OperaWire Q&A: Librettist/Director Crystal Manich & Composer Laura Kaminsky on Pittsburgh Opera’s World Premiere, Telling Audiences It’s “Time to Act” With School Gun Violence
Pittsburgh Opera will set the stage to “Time to Act’s” world premiere. A new opera whose setting is a modern day high school and whose characters are teenagers, the opera’s slogan is “build the world you want to see.”
2021 to 2024 were record years of increased school shootings, including Robb Elementary School in Uvalde where 19 children were killed along with two educators. 2025 saw at least 78 school shootings with 122 injured and 32 killed, two of which were students (a ten-year-old and an eight-year-old) who were shot while in mass at Annunciation Catholic School’s church. There have already been six school shootings in the United States two months into this new year.
The opera’s composer Laura Kaminsky has been riding a formidable wave of success with her acclaimed and wildly popular opera “As One.” Librettist Crystal Manich also has a resume to be spoken for; traveling worldwide for her work directing operas, musicals, film and the circus. OperaWire spoke with both women on how this production is meant to encourage audiences it’s “time to act.”