Organization

Conductor

James Lesniak

Stage director

Haley Stamats

Singer

Soprano

Emily Richter

Mrs Johannes Zegner

Baritone

Brandon Bell

Mr Johannes Zegner

Mezzo-soprano

Julia Swan Laird

Zegner Sister 1

Jazmine Olwalia

Zegner Sister 2

Bass

Evan Lazdowski

The Sodbuster

Pittsburgh Opera

Orchestra

Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra

Tenor

Fran Daniel Laucerica

Miles Zegner

Mason Dowd

Peter Zegner

Assistant Conductor

Glenn Lewis

Set designer

Brett Rochford

Costume designer

Nancy Julian

Lighting designer

Todd Nonn

English

Proving Up

Pittsburgh

United States

Bitz Opera Factory

Proving Up Mazzoli

Public

Approved

The Sodbuster (Evan Lazdowski) talks about how long he's been a homesteader, and begins to menace Miles (Fran Daniel Laucerica).Filmed at the final dress reh...

The Zegner sisters (Julia Swan Laird and Jazmine Olwalia) exalt in the fact that the only glass window in this part of Nebraska belongs to Pa (Brandon Bell.)...

Music by Missy Mazzoli, with a libretto by Royce Vavrek, based on a short story by Karen Russell • February 17, 20, 23 & 25, 2024
Bitz Opera Factory

An American Dream as fragile as glass.
A family of Nebraskan homesteaders in the 1870s dreams of "proving up." They endeavor to obtain the deed to the land they've settled by fulfilling the requirements of the Homestead Act: five years of harvest, a sod house dwelling, and perhaps the most elusive element—a glass window.

With their eldest son incapacitated, Ma and Pa send their youngest living child Miles on a mission to share the valuable commodity with their distant neighbors who are expecting a visit from a government inspector. Miles’ journey brings him face to face with the remnants of a shattered past—the ghost of a neighboring farmer driven mad by the requirements of "proving up." The willowy figure knows all too well the cost of the American Dream, and the coveted window soon becomes a broken mirror reflecting great tragedy.

Proving Up by Mazzoli, From (2024/2024), Directed by Haley Stamats,, Conductor James Lesniak, Bitz Opera Factory, Pittsburgh, United States

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Videos

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Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues