Pittsburgh Opera and Point Park University Announce OPERA ANIMATIONS

Pittsburgh Opera and Point Park University announce an innovative new partnership.

The partnership involves students from the Cinema Arts Department of Point Park's Conservatory of Performing Arts creating custom animated videos set to opera selections by Pittsburgh Opera.

As part of their Spring 2021 Community Animation Project, taught by Assistant Professor David Morrison, Point Park students collaborated with Pittsburgh Opera to select arias and duets of well-known operas. The students then designed, created, and refined unique animated video shorts to bring the music to life in new, exciting ways. A total of six videos were created.

All six video shorts will be shown to the public for the first time, accompanied by live performances of the opera music, at Pittsburgh Opera's November 13 concert "Animated Arias". The free event will take place at Pittsburgh Opera Headquarters at 2425 Liberty Avenue in the Strip District at noon. The concert is free, but registration is required.

The animated shorts feature music from operas such as Carmen, The Magic Flute, The Barber of Seville, and more.

Rebekah Diaz, Pittsburgh Opera's Manager of Community Engagement and IDEA Initiatives, explains that the project's goal was "to highlight how the arts - regardless of type or style - can be a unique and versatile communicator and inspire connection."

These videos, she adds, "can introduce opera to new audiences who might otherwise feel opera is 'not for them' while simultaneously inviting opera aficionados to look at opera in a new lens, explore the magic of animation, and inspire joy at viewing these well-loved pieces in a new context."

"The partnership between Pittsburgh Opera and the Point Park Animation program continues a tradition of joining these two mediums that dates back to the era of Fantasia and What's Opera, Doc?" says Morrison. "The partnership gave our students an opportunity to experience a real-world client/studio relationship and was immensely beneficial," he continued.

Garfield Lemonius, Dean of the Conservatory of Performing Arts and Artistic Director of the Pittsburgh Playhouse, adds "This collaboration with Pittsburgh Opera demonstrates our students' understanding of the importance of community engagement and the interdisciplinary approach to the creative process of art making.

We are committed to showcasing the work of our talented students and proud of the work our students did through this partnership. I encourage everyone to see this incredible work, which highlights how these two art forms intersect."

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