George B. Parous wrote "In the glistening costume department, nobody made out like Alexandra Loutsion. She wore several eye-poppingly beautiful gowns that suited her magnificent appearance and voice perfectly. She was, indeed, the vocal star of the show, but that could have been easily predicted by anyone who has heard her sing. It may be my imagination, but she seemed slightly nervous when attacking the part’s high-flying coloratura passages, but she got there, and sang mightily and delicately towards the demands the fourth act make of Leonora. These she handled with an ease which also could have been predicted. She made bravery and fright palpable, and sang her way through the part with the grace and beauty of tone she always so eloquently delivers.
For his review for Entertainment Central Pittsburgh, critic Prentiss Orr writes "As Leonora, soprano Alexandra Loutsion proves great talent can derive, quite evidently, from a career not long ventured. She first debuted with Pittsburgh Opera in 2010 in The Barber of Seville, and first performed internationally in 2018. A sometime protege of Ms. Cornetti, she has performed often with the Pittsburgh Festival Opera for which Cornetti serves as Artistic Director. Loustion is a Canonsburg native, regardless of which, she has proven to be a favorite of Pittsburgh Opera, featured in more than ten productions in that past 12 years. Her performance Saturday, soaring and sincere, answers why.
Hailed as "fearless" (Opera News) and “masterful” (Tulsa World) with a “powerful…and gorgeous voice" (MinnPost), Greek American Soprano Alexandra Loutsion continues to be recognized for her passionate performances and vocal versatility on the operatic stage. Local audiences have two more chances to hear and see her in Il Trovatore at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh this Friday March 31 at 7:30, and Sunday, April 2 at 2 p.m. Catch her if you can. It's a great performance by her and everyone else in the cast. You'll also get to hear the energetic Anvil Chorus, done superbly by the PO chorus.
Also sure to read the feature in the Observer-Reporter by star journalist Brad Hunt that feature Loutsion in the March 23 edition.
The photo of Loutsion below is by Kristin Hoebermann
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