Seattle Opera Unveils Virtual Fall Season

Ariadne auf Naxos ('15). Elise Bakketun photo

Everyone can enjoy opera with free online recitals, classes, and programming 

Like all arts and cultural groups this year, Seattle Opera has faced the pain of cancelled performances and setbacks due to COVID-19. And yet, the company is ramping up efforts to make the arts more accessible, finding new opportunities to bring music, storytelling, and performance for all during the global pandemic. As Songs of Summer, a free, 15-performance recital series concludes this week, Seattle Opera unveils its Fall Season. With a variety of free performances and programming to enjoy at home, the Fall Season was created with both artistic innovation—and public safety—in mind, said General Director Christina Scheppelmann.

“We hope to entertain you, bring you quality singing and music to lift your spirits,” Scheppelmann said. “It’s disappointing that we cannot offer productions the way we had promised in January. However, ceasing to present opera was not an option. Seattle Opera deeply values creating and sharing art that heals and entertains. So, we’re not closing our doors; we’re producing new musical experiences for you that employ artists safely.”

Seattle Opera presents Creation Lab

Sean Airhart photo

Seattle Opera cultivates musical storytelling in Washington State; Creation Lab brings diverse new stories to opera 

Seattle Opera is announcing a new initiative to help cultivate and develop the next generation of opera composers and librettists in Washington State. Creation Lab seeks 16 emerging composers and writers of all genres to give way to the creation of short operatic pieces, which will be performed during the 2020/21 Season.

General Director Christina Scheppelmann says new operas are crucial to amplifying Seattle Opera’s impact locally and nationally.

“Creation Lab will help to bring diverse stories and perspectives to our art form, and to the operatic repertoire at large,” Scheppelmann said. “We’re looking for young musical artists in our region who want to gain experience in creating compelling, resonant narratives told through music and singing. A specific opera background is not required.”

Crescendo for Racial Justice in Opera

Mary Elizabeth Williams (Tosca). Elise Bakketun photo

Seattle Opera presents online discussion ‘Crescendo for Racial Justice in Opera’ from noon-1:30 p.m. August 19, 2020. Online webinar via Zoom 

The global pandemic has created a setback for arts groups across the Pacific Northwest. But despite challenges, Seattle Opera is using this moment as an opportunity to create equity in their art form through its next Community Conversation: Crescendo for Racial Justice in Opera. Black, Asian, and Latinx opera professionals will come together to reflect on this moment in time, and envision a future for this 400-year-old art form which—while beloved all over the world—often contains dated or racist stereotypes. Can great works of the operatic canon like Madame Butterfly, Tosca, and Aida be vessels of liberation and representation for People of Color? How should opera change in the wake of COVID-19 shutdowns and the Black Lives Matter protests? Speakers will explore these question and more on August 19.