I went to my first Pittsburgh Opera back in 1992 in the heyday of Tito Capobianco when I worked at my first office job for the man who once owned Christoper's Restaurant (now Monterey Bay) in Mount Washington. Christoper's partnered with the Pittsburgh Opera to have "Tuesday Night at the Opera" galas where people would buy tickets to dinner and the Opera and would be shuttled from the restaurant to the show after dinner and then shuttled back afterwards for a private meeting with Tito and the Opera's cast. I was 21 at the time and I was lucky enough to be able to attend 1 of the Tuesday night events (don't asked me how it happened - I think that the angels were smiling on my that day). The opera was Rigoletto and I fell in love with the opera that night. I didn't make it back to the opera again until the 1993-1994 season when I saw La Boheme. I subscribed for the next few seasons with a work friend and it was a very special time - I felt so "adult" and sophisticated and honestly didn't realize how very lucky we are in Pittsburgh to have such a fabulous opera company in our city until I moved away. I've been to the Opera in a few other cities but there is a special magic for me at the Pittsburgh Opera.
I love that Pittsburgh has such a rich cultural history and that we are fortunate enough to have the opera, symphony, and many live venue theaters and musical offerings in our city. I urge people who have never been to the opera before to support the Pittsburgh Opera and take in a show. You will not be disappointed.