THE ROSE ELF

The Artistic Team

Conductor - James Lesniak
Stage Director - Kaley Karis Smith*
Set Designer - Samantha Pollack
Costume Designer - KJ Gilmer
Lighting Designer - Todd Nonn
Stage Manager- Alex W. Seidel
Projection Designer - Joe Spinogatti
Fight Choreographer - Peter Kope

+    Pittsburgh Opera debut
*     Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist
**   Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist alumni 

Words and music by David Hertzberg, based on the fairy tale The Elf of the Rose by Hans Christian Andersen

Sung in English with English texts projected above the stage

Four performances at the George R. White Opera Studio, Bitz Opera Factory, 2425 Liberty Avenue. These will be the first performances by Pittsburgh Opera.

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• Run time: 1hr (approx.)
• Understand Every Word: The Rose Elf is sung in English, and has English supertitles projected above the stage at all performances
• Note - This piece contains violent themes which some audience members might find disturbing 
• View the Digital Program
• Download the study guide
• Audio Description (Offered at the Tuesday night performance)
• Braille Programs (Available at each performance)
• Large-Print Programs (Available at each performance)

CHILD POLICY:

• Children must be ages 6 and up. Suggestions and tips for bringing children to the opera may be found at pittsburghopera.org/FAQ.
• All children must have a ticket. There is a 50% discount for kids and teens ages 6-18.
• Update as of January 7th: The vaccination exception for children under the age of 12 is no longer in effect since the CDC has approved vaccines for children ages 5 and up. All guests must be fully vaccinated. See full details at pittsburghopera.org/COVID.

The Rose Elf

i. Dithyramb
The moon and sun sing veiled invocations, in beckoning chant.

I. A garden in ripest bloom. Midday, the sun is shining.

The elf, a strange, sensuous being who dwells within the roses, lies inside a blossom, caressing its petals, breathing its fragrance. They leave to frolic in the garden, tracing the paths in the veins of a linden leaf. When they return to rest at nightfall, the rose has closed in the cold. Seeking shelter, they happen on a bower, wherein two human lovers exchange mournful goodbyes. The girl gives her lover a rose, which opens from the warmth of her kiss, and the elf crawls inside. As the lover treks through the dark forest, he caresses and kisses the gifted rose, scorching and smothering the elf inside, when suddenly, he is murdered in cold blood, with the elf as witness. The elf then visits the girl in sleep and tells her the grisly tale: her brother has killed her lover. The girl wakes and exhumes her lover’s body from the forest. The elf returns to the garden and finds their rose has wilted.

II. Winter. The girl’s room. Wan light.

The girl has interred her beloved in a pot with jasmine sprigs. The elf watches from a potted rose on her windowsill as she waters the jasmine flowers with her tears. Her brother enters; the elf listens as he mocks her, asks her vainly why she cries over the pot. As the girl withers away, the elf is moved to console her; they crawl into her ear and whispers to her about the garden, the roses, and the elves that dwell within them. The girl passes peacefully, and the elf returns to a new rose in the garden. The brother returns and takes the pot from under her lifeless head, brings it to his room, and as the curtain falls slowly, the silhouettes of the jasmine flowers grow and blossom.

• Seen and Heard International - Review - Pittsburgh Opera captures the beauty and magic in David Hertzberg’s The Rose Elf
• onStage Pittsburgh - Review - Pittsburgh Opera’s The Rose Elf Wraps Successfully
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Review
• Entertainment Central Pittsburgh - Cool Picks - The Rose Elf opens at Pittsburgh Opera
• WQED-FM - Voice of the Arts podcast interviews
  • Madeline Ehlinger (The Elf)
  • Andrew Turner (The Beloved)
  • James Lesniak (Conductor)
  • Kaley Karis Smith (Stage Director)
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Pittsburgh Opera's 'The Rose Elf' is a tale of murder and magic
• TribLIVE - Pittsburgh Opera presents dark, fairy tale-based 'Rose Elf'
• onStage Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Opera Opens “The Rose Elf” Next Saturday, January 22
• Herald-Standard - Pittsburgh Opera to perform two new operas this winter
• NEXT Pittsburgh - 12 January events not to miss in Pittsburgh
• Latrobe Bulletin - Pittsburgh Opera to perform two new operas this winter

Audience members talk about the opening night performance of Pittsburgh Opera's production of The Rose Elf.