Pittsburgh Opera name change

The Pittsburgh Opera has decided to come clean.

Okay, nothing negative. In fact, it is a good thing a long time coming. The company will change the name of its artist trainging program from the Pittsburgh Opera Center to the Resident Artists of the Pittsburgh Opera.

"It is more representative of what our young artists do, and it clears up some confusion," says its public relations manager Kesha Pate. "Some people think they are students, but they are profession artists-in-training."

 Plus, there is that confusion with the "other' opera company in town, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, with which both the training program and the main company get confused from time to time.

Bottom line, by any name, these are some outstanding voices, whether they are in the main productions in smaller or mid-sized roles, or in their own production (this year, Britten's  "Rape of Lucretia" starting Jan. 30, 2010.) Hear em before they make it big...