Apr 27, 2021 1 min read

Pittsburgh Opera will present the first-ever Pittsburgh performances of George Frideric Handel’s “Semele” at its headquarters in the Strip District May 8-20.

“Semele” is a tale from Greek antiquity about the pitfalls of ambition, vanity and making open-ended promises. Stage Director Kristine McIntyre, whose most recent collaboration with the Pittsburgh Opera was the acclaimed “film noir” production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” in October 2019, is giving “Semele” a Roaring Twenties Art Deco treatment.

Pittsburgh Opera is teaming up with Chatham Baroque for “Semele,” and will have live, socially distant audiences at all six performances. The company’s COVID-19 safety protocols include reduced seating capacity, mandatory mask wearing, health screenings and temperature checks for all people entering the building, and more.

All six performances are sold out, but there is room on the waiting list. The performance on May 14 at 7:30 p.m. will be livestreamed for free on both the Pittsburgh Opera’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.

The performance will be sung in English, with English supertitles projected both above the stage and on-screen during the livestream.

For additional information, go online to pittsburghopera.org.