Opera Theater of Pittsburgh Postpones Carmen Jones

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the decision to put off the production, which was to have taken place October 7-9, was made not only because the venue was not available, but also because funding, in the amount of $37,500, from several foundations has been delayed.

Jonathan Eaton, the company's artistic director, said that the Pittsburgh Foundation, along with other, unnamed foundations, have "deferred grants until November or January because of reprioritizing to aid disaster-relief efforts" related to the destruction of the Gulf Coast region by Hurricane Katrina. But a spokesman for the Pittsburgh Foundation said that disaster-relief funds came from "a different pool" of money and would not affect funding for the arts.

The Byham Theater, where Carmen Jones was scheduled to run, became unavailable for reasons that were not specified.

Ticketholders who would like a refund are being asked to contact the company.

Carmen Jones is an adaptation of Bizet's Carmen, set in an all-black army camp in World War II-era America; it uses Bizet's music but has a book and lyrics by Hammerstein. Originally produced on Broadway in 1943, it was also made into a classic 1954 film starring Dorothy Dandridge.

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