Pittsburgh Opera presents: Curlew River

Cast members Logan Wagner, Erik Nordstrom, and Matthew Soibelman on site at Calvary Episcopal Church in Shadyside. (photo credit: David Bachman)

Pittsburgh Opera presents:

Curlew River

Flow with fate this winter... Pittsburgh Opera is utilizing a brand new venue to bring you Benjamin Britten's haunting operatic parable, Curlew River.

Based on the Japanese Noh play Sumidigawa River, a woman in medieval times driven mad by the mystery of her lost son learns his fate through a chance encounter with a Ferryman while crossing a river.

Written in the style of monastic plain song (sung in English) and laden with musical symbolism, theatrical simplicity will ring with grandeur at Calvary Episcopal Church in Shadyside, four performances only, January 24th through February 1st.

Want to learn more?

Learn more about this unique production with three free events designed to dive right in to all things Curlew River:

Noh Theater and Sumidagawa: The Japanese Roots of Britten’s Curlew River
Sunday, January 11
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
(via Zoom)
Presented by University of Pittsburgh Professor Elizabeth Oyler, Associate Professor of Premodern Japanese Literature, learn about the work that sparked Britten’s imagination and fascination with the genre of Noh drama, the oldest continuously performed theatrical genre in the world.

WQED-FM Curlew River Preview
Saturday, January 17
12:30 PM
WQED-FM 89.3
Between clips from the haunting score, Anna Singer interviews maestro Antony Walker, Resident Artist Stage Director Dana Kinney and Resident Artist singers Logan Wagner and Erik Nordstrom to get the behind-the-scenes peek into the making of this production.

Madwoman, Sing: An Introduction to Curlew River
Sunday, January 18
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Calvary Episcopal Church
Presented by Carnegie Mellon's Ryan Prendergast, Assistant Teaching Professor of Musicology, and joined by Pittsburgh Opera General Director, Christopher Hahn, this free community lecture will be an insightful look into this powerful and compelling work by Benjamin Britten.

A few of our volunteers at our last Family Day event (photo credit: David Bachman)

Volunteer with us!

Volunteer and see the show for free!

We are still looking for a few volunteers to help us host guests at Curlew River as well as at other upcoming events. If you want to get closer to the opera, reach out to us at info@pittsburghopera.org and let us know your availability for any of our upcoming events or productions.

We'd love to have you on board!

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