PERFORMANCE DATES/TIMES/LOCATION
Where: Byham Theater, 101 6th St, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
When:
- Saturday, April 27, 2024 * 8:00 PM
- Tuesday, April 30, 2024 * 7:00 PM
- Friday, May 3, 2024 * 7:30 PM
- Sunday, May 5, 2024 * 3:00 PM
CAST AND ARTISTIC TEAM
Mary Cardwell Dawson: Alyson Cambridge+
Frank: Christian Mark Gibbs+
Phoebe: Jazmine Olwalia*
Isabelle: Meroë Khalia Adeeb+
Music Director / Pianist: Marvin Mills+
Stage Director: Kimille Howard+
Set Designer: James F. Rotondo III+
Costume Designer: Jessica Jahn
Wig and Make-up Designer: Izear Winfrey
Lighting Designer: Todd Nonn
Stage Manager: Cindy Knight
Head of Music: Glenn Lewis
Director of Musical Studies: Mark Trawka
Associate Coach/Pianist: James Lesniak
Assistant Stage Director: Claire Young
Assistant Stage Manager: Bee Anderson
+ Pittsburgh Opera debut
* Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist
Scenery and costumes originally created for The Glimmerglass Festival; commission and production sponsored by Robert L. Turner.
DETAILS AND RESOURCES
We want you to have the best experience possible at our performances!
Here are some details and resources to help. Also visit our Opera FAQs or our Accessibility page.
- Run time currently expected to be approximately 70 minutes
- Understand Every Word: Dialogue spoken in English. Music sung in French and English, with English texts projected above the stage.
- Parking Downtown: get real-time parking availability
- Pre-Opera Talks before each performance
- Braille Programs available at the Byham Theater
- Large-Print Programs available at the Byham Theater
- Download the Study Guide.
- View our printed program book.
- View oue Digital Program.
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.
FREE RIDESHARES:
Our rideshare program lets Pittsburgh Opera ticket buyers add $60 of Uber Vouchers to their The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson ticket purchase, at no extra cost. Get the details.
SYNOPSIS: CONTAINS SPOILERS
Synopsis - contains spoilers!
Summer 1943. Mary Cardwell Dawson’s rehearsal studio. The National Negro Opera Company is preparing to present two operas at the outdoor Watergate Concert Barge in Washington, D.C. For the company’s ambitious schedule, La traviata was performed on the first night with the great soprano Madame Lillian Evanti. However, the damp weather was unsuitable, and the attendance was disappointing.
Madame Mary Cardwell Dawson meets with the singers who will perform the leads in a planned performance of Carmen: Frank (Don José), Isabelle (Micaëla), and Phoebe (Carmen). Fearing the rain will again keep the audience away, Madame Dawson inquires about renting a concert hall. While the hall manager agrees to rent to the NNOC, he informs Madame Dawson that the venue has a policy of segregated seating.
The future of the company hangs in the balance: according to the Union agreement, the artists and other personnel must be paid, whether the concert takes place or not. An outdoor performance in the rain is sure to be a disappointment, but an indoor performance with segregated seating is unacceptable.
The young singers, eager to make their mark, urge Madame Dawson to consider the hall. She initially will not hear it, but as rehearsals continue and the weather worsens, she has moments of doubt. The Union board, expecting a breach of contract, demands she leave rehearsal for an emergency meeting. When they insult her, she fights back and is taken to jail. After Madame Dawson is bailed out, Madame Dawson returns to rehearsal, bruised but undaunted.
The young singers realize that Madame Dawson’s life—her determination and struggle—is the greatest lesson she has for them. They tell her they will sing in the rain if necessary. Just as they resolve to go forward, the rain stops.
-Courtesy of The Glimmerglass Festival
PREVIEWS AND REVIEWS
- Review: onStage Pittsburgh - Dramady with Operatic Interludes Opens at the Byham
- Review: Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh Opera's 'Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson' is a performance to remember
- Review: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Operatic snapshot of a famous Pittsburgh singer sizzles with humor, drama
- Pittsburgh Magazine - Famous Opera Company Gets Its Own Opera
- Entertainment Central Pittsburgh - Theater Guide April 2024
- Pittsburgh Magazine - Things to Do in Pittsburgh This April
- The POP: The Pittsburgh Opera Podcast - THE PASSION OF MARY CARDWELL DAWSON - Artistic Coordinator Matthew Hrdlicka interviews Alyson Cambridge (Mary) and stage director Kimille Howard
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Pittsburgh Opera's final show this season spotlights a local legend
- onStage Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Opera’s “The Passion of Mary Cadwell Dawson” Will Wrap Season 2023/24
- KDKA-TV CBS Pittsburgh - "Intersections" April 21, 2024 (cast visit to National Opera House, starts at 16:30 of video)
- WESA-FM 90.5 - Play honors Pittsburgh's Black opera pioneer Mary Cardwell Dawson
- onStage Pittsburgh - 9 things to do this weekend in Pittsburgh
- WQED-FM Voice of the Arts Podcast interviews:
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Join us for a series of FREE community events inspired by the life and legacy of Mary Cardwell Dawson:
- March 26: Family Day Event
- April 5: Opera Meets Jazz
- April 11: Honoring our Past, Connecting to our Present
- April 14: Panel Discussion
