A sensational new season starts up for the PSO

Four Singular Sensations Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Heinz Hall 412-392-4900 Tickets Start… Four Singular Sensations Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Heinz Hall 412-392-4900 Tickets Start at $39

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is tuning up for a big season, and it isn’t holding back on the star power. Saturday night is the once-in-a-lifetime Four Singular Sensations concert, featuring world-renowned musical legends. Acclaimed operatic tenor Dimitri Pittas joins Sir Andrew Davis, who has conducted major orchestras the world over.

Returning to Heinz Hall is Marvin Hamlisch, principal conductor for the Pittsburgh Pops. Hamlisch, who has won Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, Golden Globes, a Tony and the Pulitzer Prize, places the PSO in the top five symphonies in the country.

It takes every bit of all these combined talents to pull together an event like this, and curveballs like last-minute changes to the singing roster haven’t made it easy.

“It’s amazing,” Hamlisch said in a telephone interview. “This gala has been in the making for a year, and we had two performers signed, sealed and delivered, and we had to change both in a very short amount of time.”

“It’s been daunting,” Hamlisch said, “but it’s worked out, and we’re thrilled. We think we’ve done very well with the people that are coming in.”

It’s hard to imagine how they could be disappointed. Tony Award-winner Bernadette Peters, now a 40-year veteran of Broadway, joins the aptly named Sensations. Peters is a household name for fans of the theater, originating roles in Sondheim’s Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George, along with Hamlisch’s own The Goodbye Girl.

“She’s wonderful