When Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre opens its 36th season with "Carmen" Oct. 6, some of the audience members will have received free admission.

	John Heller, Post-Gazette Ivan Bielik as Escamillo rehearses with Maribel Modrono as Carmen. Click photo for larger image.

Terrence Orr, the company's artistic director, sent a letter to subscribers last week offering them the chance to invite two friends to accompany them to one of the four performances.

In his undated letter, Orr called the arrangement a "special subscriber reward ticket offer."

"You may invite two guests to join you at the same 'Carmen' performance you will be attending. ... Your guests will be provided with the best available seats, however they will not be in the same location as your seats."

The ticket giveaway could be considered an unusual move for the ballet, which has been instituting cost-cutting measures. In January, the company had a deficit of nearly $1 million but ended its fiscal year in the black.

Last month, E. Jeanne Gleason, chair of PBT's board of directors, announced that the company would no longer pay musicians to play in Benedum Center's orchestra pit and that dancers instead would perform to taped music. Gleason estimated the move would save the company $551,000. Also last month, PBT reduced the number of performances it will give of "The Nutcracker" from 17 to 12.

Audience members who attend the ballet's performances of "Carmen" will pass picket signs held by some of the musicians who played for the ballet.

Cynthia Anderson, an oboist in the 40-member orchestra that plays for PBT and Pittsburgh Opera, said Pittsburgh Musicians Union Local 60-471 obtained a permit that allows up to 50 people to picket outside Benedum Center.

Ric Evans PBT's production of Carmen features Maribel Modrono and Fernando Moraga. Click photo for larger image.

"We're going to be there every night of 'Carmen,' " Anderson said.

PBT's leaders, Anderson said, "need to realize that the orchestra is an asset to them. Why don't they use their assets, for God's sake? We are part of the product and they are trying to sell half of the product they sold last year."

It has been a custom at PBT to give two free tickets to musicians for the Thursday night performance. The extension of that offer to subscribers might suggest that ticket purchases are less than robust, but PBT spokeswoman Ida D'Errico said sales have been "fine."

D'Errico said the offer rewards loyal subscribers and encourages them to let a friend or colleague experience the ballet. She added that when she was a marketing director at Mellon Arena in the 1980s, "We often did that type of thank-you for Pittsburgh Penguin season ticket holders."

The Rev. Gary Jon Cooper, a Presbyterian minister who is organist director at Brentwood Presbyterian Church, will not be taking the ballet up on its offer.

"The first thing I thought was they are desperate for an audience. They must realize that a number of people are not going to come. Perhaps also they are trying to develop an audience for ballet with tape-recorded music," Cooper said.

Cooper, who lives in Brentwood, said he responded to the letter by faxing a note to PBT's office.

"Since the board's wrong-headed decision to cheapen our once world class ballet with canned music, I could not possibly consider inviting anyone to any performance under this plan," Cooper wrote in his note.

While Cooper wants to support the dancers, he said he is unlikely to attend the ballet because he believes his presence there would be seen as approval of the board's decision to use canned music.

Cooper compared PBT's decision to a memorable scene in "The Wizard of Oz" where the wizard's true identity is revealed.

"Ignore that tape recorder behind the curtain. Pretend that you're looking at a real ballet," Cooper said.