Sasha Cooke (Carmen) with Matthew Cairns (Don José) in Carmen at Seattle Opera. Photo: Sunny Martini.
Sasha Cooke is making her role debut in Seattle Opera’s revival of its Carmen production. Some thoughts for Bachtrack:
For its season-closing revival of Paul Curran’s production of Carmen, Seattle Opera is presenting alternating casts headed by Sasha Cooke and J’Nai Bridges in the title role. Cooke’s much-anticipated role debut reveals an intelligent, tightly controlled interpretation that resists many familiar clichés surrounding the character while never fully igniting the opera’s destructive energies.
Colin Aikins as Timothy Laughlin, left, and Jarrett Ott as Hawkins Fuller in “Fellow Travelers” at Seattle Opera. (Sunny Martini)
The production of Gregory Spears’ and Greg Pierce’s opera Fellow Travelers presented by Seattle Opera has launched a U.S. tour. Here’s my review of opening. night for the Seattle Times:
Desire unfolds under watchful eyes in “Fellow Travelers.”
Set during the McCarthy-era Lavender Scare of the 1950s, the opera by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Greg Pierce opened Saturday at McCaw Hall, marking the first time a production centered on openly gay subject matter has appeared on Seattle Opera’s mainstage.
Richard Strauss’ Daphne is among the works most plausibly suited to Seattle Opera’s recent turn toward including concert performances as part of its main-stage season. Written late in the composer’s career, Daphne belongs to the turbulent political and cultural climate of 1930s Germany….
Brandie Sutton as Pamina, In Sung Sim as Sarastro and Duke Kim as Tamino with members of the Seattle Opera Chorus in “The Magic Flute” at Seattle Opera. (David Jaewon Oh)
My Seattle Timesreview of opening night of the popular production of Mozart’s final opera by Barrie Kosky and 1927 Theatre:
A remarkable synergy of musical and visual storytelling enlivens Seattle Opera’s current production of “The Magic Flute,” running through March 9….
Image from Barrie Kosky’s production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” taken from a revival of the original production at Komische Oper Berlin in November 2023. Seattle Opera presents this “Magic Flute,” which mixes live performance with projected animations and references to the world of silent film, Feb. 22-March 9. (Jaro Suffner)
Here’s my Seattle Times preview of the well-traveled production of Mozart’s opera that arrives in Seattle for the first time this weekend:
The Magic Flute has enchanted audiences ever since it opened in 1791, just months before Mozart’s untimely death.
On the surface, Flute is a fairy tale about a prince who sets out to rescue a supposedly kidnapped princess — only to discover that both are destined for a journey of enlightenment. Along the way, the Queen of the Night loses her struggle to topple the high priest Sarastro, who is revealed to be a benevolent ruler….
Today Seattle Opera announced the lineup for the company’s first full season with General and Artistic Director James Robinson at the helm.
I’m especially pleased to see Gregory Spears’s Fellow Travelers – more timely than ever – among the three company premieres. Last summer’s Santa Fe Opera season included The Righteous, a collaboration between Spears and poet Tracey K. Smith, and the production knocked me out. Fellow Travelers is set during the McCarthy era and is based on the Thomas Mallon novel about the “Lavender Scare” that affected workers in the federal government.
Budget tightening obviously plays a big role here, but the rest of the season is quite a mixed bag: Seattle Opera’s first venture into Gilbert & Sullivan territory with The Pirates of Penzance; a Richard Strauss rarity, Daphne, but in concert format, which will star Heidi Stober as the mythic protagonist and with David Afkham conducting; and the perennial Carmen, which will star Sasha Cooke in her role debut (alternating with J’Nai Bridges in one of her signature parts). Another plus: Ludovic Morlot will conduct.
So we’re now done to just four mainstage productions, one of them in concert format, and no more season opener in August – when the Ring used to be the center of attention, so long ago.
Here’s the complete program:
Performance Information (see full cast lists at seattleopera.org)
The Pirates of Penzance Music by Arthur Sullivan
Libretto by W.S. Gilbert Conducted by David Charles Abell Directed and Choreographed by Seán Curran October 18, 19, 24, 26, 28, 29, November 1, 2025 McCaw Hall (321 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109) seattleopera.org/pirates
Gay Apparel: A Holiday Show
December 12 & 13, 2025 The Opera Center (363 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109) seattleopera.org/gayapparel
Daphne in Concert Music by Richard Strauss Libretto by Joseph Gregor January 16 & 18, 2026 McCaw Hall (321 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109) seattleopera.org/daphne
Fellow Travelers
Music by Gregory Spears Libretto by Greg Pierce
Conducted by Patrick Summers Directed by Kevin Newbury
February 21, 22, 25, 27, 28, & March 1, 2026 The Opera Center (363 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109) seattleopera.org/fellowtravelers
Carmen Music by George Bizet
Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy Conducted by Ludovic Morlot Directed and Choreographed by Paul Curran May 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 13, 16, & 17, 2026 McCaw Hall (321 Mercer St, Seattle, WA 98109) seattleopera.org/carmen
Tazewell Thompson’s “Jubilee,” about the Fisk Jubilee Singers, will have its world premiere at Seattle Opera Oct. 12-26. (Jeffrey Henson Scales)
My picks for classical events in Seattle in the fall:
No matter how many other leisure-time options compete for our attention, there really is nothing to replace the connection that happens at a live performance. Fortunately for classical music lovers, local organizations are busting out a new season of enticing variety, from early music innovators to contemporary composers inspired by the findings of science. continue
James Robinson: Seattle Opera’s new General and Artistic Director
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’sChampion 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.”
My preview of Seattle Opera’s world premiere of Jubilee, created and directed by the extraordinary Tazewell Thompson, has been posted at Opera Now. Jubilee will run on 12-26 October 2024 at McCaw Hall in Seattle.
In 1903, in his classic The Souls of Black Folk, the influential sociologist and activist W E B Du Bois famously declared that the African American spiritual ‘stands today not simply as the sole American music, but as the most beautiful expression of human experience born this side of the seas’. Du Bois singled out a group of performers for their role in bringing widespread attention to this legacy: ‘The Fisk Jubilee Singers sang the slave songs so deeply into the world’s heart that it can never wholly forget them again’…. continue
Conductor Valentina Peleggi will conduct Seattle Opera’s upcoming “The Barber of Seville.” (Chris Beasley)
The young Italian conductor Valentina Peleggi make her Seattle Opera debut this weekend in a revival of Lindy Hume’s popular production of The Barber of Seville, running through 19 May. In advance of the opening, I wrote a profile of Peleggi for the Seattle Times:
No matter how many times you’ve seen “The Barber of Seville” — let alone heard the hit tune that Figaro, the title character, sings as his first entrance — you can expect fresh insights into this well-known score under Valentina Peleggi’s baton….
MEMETERIA by Thomas May 