MEMETERIA by Thomas May

Seattle Opera has announced that James Robinson will be its next General and Artistic Director — the fifth person to lead the company in its 61-year history. Robinson begins his tenure in a little less than a month, on 4 September 2024. He replaces Christina Scheppelmann, who is taking on the reins as General and Artistic Director of La Monnaie/De Munt in Brussels starting in January 2025; she just completed her contract with Seattle Opera at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.

From Seattle Opera’s press release:

Robinson comes to Seattle from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL), where he has served as Artistic Director since 2008. During his tenure, Robinson transformed OTSL into one of the country’s most forward-looking opera festivals, commissioning 11 world premieres and presenting imaginative new productions of core repertoire. Many of these commissions have been recognized for their impact on the industry and produced by houses around the world. These include Huang Ruo’s An American Soldier, which was hailed in The New York Times’ “The Best of Classical Music 2018,” and Terence Blanchard’s Champion and Fire Shut Up in My Bones, the latter of which opened the 2021/22 season at the Metropolitan Opera, becoming the first work by a Black composer to appear on that stage.

As a stage director, Robinson has developed a rich portfolio, having directed at least 75 new productions at the world’s top theaters and over 30 world premieres. He has also seen success with productions of standard repertoire. Robinson’s production of the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess opened the 2019/20 season at the Metropolitan Opera, and later won a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. And in January 2004, Robinson directed a blockbuster production of Georges Bizet’s Carmen at Seattle Opera that sold more tickets than any opera in company history.

“We are thrilled to have a leader of James’s caliber join us as General and Artistic Director of Seattle Opera,” said Jonathan Rosoff, chair of the search committee. “An accomplished stage director and administrator, James is widely recognized as a leading creative force in this industry, and his productions have appeared at many of the world’s most respected opera houses. Between his steadfast leadership, his impressive record of innovation, and his deep knowledge of opera, we are confident that James will make an immediate impact at Seattle Opera and lead the company into an exciting and inventive new era.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to be joining the tremendous staff and board at Seattle Opera,” said Robinson. “Seattle is an opera town. It has opera in its DNA, and I am honored to be able to build on that rich tradition. I can’t wait to get to work creating art with and for the passionate audiences that have made Seattle Opera into the company it is today.”

One secret to Robinson’s success has been his community-based approach to programming, which begins at the grass-roots level long before artistic decisions are finalized. Along with former OTSL General Director Timothy O’Leary, Robinson spearheaded OTSL’s New Works, Bold Voicescommissioning program, which aimed to tell diverse, modern-day stories in partnership with the local St. Louis community.

“Like politics, all arts are local,” said Robinson. “It’s vital to include the community in decision-making processes, working with them to identify stories they want to see on stage. This is an area where Seattle Opera has established itself as a leader, and I look forward to continuing this work with communities across the Pacific Northwest.”

“Jim Robinson is one of our greatest visionaries—as a director, a commissioner of new work, and a producer,” said O’Leary, who now serves as General Director of the Washington National Opera. “He cares deeply that work is not just great artistically, but also resonates with the audience, and many of his commissions have been box office hits, attracting new and diverse audiences.”

Robinson’s work with companies of all sizes and with a wide range of resources has given him a keen insight into how opera companies can create art in a sustainable manner. During his time at OTSL, Robinson mounted productions of the highest quality while maintaining fiscal responsibility, streamlining the company’s workflow to allow for a more efficient allocation of resources. He also helped foster strong donor relationships that resulted in a $45-million legacy gift in early 2020, then the largest in the company’s history.

That ability to forge relationships has enabled some of Robinson’s most prominent artistic collaborations. “I have my opera career due to James Robinson,” said Terence Blanchard, whom Robinson first approached about commissioning an opera more than twelve years ago. “Jim saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. His capacity to make connections that others can’t see has allowed him to create new and exciting work. Having him as the new General and Artistic Director at the Seattle Opera is nothing short of a coup.”

When he arrives in September, Robinson will take over Seattle Opera’s $25-million budget, overseeing an annual season that features five mainstage productions and a slate of community programs, classes, and public events. Since its founding in 1963, Seattle Opera has become a cornerstone of the arts economy in the Pacific Northwest, employing more than 800 people in 2023. Recognized as an industry leader in efforts to diversify opera, Seattle Opera developed its Racial Equity and Social Impact plan in 2019 to guide decision-making at all levels of the organization. Seattle Opera is also a dedicated proponent of new American opera, mounting the world premieres of A Thousand Splendid Suns (’23) and the upcoming Jubilee (’24), as well as co-productions like X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (’24), which set a company record for the most single tickets sold to any contemporary opera.

“I am very happy that James will be taking the reins of this wonderful company,” said Christina Scheppelmann. “James has an impressive track record as a stage director and his extensive network will present tremendous opportunities for collaboration. I am sure he will accomplish great things at Seattle Opera, together with this amazing staff and supportive board. Seattle Opera is in good hands.”

Filed under: music news, Seattle Opera

Seattle Opera today announced the lineup for its 2024-25 season. Three of the five mainstage operas are warhorses from the core repertoire: Pagliacci, The Magic Flute, and Tosca. The second part of Berlioz’s magnificent Les Troyens will be presented not in a full staging but in a concert version (though this is the company’s first-time excursion into Berlioz’s epic). And Jubilee, Tazewell Thompson’s opera about The Fisk Jubilee Singers, will be a world premiere. The rest of the season includes two chamber productions and a recital by tenor Frederick Ballentine, along with various additional Opera Center events, from an “Opera 101” series to background presentations on the Berlioz and Mozart operas.

General director Christine Scheppelmann’s tenure ends with the conclusion of the current season. There has been no update yet on the search for her successor.

The schedule is as follows:

Pagliacci

·        Music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo

·        August 3, 4, 10, 11, 14, 16, & 17, 2024

·        McCaw Hall (321 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109)

·        seattleopera.org/pagliacci

Jubilee

·        Created & directed by Tazewell Thompson, vocal arrangements by Dianne Adams McDowell, orchestrated by Michael Ellis Ingram

·        October 12, 13, 16, 19, 20, 22, & 25, 2024

·        McCaw Hall (321 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109)

·        seattleopera.org/jubilee

Lucidity

·        Music by Laura Kaminsky, libretto by David Cote

·        November 21, 22, 23 (2 perfs.), & 24, 2024

·        The Opera Center (363 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109)

·        seattleopera.org/lucidity

A Very Drunken Christmas Carol

·        December 13, 15, 18, 20, & 22, 2024

·        The Opera Center (363 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109)

·        seattleopera.org/drunkentenor

Les Troyens in Concert

·        Music and libretto by Hector Berlioz

·        January 17 & 19, 2025

·        McCaw Hall (321 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109)

·        seattleopera.org/troyens

The Magic Flute

·        Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder

·        February 22, 23, 26, March 1, 2, 7, 8, & 9, 2025

·        McCaw Hall (321 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109)

·        seattleopera.org/flute

Frederick Ballentine in Concert

·        Sunday, April 27, 2025

·        McCaw Hall (321 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109)

·        seattleopera.org/ballentine

Tosca

·        Music by Giacomo Puccini, libretto by Luigi Illica & Giuseppe Giacosa

·        May 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, & 17, 2025

·        McCaw Hall (321 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109)

·        seattleopera.org/tosca

Filed under: music news, Seattle Opera