Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and opera take stage for outdoor concert Sunday

Paul Guggenheimer | Friday, September 11, 2020 2:29 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Pittsburgh Opera

Pittsburgh Opera resident artist Yazid Gray is part of a live performance in Pittsburgh Sunday night.

Classical music-starved fans in Western Pennsylvania will finally get to see a live performance Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Opera will perform an open-air concert at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s mobile stage in the parking lot of their Strip District headquarters. It’s part of PBT’s Open Air Concert Series.

If nothing else, the entire evening is an example of local arts organizations pivoting from large indoor concerts during the ongoing pandemic. The patrons are attending by invitation only, with half of the invitations being sent out by the symphony and the other half by the opera.

The concert will run from 6:30 to 8 p.m., with musicians from the PSO playing for the first hour followed by performers from the opera singing arias and duets for about 30 minutes.

PSO and Pittsburgh Opera to perform live before a limited outdoor audience Sunday night. Here's how they're going to pull it off. https://t.co/G3yNGTvutf pic.twitter.com/oWxwGxn7eb

— Paul Guggenheimer (@PGuggenheimer) September 11, 2020

Pittsburgh Opera resident artist Yazid Gray and resident artist alumna Danielle Pastin are scheduled to perform, accompanied by pianist Mark Trawka. Gray, a baritone, will solo on the popular “Largo al factotum” from Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” and a relatively new piece called “O vin, dissipe la tristesse” from Ambroise Thomas’ “Hamlet.”

“I’m very excited to perform and sing for people again, to sing for a live audience, however small it may be” Gray said. “I’ve missed that energy over the past six months.”

Gray said he’s also excited about performing an emotional duet with Pastin from Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci,” but acknowledged the social distancing required will have an impact on the acting required for the piece.

“You have to go about acting in a different way. You have to be overly emotional, in a sense,” said Gray. “I think it’s very interesting because the love and the connection is seen based on the energy that your body is giving off, and it’s not seen from the physical touch because you can’t do it in the current times.

“So, even though we’re socially distanced, our emotion and expression will still be there — and maybe even be more intense because of that distance. The audience gets to see the desire between the two of us but also the anguish and the pain that comes from not being able to physically be with one another.”

Pittsburgh Opera general director Christopher Hahn said even though the performance space is wide and open, it’s intimate enough that the singers will be able to perform without amplification. People are excited about the concept, he said, with a wait list to get in.

“People are hungry for something live, something tangible, something that reminds them of live performance, which we’ve been denied for so many months now,” Hahn said.

He added that, while the opera doesn’t always receive quick responses from its board and donors, that was not the case for this event.

“My email blew up as soon as we sent out the invitations.”

Safety protocols such as mandatory masks, socially distanced seating, digital playbills and limited access to the PBT building will be enforced during the performances.