Seattle Opera and the South Asian film and arts nonprofit Tasveer announced a new partnership. Tasveer moved its administrative staff into the Opera Center, where the two companies will share facilities and event space. In addition to access to workspace, storage, and technical support. Tasveer will also host its annual film festival in Tagney Jones Hall. Tasveer’s residency is slated for {…}
Christina Scheppelmann will assume the position of General Director at La Monnaie/De Munt in Brussels, Belgium, following the completion of her five-year contract with Seattle Opera. Scheppelmann, the fourth General Director of Seattle Opera, will conclude her tenure after the 2023-24 season. During her leadership, the company achieved significant milestones, including the world premiere of “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” the {…}
Seattle Opera has unveiled its summer lineup. “Summer is the perfect time to explore the many ways opera can expand beyond the opera house,” said General Director Christina Scheppelmann in an official press statement. “Opera isn’t only serious drama—it has always had a lighthearted side, too. Our summer programs highlight this underappreciated dimension and offer a variety of delights for all {…}
Tenor Martin Bakari, soprano Ellaina Lewis, and pianist Joe Williams are set to present a concert at Seattle Opera. The versatile program titled “From His Heart’s Deep Core” includes opera arias, art song, and jazz, with music by Richard Thompson and other composers. There will be a special set of songs that are based on the poetry of Paul Laurence {…}
Seattle Opera has a new COO and CFO. Marissa Betz-Zall will assume the role of Chief Financial Officer, and Ángela Gist, that of Chief Operations Officer. Both were appointed by the General Director Christina Scheppelmann. The two new executives will begin their functions in March 2023 and replace Jane Repensek served as COO/CFO since 2017. Betz-Zall started at the Seattle {…}
Photo: Seattle Opera What a treat to see a world premiere deliver a gripping operatic experience. Everyone involved in this endeavor earned kudos individually and cumulatively—the vision of what was possible was manifested collaboratively, each creative element building upon the others. “A Thousand Splendid Suns” is a new opera based on Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling 2007 novel about the resilience of {…}
Photo: Antone Patterson An opera company’s highest calling is to commission new work—to contribute to the history of opera, to leave a legacy. Seattle Opera has done so, memorably, with “A Thousand Splendid Suns.” The piece, which opened February 25 in Seattle’s McCaw Hall and ends March 11, is Seattle Opera’s first mainstage world premiere since Daron Hagen’s “Amelia” from {…}
The Seattle Opera has announced the 2023-24 season featuring four productions. Productions Wagner’s “Das Rheingold“ is set to open the season with Greer Grimsley as Wotan, Frederick Ballentine, Michael Mayes, and the Seattle Opera debut of internationally celebrated mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves. The cast is rounded by Martin Bakari, Melody Wilson, Kenneth Kellogg, Peixin Chen, and Sarah Larsen. Performance Dates: August {…}
Seattle Opera has appointed Shannon Rolbiecki to the position of Director of Development, effective Dec. 12, 2022. “I’m thrilled to join the team at Seattle Opera,” said Rolbiecki in an official press statement. “To work in support of an art form I love for an organization of such quality and integrity is beyond exciting. The arts are still in recovery, {…}
Seattle Opera will present the world premiere of “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by composer/librettist team Sheila Silver and Stephen Kitsakos and directed by Roya Sadat, one of the first female filmmakers in Afghanistan. The show will run from Feb. 25-March 11, 2023. Based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini, the opera relates the story of Mariam and Laila, two Afghan {…}
(Credit: Sunny Martini) From the second bar of Richard Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde,” in the hands of conductor Jordan De Souza, it was clear Seattle Opera’s production (which opened Saturday night and runs through Oct. 29) would be sonically something special. It turned out to be special in several ways, in fact. In that second bar, the famous “Tristan chord”—which {…}
