Mister Rogers’ operas charm; PNME nails opening shows
Onstage at Winchester Thurston School in Shadyside Sunday was a Purple Twirling Kitty, captured and menaced by one Wicked Knife and Fork. Later, Friendly Frank the Weather Porpoise bickers with Hildegard Hummingbird before The Wind cackles madly and tries to blow all of the bubbles out of Bubbleland.
A three- word explanation for this madcap imagery: Fred Rogers’ operas.
Rogers wrote 13 operas for his television program, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” and this summer Pittsburgh Festival Opera, the Steel City’s summer opera company, has adapted and arranged two of these offerings, “Spoon Mountain” and “Windstorm in Bubbleland,” for contemporary performance.
The operas are charming, imaginative and weird if a bit musically quaint, aimed at children but with a few pointed remarks for the adults in the room. Robert Frankenberry arranged and conducted the music while former “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” actor Tome Cousin directed the production. Video projections by Joseph Seamans enhanced otherwise simple scenery and helped build the colorful, zany worlds of the pair of operas.
Dollops and dollops of enthusiasm from the singers helped carry the performance, bookended with brief homages to some of Rogers’ more famous sayings and tunes. That said, choreography seemed a touch overwrought, with every word receiving a gesture at times and distracting from the vocal work.
Adrianna Cleveland’s voice proved a highlight in her appearances as Queen Mumsiebelle, ringing with clarity and warmth. Baritone Mitch FitzDaniel’s deranged chortling as The Wind was surprisingly disturbing, and the trio of storytellers/ secretaries/ breezettes ( Marissa Scotti, Alexandra Johnson and Natalie Butchko) displayed tight, clean ensemble work.
Like all of Mister Rogers’ lessons, the morals here are not subtle: Be who you are, because you are extraordinary. Don’t judge someone before you get to know them. Don’t ignore a talking hummingbird. And so on. The music itself is straightforward, lyrical and tuneful fare, and seemed comfortable for the performers.
At about an hour and a half, “Mister Rogers’ Operas” makes for a good family introduction to a classic art form with a bit of local flair.
Performances continue on July 20 and 25 at 7: 30 p. m. at Winchester Thurston. For a full calendar visit pittsburghfestivalopera. org.
Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble
Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, now in its 44th season, debuted its 310th commission this past weekend, an offering by American composer Christopher Cerrone at City Theatre on the South Side.
The ensemble ( flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion) launched Saturday’s performance with a rush of air from the clarinet ( Pffffft!), as the players set up a steady, gently undulating pattern in percussion and piano. Short, high- pitched interjections from the strings were followed by melodic fragments in the winds, hauntingly tranquil and belying just a hint of an edge. This was music to relax into, transparent enough to follow easily, harmonious enough to feel cozy, and performed with an arresting balance of energy and skill.
Soprano Lindsay Kesselman joined clarinetist Eric Jacobs for composer Steve Bryant’s tech- infused “Hummingbird,” her voice shimmying and shimmering in quick bursts of scales over a recorded track of beats and voices. Jacobs demonstrated the agility of the bass clarinet, racing and harmonizing and keeping with Kesselman’s spirited volleys of notes. A delightful aural treat.
French composer Guillaume Connesson’s “Techno Parade” juxtaposed rapidfire flute figures with long, keening clarinet pitches, exploring contrasts between loud and soft, long and short, high and low in an open, engaging manner. And the final two works, Nico Muhly’s “Doublespeak” and Bryce Dessner’s “Murder Ballades,” demonstrated careful curation and exemplary playing.
Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble typically performs three weekends of concerts in Pittsburgh, but this year’s festival is curtailed due to the ensemble’s international performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. At the festival as PNME did here last year, performances of “The Gray Cat and the Flounder” will place the audience in headphones to allow for the utmost control of the listening experience by use of a binaural microphone, which allows for a 360- degree sound world.
Still, PNME is a gem in the city’s musical landscape. Catch its concerts next weekend at City Theatre on the South Side; more information at pnme. org.