Seattle Opera is an opera company based in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as its first general director until 1983. The company's season runs from August through late May, comprising five or six operas of eight to ten performances each, often featuring double casts in major roles to allow for successive evening presentations.
Since August 2003, Seattle Opera has performed at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall (capacity: 2,967), which was built on the site of the old Seattle Opera House at Seattle Center. The company's current general director is Christina Scheppelmann, who assumed the role in August 2019. Seattle Opera does not have a full-time music director; in October 2007, it announced the appointment of Asher Fisch as its principal guest conductor.[1]
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."[2] In 1970, H. C. Schonberg of the New York Times contrasted Seattle Opera's approach to marketing to the then still staid marketing of New York's Metropolitan Opera: "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 stickers 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."[2]
Richard Wagner at Seattle Opera
For many years, the company was noted for its performances of the works of Richard Wagner, including the Ring 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 in 1939. The Seattle Opera's last Ring was in August 2013, and they have stated that they have no plans to produce the Ring in the future.[3]
"Ring 1," 1975–1984
Beginning with a production of Die Walküre one year, and following successively each year with Siegfried and, finally, Götterdämmerung, Ross announced in 1975 that Das Rheingold 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, 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 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 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 2," 1985–1995
Speight Jenkins was appointed General Director in 1983, and immediately set about creating a new Ring production. Die Walküre appeared first, in 1985, followed by complete cycles in 1986, 1987, 1991, and 1995. (Jenkins determined that the company could achieve higher quality performances by presenting the Ring every four years.) The new production was directed by Francois Rochaix, with sets and costumes designed by Robert Israel, lighting designed by Joan Sullivan, and supertitles (the first ever created for the Ring) by Sonya Friedman. The production set the action in a world of nineteenth-century theatricality. Initially controversial, it sold out in 1995. Conductors included Armin Jordan (Die Walküre in 1985), Manuel Rosenthal (1986), and Hermann Michael (1987, 1991, and 1995).
"Ring 3," 2000–2013
Jenkins engaged a new creative team to conceive Seattle Opera's third Ring production, which was unveiled in 2000 (Das Rheingold and Die Walküre) and 2001 (full cycle) and returned in 2005, 2009, and 2013. Director Stephen Wadsworth, Set Designer Thomas Lynch, Costume Designer Martin Pakledinaz, Lighting Designer Peter Kaczorowski created a production which became known as the "Green" Ring, inspired in part by the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Armin Jordan returned to conduct in 2000, Franz Vote in 2001, and Robert Spano in 2005 and 2009. The 2013 production, conducted by Asher Fisch, was released as a commercial recording on compact disc and on iTunes. The productions starred singers such as Greer Grimsley, Stephanie Blythe, Ewa Podles, Jane Eaglen, Richard Paul Fink, Margaret Jane Wray, and Stephen Milling.
Speight Jenkins and Wagner
Upon taking leadership of Seattle Opera in 1983, Speight Jenkins stated a goal of producing all ten of the major Wagner works in Seattle. Beginning with Tannhäuser in 1984 (the first Seattle Opera production with supertitles), Jenkins finally achieved his goal with the August 2003 production of Parsifal that opened McCaw Hall.
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:
Jane Eaglen - made her American debut as well as her Seattle Opera debut in the company's 1994 production of Bellini's Norma. A previous unknown, she was cast personally by Speight Jenkins to replace Carol Vaness when the latter was unable to sing due to medical issues. She went on to sing Turandot, Isolde, Brünnhilde, Ariadne, Ortrud, Senta, and other roles with the company.
Greer Grimsley - made his debut as Telramund in Lohengrin in 1994 (revived 2004), then returned for Escamillo (1995), Mephistopheles (1997), Kurwenal (1998 and 2010), Scarpia (2001, 2007, and 2015), Donner and Gunther (2001), Amfortas (2003), Jack Rance (2004), Wotan (2005, 2009, and 2013), the Flying Dutchman (2007 and 2016), and Don Pizarro (2012).
Andrea Gruber - has sung numerous roles with the company including the title role in Verdi's Aida
Ben Heppner - performed his first ever Tristan in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde with Seattle Opera in 1998. Other roles in Seattle include Walther von Stolzing, Lohengrin, and Andrea Chenier.
Bette Midler- played the Acid Queen in Seattle Opera's production of The Who's Tommy, the first time it was ever performed in a theater format.
Stephen Wadsworth- Directed the Ring Cycle in 2005, 2009 and 2013. In 2007 he directed the first ever co production of Seattle Opera with the Metropolitan Opera, Iphigenie en Tauride.
Tomer Zvulun- Started as an Assistant Director in the 2005–06 and 2006-07. He then returned as an associate director for the RING cycle in 2009 and directed new productions of Lucia di Lammermoor in 2010, La Boheme in 2013 and Semele in 2015.
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:
