A Night at the Opera: Ezio Pinza, Claudia Pinza Bozzolla, and the Pittsburgh Connection
Schedule
Thu, 08 Jun, 2023 at 07:00 pm
Location
Heinz History Center | Brentwood, PA
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Join the Italian American Program for A Night at the Opera. Discover the history of the Pinza family’s tremendous artistic impact on the field of opera in Pittsburgh from guest speaker and Pinza’s grandson Samuele Bozzolla.
Hear the story of Italian-born opera singer Ezio Pinza, who came to the United States in the 1920s to perform on Broadway, and his daughter, Argentine-born opera singer Claudia Pinza Bozzolla. Learn how the Bozzolla family came to Pittsburgh to seek medical assistance for their son, about Claudia’s influence as a voice teacher at the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University, and her impact on opera in the region, which included bringing Pavarotti to perform in Pittsburgh three times.
Bozzolla will be joined by guest panelists Kevin Glavin and Anna Singer, opera singers who will comment on the Pinza family’s artistic legacy in Pittsburgh.
Admission
This program is presented by the History Center’s Italian American Program and will take place in the museum’s fifth floor Mueller Center. Tickets are $15 for the public, $10 for members, and $5 for students with valid ID. Please register in advance online.
Register: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/event/a-night-at-the-opera-ezio-pinza-claudia-pinza-bozzolla-and-the-pittsburgh-connection/
For additional questions, please contact Melissa E. Marinaro, director of the Italian American Program, at [email protected].
About the Pinza Family
Ezio Fortunato Pinza (May 18, 1892 – May 9, 1957) was an Italian opera singer. Pinza possessed a rich, smooth, and sonorous voice, with a flexibility unusual for a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of 50 operas. At the San Francisco Opera, Pinza sang 26 roles during 20 seasons from 1927 to 1948. Pinza also sang to great acclaim at La Scala, Milan and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London.
After retiring from the Met in 1948, Pinza enjoyed a fresh career on Broadway in musical theatre, most notably in “South Pacific,” in which he created the role of Emile de Becque. His highly expressive performance of the hit song “Some Enchanted Evening” made Pinza a matinée idol and a national celebrity. In 1950, he received a Tony Award for best lead actor in a musical. He also appeared in several Hollywood films.
Claudia Pinza Bozzolla (July 27, 1925 – August 3, 2017) was an Argentine American operatic soprano, vocal coach, and voice teacher of Italian origin. As a singer she performed in operas throughout Italy and the United States, including appearances at La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, and the San Francisco Opera.
She taught voice for several decades at Duquesne University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Carlow University while serving on the board and vocal coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Opera. Several of her pupils have had successful performance careers of their own, including Metropolitan Opera singers Vivica Genaux and Audrey Nemzer, as well as Andrew Kurtz, founder of the Center City Opera Theater.
She also hosted a weekly radio program “Opera with Claudia” on WDUQ-FM radio. The only existing recording of the singer is from a November 1951 broadcast of The Bell Telephone Hour in which she performed the final Act of Gounod’s “Faust.”
In 1983 Claudia launched the inaugural season of EPCASO—the Ezio Pinza Council for American Singers of Opera—which continued for the next 35 years. The 5-week program in Italy, for aspiring opera singers, was modeled after the intense instruction Claudia herself received as a young singer in Italy: lessons and coaching—not once a week, but every day. Many EPCASO graduates have appeared in Pittsburgh Opera productions.
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Where is it happening?
Heinz History Center, Brentwood, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
