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Friday, April 19, 2002

By Andrew Druckenbrod, Post-Gazette Classical Music Critic

Two years ago this month, Carnegie Mellon University and Opera Theater of Pittsburgh embarked on a experiment to be the only school and opera company in the United States with an official collaboration.

Opera Theater received singers for smaller roles, an orchestra and rehearsal space and CMU got professional opportunities for its students, potentially a boon for recruiting. At the head of it all was director Jonathan Eaton, paid equally by both, as artistic director of OTP and CMU director of opera.

Yesterday, CMU announced that it would not renew the agreement after it runs out in June. The performance of Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle" next weekend will be their last cooperative production. Eaton, in the third year of a five-year contract at CMU, will maintain his position in both institutions.

"I wish that this highly imaginative collaborative structure had been more successful," said Alan Fletcher, the head of CMU's School of Music. "A hallmark of Carnegie Mellon has been to focus on its strengths. We have one of the country's best undergraduate opera programs and the collaboration of a graduate program with a professional group is not where our focus is now." CMU will, in fact, next year suspend its graduate opera program, which began as a part of the CMU-Opera Theater agreement. This year the program had only two students.

"Financially the only commitment was sharing my position," said Eaton. "As far as the opera company goes, there is no significant change. In practice it may mean we don't have easy access to CMU orchestras. And we have used CMU singers for the Gateway to the Arts touring program through local elementary schools. Everyone is somewhat relieved that we are not trying to make students the principal casting pool for touring."

CMU made no direct payment to the Opera Theater as a result of the collaboration. "We gave the orchestra and rehearsal space at no cost, but Jonathan Eaton could not be at Opera Theater without our support of his salary," said Fletcher.