Seattle Opera
Encyclopedia
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
company located in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross
Glynn Ross
Glynn Ross was an American opera impresario. Ross was the first general director of the Seattle Opera, serving that company from 1963 to 1983, and the second general director of the Arizona Opera, from 1983 to 1998.-Background:He was born Glynn W...
, who served as the company's first general director through 1983, Seattle Opera's season runs from August to late May, with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each, often with double casts in major roles to allow for successive evening presentations.
The second, and current, general director of Seattle Opera since 1983 is Speight Jenkins
Speight Jenkins
Speight Jenkins Jr is the general director of Seattle Opera. Jenkins, a native of Dallas, Texas, is the son of Speight Jenkins Sr and Sara Baird Jenkins. His B.A. degree is from the University of Texas at Austin, and he graduated in 1961 from Columbia Law School. He served in the US Army, and...
. Since August 2003, the company has presented operas in the Marion Oliver McCaw Hall
McCaw Hall
The Marion Oliver McCaw Hall is a performance hall and opera house, located in Seattle, Washington. Inaugurated in June 2003, it was constructed within the basic steel support structure of the earlier Seattle Opera House, originally created for the World's Fair in 1962 and gutted for this...
, built on the site of the old Seattle Opera House at the Seattle Center
Seattle Center
Seattle Center is a park and arts and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington. The campus is the site used in 1962 by the Century 21 Exposition. It is located just north of Belltown in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood.-Attractions:...
. The company does not have a full-time music director. In October 2007, Seattle Opera announced the appointment of Asher Fisch
Asher Fisch
Asher Fisch is an Israeli conductor.Born in Israel, Fisch began his career as an assistant of Daniel Barenboim and an associate conductor of the Berlin State Opera. He made his United States debut in 1995, conducting Richard Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer at the Los Angeles Opera, and has...
as the company's principal guest conductor.
The Ross years
From the outset, Ross saw opera as something that had to be sold using similar techniques to those used to sell popular entertainment. "To sell opera…you have to get their attention with a little razzle-dazzle. You've got to be simpatico. You have to be able to communicate, and you have to deliver your message with the best possible product you can manage." In 1970, H. C. SchonbergHarold C. Schonberg
Harold Charles Schonberg was an American music critic and journalist, most notably for The New York Times. He was the first music critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism...
of the New York Times contrasted the Seattle Opera's approach to marketing to the then still staid marketing of New York's Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
: "Out there, you see campaign buttons with the legend Opera Lives. It is in Seattle where you can look at the sky and find an airplane skywriting the virtues of Seattle Opera. There are even auto bumper sticker
Bumper sticker
A bumper sticker is an adhesive label or sticker with a message, intended to be attached to the bumper of an automobile and to be read by the occupants of other vehicles - although they are often stuck onto other objects...
s about opera." Further, Schonberg remarked favorably on the "air of freshness and experimentation that contrasts vividly with the dull, tried and true, tired professionalism in other opera houses one could mention."
Richard Wagner at the Seattle Opera
The company is noted for its performances of the works of Richard WagnerRichard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, including the Ring
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen is a cycle of four epic operas by the German composer Richard Wagner . The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied...
cycle. In 1975, it was the first American company to perform the cycle in its entirety over the space of a week since the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
did it in 1939.
First Ring Cycles, 1975 to 1983
Beginning with a production of Die WalküreDie Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
one year, and following successively each year with Siegfried
Siegfried (opera)
Siegfried is the third of the four operas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 16 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of The Ring...
and, finally, Götterdämmerung
Götterdämmerung
is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen...
, Ross announced in 1975 that Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold
is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was originally written as an introduction to the tripartite Ring, but the cycle is now generally regarded as consisting of four individual operas.Das Rheingold received its premiere at the National Theatre...
would precede the others to make up the first consecutive Ring Cycle over six days in July. In spite of the modernization of the opera productions which Ross found at the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
, Seattle's were to be traditional productions and appeal to the lovers of the traditional.
Two back-to-back cycles of the Ring, one each in German and English, were presented annually between 1975 and 1983. Andrew Porter's English adaptation which was prepared for the English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
and which was priced below the German language cycle, introduced many new listeners to Wagner. Originally directed by George London with designer John Naccarato, later presentations were directed by Lincoln Clark between 1976 and 1983, and by the tenor, Ragnar Ulfung
Ragnar Ulfung
Ragnar Sigurd Ulfung is a Norwegian operatic tenor. Described in the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians as "a brilliant actor with an incisive voice", he was particularly known for his portrayals of Herod and Mime . He is also an opera director...
in 1984. Henry Holt conducted all the cycles. The performances were well attended and received good press.
By 1982, the cycle was drawing opera lovers from all over the United States, as well as many other countries of the world, and Seattle appeared to be a serious rival to Bayreuth.
Ring Cycles today
Audiences for the 2001 Ring cycle came from 49 states and 19 countries, and the production was a sold out many months before opening. For the 2005 Cycle, Jane EaglenJane Eaglen
Jane Eaglen is an English dramatic soprano particularly known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Wagner and the title roles in Bellini's Norma and Puccini's Turandot.-Background:...
returned to sing Brünnhilde; the director was Stephen Wadsworth, the set designer was Thomas Lynch
Thomas Lynch
Thomas Lynch, Tom Lynch or Tommy Lynch may refer to:*Thomas Lynch , South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress*Thomas Lynch, Jr...
and Robert Spano
Robert Spano
Robert Spano is an American conductor and pianist. Since 2001 he has been Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra , and he served as Music Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic from 1996 to 2004...
conducted. All performances of the Ring Cycle are now given in German.
In the summer of 2009, the Ring Cycle was performed three times with the most recent productions. Greer Grimsley
Greer Grimsley
Greer Grimsley is an American bass-baritone who has had an active international opera career for the last three decades. He has sung leading roles with all of America's leading opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, and the Houston...
appeared as Wotan, Janice Baird
Janice Baird
Janice Baird is an American dramatic soprano, best known for her interpretation of Wagner and Strauss. Baird was born in New York City.-Education and life:...
as Brünnhilde, and Stephanie Blythe
Stephanie Blythe
Stephanie Blythe is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer.-Biography:Blythe graduated from Monticello High School in 1987 and the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam in 1992. She was the recipient of the prestigious Richard Tucker Award in 1999...
as several characters including Fricka and the Valkyrie Waltraute.
Speight Jenkins and Wagner
Jenkins was appointed general director in 1983. He believed in the future of the company's Ring Cycle and was eager to create a new Ring production. In addition, he stated a goal of producing all ten of the major Wagner works in Seattle and, beginning with TannhäuserTannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
, Jenkins' goal was achieved over the following nineteen years with an August 2003 production of Parsifal
Parsifal
Parsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail, and on Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail.Wagner first conceived the work...
.
Performers
Seattle Opera draws some of the world's best opera singers to its stage. Some of the notable performers who have appeared in productions include:- Harolyn BlackwellHarolyn BlackwellHarolyn Blackwell is an African-American lyric coloratura soprano who has performed in many of the world's finest opera houses, concert halls, and theaters in operas, oratorios, recitals, and Broadway musicals...
- A regular figure on the Seattle Opera stage during the 1990s and 2000s, her credits with the company include the title roles in Donizetti's Lucia di LammermoorLucia di LammermoorLucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
and DelibesLéo DelibesClément Philibert Léo Delibes was a French composer of ballets, operas, and other works for the stage...
's LakméLakméLakmé is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. Delibes wrote the score during 1881–82 with its first performance on 14 April 1883 at the Opéra Comique in Paris. Set in British India in the mid 19th century, Lakmé is based on the 1880 novel...
. - Kevin BurdetteKevin BurdetteKevin Burdette is a singer who has worked as a soloist with the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Teatro Colón, New York City Opera, Opéra de Montréal, Boston Lyric Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, and the Spoleto Festival USA, as well as many regional opera companies including the...
- Who debuted with the company in 2006 as Mustafà in Rossini's L'italiana in AlgeriL'italiana in AlgeriL'italiana in Algeri is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca...
. - Richard CassillyRichard CassillyRichard Cassilly was an American operatic tenor who had a major international opera career between 1954 and 1990...
- who made his debut with the company as Manrico in April 1967 opposite Eileen FarrellEileen FarrellEileen Farrell was an American soprano who had a nearly 60 year long career performing both classical and popular music in concerts, theatres, on radio and television, and on disc. While she was active as an opera singer, her concert engagements far outnumbered her theatrical appearances...
's Leonora and Sherrill MilnesSherrill MilnesSherrill Milnes is an American operatic baritone most famous for his Verdi roles. From 1965 until 1997 he was associated with the Metropolitan Opera....
's Count DiLuna. - Jane EaglenJane EaglenJane Eaglen is an English dramatic soprano particularly known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Wagner and the title roles in Bellini's Norma and Puccini's Turandot.-Background:...
- who made her American debut as well as her Seattle Opera debut in the company's 1994 production of BelliniVincenzo BelliniVincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
's NormaNorma (opera)Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
. - Renée FlemingRenée FlemingRenée Fleming is an American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice.Fleming has performed coloratura, lyric, and lighter spinto soprano repertoires. She has sung roles in Italian, German, French, Czech, and Russian, aside from her native English. She also...
- who made her debut with the company singing the title role in the 1990 production of DvořákAntonín DvorákAntonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
's RusalkaRusalkaIn Slavic mythology, a rusalka was a female ghost, water nymph, succubus, or mermaid-like demon that dwelled in a waterway....
. - Nuccia FocileNuccia FocileNuccia Focile , is an Italian soprano.She was born in Sicily, studied in Turin under Elio Battaglia, and made her opera debut as Oscar in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera at La Scala in 1986. Also in that year, she won the International Pavarotti Competition in Philadelphia, following which she made...
- who has appeared in several productions with the company including the title role in the 2007 production of Glucks Iphigenia in Tauris and Violetta Valery in 2009's La traviataLa traviataLa traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
. - Andrea GruberAndrea GruberAndrea Gruber is an award winning American dramatic soprano particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Puccini, Verdi, and Wagner.-Early life and education:...
- who has sung numerous roles with the company including the title role in Verdi's AidaAidaAida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette... - Ben HeppnerBen HeppnerBen Heppner, CC is a Canadian tenor, specializing in opera and other classical works for voice.Heppner was born in Murrayville, British Columbia, and lived in Dawson Creek...
- who performed his first ever Tristan in Wagner's Tristan und IsoldeTristan und IsoldeTristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
with Seattle Opera in 1998. - Brett PolegatoBrett PolegatoBrett Polegato is an operatic baritone. In 1999 he made his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Peter Niles in Levy's Mourning Becomes Electra followed by his La Scala debut in 2000 as Ned Keene in Britten's Peter Grimes...
- who made his debut with the company as Henry Miles in the 2005 production of Jake HeggieJake HeggieJake Heggie is an American composer and pianist.Jake Heggie is the composer of the operas Dead Man Walking , The End of the Affair , At The Statue of Venus , To Hell and Back , and Moby-Dick , as well as the stage work For a Look or a Touch...
's The End of the AffairThe End of the Affair (opera)The End of the Affair is a chamber opera with music by Jake Heggie and a libretto by Heggie and Leonard Foglia.Based on the Graham Greene novel of the same title, it is set in London in 1944 and 1946 and focuses on Maurice and Sarah, who vows to end their illicit affair if his life is spared in a...
. - Alberto RemediosAlberto RemediosAlberto Remedios is a British former operatic tenor, especially noted for his interpretations of Wagner's heldentenor roles....
- who appeared as Siegfried in The Ring Cycle with the company in the 1970s. - Gidon SaksGidon SaksGidon Saks is an Israeli born South African bass-baritone.-Education:Saks grew up in South Africa. His father was a first generation South African of Lithuanian descent. His mother was Scottish of Ukrainian extraction. He had an aunt who was an accomplished opera singer in South Africa but he had...
- who has appeared in several Wagner productions with the company. - Beverly SillsBeverly SillsBeverly Sills was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. In her prime she was the only real rival to Joan Sutherland as the leading bel canto stylist...
- who made her debut with the company in 1965 as Mimi in Puccini's La BohemeLa bohèmeLa bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
. It was the only time she ever created that role on stage. - Joan SutherlandJoan SutherlandDame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
- who portrayed Lakmé for the company in 1967.
Conductors and directors
Seattle Opera often invites guest directors and conductors to take part in its productions. Notable conductors and directors include:- Christopher AldenChristopher Alden (director)Christopher Alden is a radical theater director known for staging revisionist productions of opera. He is the twin brother of David Alden, also an opera director, and belongs to a generation of modernist directors that includes Robert Wilson and Peter Sellars, though Alden retains his own personal...
- who made his debut with the company conducting Mozart's Don GiovanniDon GiovanniDon Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
. - Nicola LuisottiNicola LuisottiNicola Luisotti is an Italian musician. He has been music director of San Francisco Opera since September 2009 and also serves as principal guest conductor of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.-Early life:...
- who made his debut with the company in 2005 conducting Verdi's MacbethMacbeth (opera)Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name...
. - Richard PearlmanRichard PearlmanRichard Pearlman was an American theatre and opera director and educator known for his encyclopedic knowledge on every aspect of opera from stage direction to makeup....
- who conducted the first professional production of The WhoThe WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's rock operaRock operaA rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
TommyTommy (rock opera)Tommy is the fourth album by English rock band The Who, released by Track Records and Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and Decca Records/MCA in the United States. A double album telling a loose story about a "deaf, dumb and blind boy" who becomes the leader of a messianic movement, Tommy was...
starring Bette MidlerBette MidlerBette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
with the company in 1971. - Bartlett SherBartlett SherBartlett Sher , is an American theatre director. He received both the 2008 Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for his direction of the Broadway revival of South Pacific. The New York Times has described him as "one of the most original and exciting directors, not only in the American theater but...
- who made his opera directing debut with the company's production of Marvin David Levy's Mourning Becomes ElectraMourning Becomes ElectraMourning Becomes Electra is a play cycle written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 26 October 1931 where it ran for 150 performances before closing in March 1932...
. - Robert SpanoRobert SpanoRobert Spano is an American conductor and pianist. Since 2001 he has been Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra , and he served as Music Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic from 1996 to 2004...
- who conducted the 2005 and 2009 productions of The Ring Cycle. - Werner TorkanowskyWerner TorkanowskyWerner Torkanowsky was a successful German conductor in both the concert hall and opera house....
- who conducted the 1974 production of Boito's MefistofeleMefistofeleMefistofele is an opera in a prologue, four acts and an epilogue, the only completed opera by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito.-Composition history:...
.
New operas
Seattle Opera supports the creation of new operas and has commissioned several works throughout its history. New operas performed by the company include:- Carlisle FloydCarlisle FloydCarlisle Floyd is an American opera composer. The son of a Methodist minister, he based many of his works on themes from the South...
's Of Mice and MenOf Mice and Men (opera)Of Mice and Men is an opera in three acts by the American composer Carlisle Floyd. The English libretto was written by Floyd and is based on the novella of the same name by John Steinbeck. The opera was composed in 1969.- History :...
(1970) - Thomas PasatieriThomas PasatieriThomas Pasatieri is an American opera composer.He began composing at age 10 and, as a teenager, studied with Nadia Boulanger...
's Black WidowBlack Widow (opera)Black Widow is an opera in three acts by Thomas Pasatieri with an English libretto also by the composer. The libretto is based on Miguel de Unamuno's Dos madres. The opera premiered on March 2, 1972 with Seattle Opera. Other notable productions include Lake George Opera in 1972 and the Atlanta...
(1972) - Daniel CatánDaniel CatánDaniel Catán was a Mexican composer of Russian Sephardic Jewish descent known particularly for his operas and his creative friendship with the tenor Plácido Domingo.-Career:...
's Florencia en el AmazonasFlorencia en el AmazonasFlorencia en el Amazonas is an opera in two acts composed by Daniel Catán. It contains elements of magical realism in the style of Gabriel García Márquez and uses a libretto by Marcela Fuentes-Berain, one of his pupils...
(1998) - Marvin David Levy's Mourning Becomes ElectraMourning Becomes Electra (opera)Mourning Becomes Electra is an opera in 3 acts by composer Marvin David Levy. The work uses an English language libretto by Henry W Butler after the play of the same name by Eugene O'Neill. It premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City on March 17, 1967 with Zubin Mehta conducting...
(2003, premiere of revised version) - Daron HagenDaron HagenDaron Aric Hagen , is an American composer, conductor, pianist, educator, librettist, and stage director of contemporary classical music and opera.- Early life and education :...
's AmeliaAmelia (opera)Amelia is an opera in two acts by Daron Hagen to a libretto in English by Gardner McFall based on a story by Stephen Wadsworth. It had its world premiere at the Seattle Opera on May 8, 2010.-Background and performance history:...
(2010)
External links
- Seattle Opera official website homepage
- Interview with Archie Drake by Bruce Duffie, August, 1987