New Podcast: A Buddhist Perspective on Tristan and Isolde

Mary Elizabeth Williams (Isolde) in Tristan and Isolde. © Sunny Martini

Seattle Opera subscriber Dr. Chris Rebholz, a practicing Buddhist, discusses Wagner’s Tristan with Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean. Fascinated by Buddhism when he wrote Tristan and Isolde, Wagner created an opera all about compassion, karma, desire, enlightenment, and the difficulty of reconciling both conventional and ultimate reality (aka “Day vs. Night”). Dr. Rebholz teaches adult classes on Buddhism at Seattle’s Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism. A clinical and forensic psychologist, in private practice, who specializes in evaluating neurodiverse adults for healthcare and the courts, she teaches corporate seminars on neurodiversity as well as continuing legal education on issues of mental health and the law.

Seattle Opera · A Buddhist Perspective on TRISTAN & ISOLDE

 

Converge Media's TraeAnna Holiday on storytelling, accessibility, and learning to love opera

TraeAnna Holiday is an Emmy Award-winning artist, activist, and community leader. She is a founding member and media director of King County Equity Now, an advocacy and policy non-profit committed to realizing measurable markers of equity for Washington’s Black community. Weekday mornings at 11am she hosts The Day with Trae on Converge Media, where she aims to highlight Black brilliance from across the Puget Sound. TraeAnna recently sat down with Seattle Opera to discuss her newfound love of opera and the ways the industry can make itself more accessible to the Black community.

New Podcast: MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS Discusses Isolde

American soprano Mary Elizabeth Williams, beloved in Seattle for performances such as Tosca, Abigaille in Nabucco, and Serena in Porgy and Bess, just made her role debut as Isolde, the first time she’s ever sung a Wagner opera. She discussed the character, the singing, and her two-and-a-half year journey towards this achievement with Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean. This podcast features clips of Williams singing Tosca (conducted by Julian Kovatchev) and “Pace, pace, mio Dio” from La forza del destino (conducted by Carlo Montanaro), as well as Amber Wagner singing Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde (conducted by Jordan de Souza).

Mary Elizabeth Williams rehearsing Tristan und Isolde with Stefan Vinke. © Sunny Martini