Pittsburgh Opera Opens ‘Richard the Lionheart’; ‘The Royale’ Previews at City Theatre (Sat., 1/21/17)

1) If you have enjoyed Handel’s Messiah, try a Handel opera. Pittsburgh Opera is performing Richard the Lionheart, which dramatizes the story of Richard I of England and his princess bride amid the fighting of the Third Crusade. The production is an eyebrow-raiser on several counts. (1) It’s a chance to be among the first Americans to see this 1727 opera. Like many operas of the Baroque era, Richard faded from the repertoire as styles and times changed. Though now revived, its only previous U.S. performance was in 2015 in St. Louis. (2) King Richard is played by a woman. Per Baroque custom, Handel wrote the leading male part for a castrato, a man castrated in youth. Today such roles are usually sung by countertenors (men who can go naturally high) or by mezzo-sopranos like Leah de Gruyl, Pittsburgh Opera’s Richard. (3) Authentic Baroque accompaniment is provided. Guest musicians from Chatham Baroque join the orchestra to play harpsichord and period-style strings. Also: the prevailing view in George Frideric Handel’s day was “if it ain’t Italian, it ain’t really opera”—so Richard the Lionheart, with a libretto by Paolo Rolli, is sung in Italian. But English translation is displayed above the stage. Runs through January 29. CAPA Theater, 111 9^th St., Cultural District. (MV)

2) Jack Johnson, the first black boxer to win the world heavyweight championship (a title he held from 1908 to 1915), was a complex man living in difficult times. He cultivated superb skills and discipline in the ring but reveled in the high life outside it. He broke society’s color line by his romances with white women, thus further infuriating white Americans who rooted for a “great white hope” to come along and defeat him. Johnson’s tumultuous story was the basis for a Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the 1960s, ironically titled The Great White Hope—and now there’s a new Johnson-inspired play. Marco Ramirez’s The Royale, which premiered in Los Angeles four years ago, gets its first Pittsburgh staging at City Theatre. Whereas The Great White Hope was a sprawling, scene-shifting production with a big cast, The Royale gives its subject a more intimate fictionalized treatment. It builds dramatic tension and reveals character through up-close personal exchanges within the boxer’s inner circle. The fight scenes are done in a stylized manner that’s quite unlike typical stage fighting. The Royale has been praised for its fresh creativity; City Theatre aims to score a knockout with the play. 5:30 p.m. Performances continue through February 12. 1300 Bingham St., South Side. (MV)

3) Native Zambian, and current Pittsburgh resident, Matthew Tembo will perform at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh’s Song Space concert series. Tembo is an award-winning musician who travels the world performing his special blend of Afro-fusion/reggae music. Dadi Mwana, his latest release, features lively songs with lyrics in several different languages. He skillfully performs with handmade instruments including the silimba (local marimba), kalumbu (one stringed instrument), and kalimba (thumb piano). Sounds like a nice opportunity to chill and hear some great music. 7:30 p.m. 605 Morewood Ave., Shadyside.

4) Tonight some very brave Pittsburgh actors will perform a full musical having met each other only an hour beforehand. They will form up in front of an audience with no rehearsals. Oh, also, the audience and actors both show up with no knowledge of what play they will be seeing/performing. Is this a recipe for disaster, or a fun theatrical experience? Supposedly the latter, as a matter of fact , the theater company producing the event—The Confidential Musical Theater Project—has done it many times before in other cities. 7:30 p.m. 2nd floor of the Neu Kirche Contemporary Art Center, 1000 Madison Ave., North Side.

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