I’ve never been much of a fan of Joseph Haydn as a composer. I remember in middle school I was forced to endure a three hour-long performance and lecture by a Haydyn quartet. It was painful, to say the least. When I was invited to see the Pittsburgh Opera’s production of “Armida” by Haydyn, I was hoping that maybe his opera would be better than all his other music. While I was sadly wrong, Pittsburgh Opera’s production was still amazing.
Beginning with the cast, they were all incredible vocalists. Lauryn Davis, who played Armida, left me breathless with her voice. While I’m no classical singer, I can tell that her parts were incredibly difficult, and she executed them with ease. Fran Daniel Laucerica as Rinaldo was also amazing. The icon, Audrey Welsh, was a highlight of the show as Clotarca. Finally, Shannon Crowley as Zelmira crushed her arias.
I had the incredible pleasure of talking to Crowley during intermission. Shannon began singing at a young age when she joined a choir. When she was 14 years old, she started attending a performing arts school in Norfolk, Virginia for Opera Performance. She attended the University of Michigan for her undergraduate degree and Rice University (alongside Audrey Welsh) for her master’s. After graduating, she auditioned for the Pittsburgh Opera’s Resident Artist program, which is what brought her to Pittsburgh in September 2024.
Crowley has enjoyed being in “Armida”: “I feel like I have the most fun role in the show because I get to come on and sing three awesome, fun, amazing arias, and then I don’t have to stress too much about things… I thrive in this sort of genre because it allows the artist to really infuse their own personality into the music.” Singing an opera isn’t easy, so on show days Shannon sleeps in, does yoga, drinks a lot of water, and warms up her voice. It all pays off, because she sounds beautiful.
Another noteworthy aspect of this production was the set and costumes. Every single performer looked incredible. I especially loved the knights’ costumes as well as the dancers’. The set was also beautiful.
While I have to admit that I am still not a Haydyn fan, I am a fan of the Pittsburgh Opera and every one of their productions. As Crowley phrased it, “I just want to hype up the Pittsburgh Opera. This company is so supportive and we’re all such good friends. I’ve really been able to thrive and I don’t think every place is like that… the community is so lovely.” If you get the chance, I highly recommend seeing their next production, Madame Butterfly, which runs from March 22 to 30.
#Joseph #Haydns #Armida #graces #Pittsburgh #stage #Tartan
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