Cornetti follows opera dream

For mezzo soprano Marianne Cornetti, the world really is a stage.

The Cabot native, former New Kensington resident and 1981 graduate of Knoch High School has sung in the great halls of the opera world.

In November, with about 150 of her Alle-Kiski Valley fans in attendance, she made her debut as a principal artist in perhaps her field's greatest international showcase: New York City's Metropolian Opera.

The reality of making it to that stage more than lived up to the dream, says Cornetti, who lives in Pittsburgh. "It was magical. "My mother (the late Patricia Cornetti) always said if you can see your dream and believe in your dream, you will see it," she says. "I could always see out in front of me doing this. It was magic."

Her mother also told her, when Marianne sang in the choir at St. Mary Roman Catholic Church in Herman, "God gave you the gift, and you have to give it back in order to receive anything."

Cornetti continues to give, returning today to the Pittsburgh-Tarentum Camp Meeting Association grounds in Natrona Heights, Harrison, for a free performance of secular and spiritual material, ranging from hymns and opera to patriotic and Broadway tunes. She will be accompanied by Clark Bedford, organist for Fox Chapel Episcopal Church.

Some artists who, like Cornetti, have presented international debuts at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Vienna State Opera, the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova and the Arena di Verona in Tokyo, might be reticent about singing in a pavilion tucked among the trees near the Allegheny Valley Expressway.

Cornetti, though, embraces the opportunity.

"My whole feeling about that is there are people in the world that can't go to the Met, but still can be touched. A lot of these people, because I lived in New Kensington for nine years or so, are followers," she says. "No matter if they are followers in Verona, Italy, the Met or the Valley, they are still people who deserve to be sung to. I absolutely have no qualms about sharing my gift anywhere, especially in a religious-type community like the Tarentum Campground."

Cornetti has attended programs at the Camp Meeting grounds for a decade, occasionally offering solos. "I've found so much solace in that little place over the years," she says. "What I have is a gift from God. Why not share it• There's such a sense of peace there, and it's just a wonderful thing for so many of those people. There is a buzz there. They are so excited. It doesn't matter where you are singing. You're still sharing. I really believe you cannot be stingy with your talent. You have to give it. God gave it to me only to give back to people."

Every time she takes the stage, no matter where she is, Cornetti always looks down at her hands and prays. "I say a prayer that God's hand is my stage, and if God has me by the hand, how can anything go wrong?"

Through the years, she has sung in many local churches of a variety of denominations, including Trinity United Methodist, Brackenridge. She is a former soloist at Sewickley and Mt. Lebanon Presbyterian churches.

She says her mother also taught her family that there is something to be learned from all religions. "I feel comfortable in many churches," says Cornetti, who remains a practicing Catholic.

Her brother, Mark Cornetti, is a music minister in an interdenominational church in Texas.

She has no doubt that music is a prayer. "If you have that connection with God, it does come through your voice," she says. "Even a comedy piece, it's still God working through you."

Her creativity definitely has a spiritual foundation, she says. "Without any sense of who you are and where you come from, you can't project the honesty that you give on stage. What you get in a person off stage is what you get on stage."

Cornetti is preparing to make her debut in Florence, Italy. She appears frequently in concert in works such as the Verdi "Requiem," Rossini's "Stabat Mater," Elgar's "Sea Picture" and De Falla's "El Amor Brujo." She would love to sing for the pope.

Her faith is a source of strength in her career. "I just couldn't have done it without having a strong faith; absolutely no way," she says. "This business is too hard. You have to have someone to turn to. You have to know when you go out there God has put me in a situation for a reason. I know he won't let me down even if everything isn't perfect."

Additional Information:

If you go

What: Marianne Cornetti concert.

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Pittsburgh-Tarentum Camp Meeting Association grounds, Harrison.

How to get there: From Freeport Road, Natrona Heights, turn onto Montana Avenue (left if northbound on Freeport Road; right if southbound) and follow it as it veers left to Main. Turn right onto Main. Campground is on right.

Cost: Free-will offering.

Details: 724-224-0744.