Seattle Opera announces 2021/22 season

A return to live, in-person performances

Photo courtesy of Opera Omaha

Seattle Opera presents La bohème, Orpheus and Eurydice, Blue, The Marriage of Figaro, plus a special recital by Lawrence Brownlee. Performances will take place at The Opera Center and McCaw Hall. For more information, go to seattleopera.org.

After more than a year without live, in-person performances due to COVID-19, Seattle Opera will officially return to the theater this fall with its 2021/22 Season. Offerings include immortal favorites (La bohème, The Marriage of Figaro), historic works with a modern twist (Orpheus and Eurydice), plus an award-winning piece speaking to racial injustice in America (Blue). It will take years for Seattle Opera—and the arts sector as a whole—to recover from the pandemic’s economic impact. Feeling the presence and excitement of live performance is one way that the healing can begin, said General Director Christina Scheppelmann.

“The theater, where music, storytelling, lights, performers, and audiences meet, is a space of magic and impact,” Scheppelmann said. “This past year has been difficult and challenging on so many levels. As we process all that we’ve been through, we can come here to enjoy ourselves. We can rediscover the positive moment and outlook we are seeking. Through opera, we can reconnect with our deepest emotions and our shared humanity."

Larry Brownlee being awesome

5 things happening in the opera world...

Larry Brownlee is doing awesome things
If you're an opera lover, (or even if you're not), you probably know that the great bel canto tenor Lawrence Brownlee is one-of-a-kind. He sang his "highflying arias with an ease, purity and polish that could hardly be bettered" as the lovestruck Tonio in our 2013 Daughter of the Regiment, for example. (Off the stage, he's also a wonderful friend, husband and father)

Next up for Mr. Brownlee -- he'll be performing in Rossini’s La donna del Lago at The Met with Grammy Award Winner Joyce DiDonato. In addition to being two of the world's finest singers, these two are also totally buddies. He's referred to her as his "sister of the opera business," which we think is pretty darn cute. 

Luckily, Seattleites don't have to buy a plane ticket to hear these two opera buddies sing next. Tune in to KING FM on 12/19 to listen to a broadcast of the matinee performance.

But wait -- there's more! In addition to starring at The Met, Brownlee recently gave a concert in Harlem in the crypt of the Church of the Intercession. With pianist Damien Sneed, Brownlee performed some of the traditional spirituals (in Sneed’s arrangements) released on his 2013 album. The crypt performance was one of a new series known as The Crypt Sessions. (A little spooky, yet very cool!).

An important opera leader is stepping down
Like Larry Brownlee, The Royal Opera's director Kasper Bech Holten is also a devoted dad. This is why he's stepping down from his position in 2017. Holten said that when he joined the Royal Opera he and his partner had no children. “Now we do, and after much soul searching we have decided that we want to be closer to our families and inevitably that means we make Copenhagen our home, where the children will grow up and go to school.”

Many of you in the music and theater world know how difficult it is to balance your art with family.

Kasper Bech Holton has been Director of the ROH since 2011. 

A treasured diva stars in Rigoletto
The opera-goers of Warsaw, Poland are in for a treat: Rigoletto opens tonight at Teatr Wielki, starring the great Aleksandra Kurzak. When Kurzak starred in our Lucia di Lammermoor in 2010, we asked her:

People in our audiences and on our website have been comparing Callas and Sutherland and Sills, among other Lucias. Do you have strong feelings about any of those performances? Did any of them influence yours?

The singer replied:

"I've heard all of them, but I don't like to compare myself with anybody. I always like to find my own character, and it was like that this time, as well."

Clearly, this approach paid off -- as her performance is still legend among Seattle Opera staff, Board members, audience members and critics. The Seattle Times for one wrote, "...But it was Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak, making her company and role debut as Lucia, that set the theater alight both vocally and dramatically. She made me believe she really was Lucia."

Polish opera singer Aleksandra Kurzak. 

Here’s Kurzak singing Lucia’s mad scene in Seattle. (Do you have a favorite opera mad scene? You should weigh in here).



Also, in the Rigoletto production, Kurzak will be singing under the baton of Carlo Montanaro, music director at the Polish National Opera. Montanaro conducted a fantastic Nabucco for us last summer and returns in February for Mary Stuart.

We wish a Amahl a Merry Christmas!
It’s that time of year, isn’t it? Just swing by McCaw Hall, where PNB’s new production of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker is pleasing Seattle’s arts lovers.

Snow scene from PNB's new Nutcracker. 

In the opera world, we don't have a Nutcracker. However, we do have Amahl and the Night Visitors--a one-act opera that's no doubt being performed on many a stage across America this month.

The story is: One night in Judea, a disabled shepherd boy-turned-beggar and his mother are visited by three strangers. They are the Three Kings, and they are on their way to Bethlehem to visit the Christ Child, who has just been born.

Amahl and the Night Visitors. 

Amahl was composed by Gian Carlo Menotti (remember The Consul?) with an original English libretto written with children in mind.  It was the first opera specifically composed for television in America.

Mary Elizabeth Williams sings Abigaille’s aria, posted by her agency Do you and your family have a favorite holiday performance tradition? 

A History of Don Giovanni at Seattle Opera

Don Giovanni is an opera of infinite possibilities. It’s what scholars call an ‘open’ work, meaning open to interpretation; unlike, say, La bohème, the creators of Don Giovanni didn’t go about to create an opera with a fixed and focused message. Instead, they asked a lot of questions, which is why we like to present varying interpretations of open works like Don Giovanni, or Hamlet, or Wagner’s Ring. Engaging with these works is a great way to learn about ourselves—what we think, what we feel, what we believe. We’ll never finish ‘climbing the mountain’ with these rich masterpieces of theater. But when we put them on, we make a valiant effort to get up above the treeline and enjoy—not THE definitive view, but A possible view.

This fall, Seattle Opera presents its 8th production of Don Giovanni in 50 years. We’ve had charming Dons, sinister Dons, Dons both young and innocent and those more knowing or mature. We once had a Don who was a vicious murderer, while in other productions he’s been an okay guy with bad luck. And just as this wonderfully complicated central character has varied, so too have all the others; we’ve had milquetoast Ottavios and heroic Ottavios, crazily obsessive Elviras and noble, do-gooder Elviras, clownish, foolish Leporellos and classy, wise Leporellos.

We now have photos from all 8 Seattle Opera Don Giovanni productions posted on our historical mini-site, seattleopera50.com; here, click the header above each photo to explore those productions in more detail.

1968 Don Giovanni

Gabriel Bacquier as Don Giovanni
Des Gates, photo

The elegant French baritone Gabriel Bacquier was Seattle Opera’s first Don Giovanni. The production, which concluded the company’s fourth full season in Spring 1968, featured the second Seattle Opera appearance of Dame Joan Sutherland (Donna Anna), who had made her debut as Lakmé the year before. Sutherland’s husband, Richard Bonynge, conducted, and her favorite mezzo, Huguette Tourangeau, sang Zerlina.

1979 Don Giovanni

When they come for Don Giovanni at the end of Act One, Sherrill Milnes made a daring escape, swinging across his ballroom from a chandelier.
Chris Bennion, photo

One of America’s leading Verdi baritones in recent decades, Milnes first sang in Seattle in 1966 (Count di Luna). He returned to sing Mozart’s bad boy in a winter 1979 production infamous because an ongoing strike at Seattle Symphony meant there was no orchestra. Instead, Music and Education Director Henry Holt played the piano (and another pianist played the harpsichord; a choirster with a mandolin accompanied Giovanni’s serenade). Glynn Ross, Seattle Opera’s first General Director, recalled the audience reaction:

“I went out to the lobby to meet the audience thinking there would be some who would expect a refund for no orchestra. Instead, I had the surprise of my life as the enthusiastic audience lined up to crunch my hand in congratulations and the ladies smeared my cheeks with kisses. Why? Was it an anti-union audience? Not at all. They had had a whole new experience. The singers, exposed without orchestra, really delivered an ensemble performance and this singing defined the genius of Mozart to the audience in a whole new way. They had heard every nuance, every phrasing, every accent; it was a new experience.”

[Excerpt from Glynn Ross’s memoirs published in 50 Years of Seattle Opera]

1991 Don Giovanni

Gary Smith, photo

Certainly one of the most controversial productions in Seattle Opera history, Speight Jenkins’ first presentation of this masterpiece polarized the public. Some lamented the absence of fantasy and romance in Christopher Alden’s production; others applauded a thrilling piece of theater. The Don was Seattle’s favorite baritone from 1984 to 1994, Dale Duesing, who never left the stage. Sheri Greenawald gave a powerful performance as Donna Anna, and Gabor Andrasy, a regular baddie in Seattle Opera’s Ring in those days, thrilled as her father.

1999 Don Giovanni

Kurt Streit (Don Ottavio) threatens Giovanni, while demons lurk.
Gary Smith, photo

A few years later, Speight Jenkins presented Don Giovanni again—this time, set in a dark fantasy of eighteenth-century Spain. Flying Goya-esque monsters and sudden bursts of flame contributed to the dark atmosphere, as did the vile Don Giovanni of Jason Howard. With this production, Christine Goerke made her Seattle Opera debut as Donna Elvira. Husband-and-wife team of Sally Wolf and Kevin Langan joined the ensemble as Donna Anna and Leporello.

2000 Young Artists Program Don Giovanni

A young Morgan Smith as the Don.
Gary Smith, photo

The Young Artists Program took on Mozart’s ambitious dramedy in its third season. The two Don Giovannis, Morgan Smith and David Adam Moore, have both gone on to great success on the mainstage, as have Mary Elizabeth Williams (the Elvira) and Lawrence Brownlee (the Ottavio). Williams, who returns in January as Tosca, won Artist of the Year for her 2011 performance as Serena in Porgy and Bess. Brownlee, who won Artist of the Year in 2008 for Arturo in I puritani, now sings Don Ottavio in our current production—taking on this important role for the first time in his professional career.

2007 Don Giovanni

Marius Kwiecien (Giovanni) feeds Ailish Tynan (Zerlina) while Kevin Burdette (Masetto) fumes.
Rozarii Lynch, photo

The production we’re giving this fall, conceived by director Chris Alexander with costume designer Marie-Therese Cramer and set designer Robert Dahlstrom, first came to our stage in 2007. You can hear audio clips from that performance, conducted by Andreas Mitisek, on SoundCloud. Polish baritone Marius Kwiecien won Artist of the Year for his powerful Don Giovanni, and the intriguing production made Speight Jenkins’ list of his all-time favorites among the many operas he produced.

2011 Young Artists Program Don Giovanni

Jaqueline Bezek (Zerlina) and Erik Anstine (Leporello)
Rozarii Lynch, photo

Most recently, Seattle Opera’s Young Artists Production gave us a Fellini-esque Don Giovanni set in a 1950s Mediterranean world. Erik Anstine, who sang Leporello, now takes the role to the mainstage in the current production. In that YAP production, he (with Jacqueline Bezek as Zerlina) sang the oft-ommitted duet, “Per queste tue manine,” in which Zerlina, like Turandot, threatens to avenge the entire feminine gender by attacking Leporello. (He manages to escape; it’s an odd and amusing scene, but usually it’s cut because Mozart added it as an afterthought, the music isn’t particularly distinguished, and Don Giovanni is already a full-length opera!)

Mozart's Bad Boy Headed to McCaw Hall

The motorcycle that Nicolas Cavallier/Mark Walters will ride as the title character in Don Giovanni which plays at Seattle Opera Oct. 18 - Nov. 1. Motorcycle provided by Moto International Seattle.  

This fall, one of the most popular operas of all time is heading to Seattle. Here's a hint: The hashtag we're using to talk about the show is #MozartsBadBoy! Yes, that's right. Don Giovanni's the name; sweet sin is his favorite game!

With glorious music, Don Giovanni tells a cautionary tale of an insatiable skirt-chaser who must pay the price for his misdeeds. Seattle Opera's production was praised when first presented in 2007. The Everett Herald wrote: “Seattle’s production pulses with scenic delights and compelling staging that never drags. It’s a big story to tell: Don Juan seduces and worse, even murders, without remorse....In this production, it’s a great ride.”

Aidan Lang, our new General Director in more than three decades, said people have been coming back to this work since its 1787 premiere. Why? The genius of Mozart’s compelling characters, for one:

“Mozart gives us a tug-of-war between thought and feeling, right brain and left brain. Logic tells us we should condemn the character of the Don outright. But then our emotions kick in. We cannot help but be charmed, or even seduced by him. We reluctantly admire his unflinching adherence to his worldview, which celebrates free will even in the face of death.”

Stage director (and three-time Seattle Opera Artist of the Year award winner) Chris Alexander also thinks there's more to the Don than simply being bad. Alexander is excited to show the character as dynamic, as monstrously charming (or a charming monster). Joining Alexander on Giovanni's artistic team is the one-and-only Gary Thor Wedow, known for his "authoritative musical leadership” and “vibrant conducting” according to The Seattle Times. Alexander's most recent work at McCaw Hall includes The Tales of Hoffmann (2014). Recently, Wedow has led compelling performances of The Magic Flute (2011) and Orpheus and Eurydice (2012).  

Mariusz Kwiecien (Don Giovanni) in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, 2007. Rozarii Lynch photo

In the title role, the production stars French bass, Nicolas Cavallier, who thrilled Seattle audiences in the May 2014 production of The Tales of Hoffmann with performances that were “urbane,” “smooth,” and “richly sung,” according to Opera News. Indeed, The Seattle Times called his portrayal of Hoffmann’s Villains, a “quadruple-threat”; he sang strongly and dominated each with a “particular brand of menace.”

 

Nicolas Cavallier played The Villians in the 2014 production, The Tales of Hoffmann. Elise Bakketun photo

Lawrence Brownlee returns to Seattle to sing Don Ottavio for the first time in his professional career. The Seattle Times said the Seattle Opera Young Artist graduate was “at the international top of his form” when he sang Tonio in Daughter of the Regiment a year ago, in October 2013. The newspaper added: “[Brownlee] sings his highflying arias with an ease, purity and polish that could hardly be bettered."

Lawrence Brownlee (right) pictured with Sarah Coburn in Daughter of the Regiment (2013).
Elise Bakketun photo 

Cuban soprano Elizabeth Caballero returns to McCaw Hall for the role of Donna Elvira following her performance as Mimì in La bohéme in February 2013. “As Mimì, Elizabeth Caballero was far and away the best singer in the cast, her voice swelling gracefully over every note, light but powerful, precise but full,” wrote City Arts Magazine. Soprano Christine Brandes will sing Donna Elvira in the alternate cast. Previous Seattle appearances for Brandes include Pamina in The Magic Flute and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro.

Elizabeth Caballero as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, 2009. Rozarii Lynch, photo.

Making her Seattle Opera debut is Canadian soprano Erin Wall as Donna Anna—whose portrayal of this part has been called “exceptional” by the Vancouver Observer. Also making debuts in Seattle are several American artists: baritone Mark Walters (alternate cast Don Giovanni), soprano Alexandra LoBianco (alternate cast Donna Anna), tenor Randall Bills (alternate cast Don Ottavio) and Evan Boyer (Masetto).

Don Giovanni also features Cecelia Hall as Zerlina and Jordan Bisch as the Commendatore. Erik Anstine returns as Leporello, a role he sang to praise from The Seattle Times in 2011 as a Seattle Opera Young Artist. Ashraf Sewailam returns as Don Giovanni’s manservant in the alternate cast.

Marie-Therese Cramer’s chic costume designs incorporate both 18th century and modern-day fashions, and sets by Robert Dahlstrom were lauded as “the most persuasive and imaginative of his career” by The Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 2007.

Don Giovanni in 2007. Rozarii Lynch, photo.

Production Sponsor: Maryanne Tagney and David Jones

The 2014/15 Season in honor of Speight Jenkins

Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, Seattle, Washington
7 performances: Oct. 18, 19 (matinee), 22, 25, 29, 31 and Nov. 1
Approximate Running Time: 3 hours and 20 minutes with one intermission
Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., matinee at 2:00 p.m.

For more information, go to seattleopera.org.

Brownlee CD Signing Before Sunday Performance

LAWRENCE BROWNLEE will sign copies of his new cd, "Spiritual Sketches," outside McCaw Hall’s Amusements Gift Shop on Sunday, 10/20, from 1:30 to 2 pm.

Mr. Brownlee will sing one of these spirituals when he appears on "New Day NW" on Monday 10/21. If you'd like to be in the live studio audience for this television show, you'll need to be in the studio (at 333 Dexter Ave N. in Seattle)by 9:30 a.m. The taping will end about 11:30. Learn more at NEW DAY NW, or email newdaytickets@king5.com.

Meet Our Singers: LAWRENCE BROWNLEE, Tonio

Superstar tenor Lawrence Brownlee is a great friend of Seattle Opera. One of the most accomplished alumni of Seattle Opera’s Young Artists Program, this amazing singer is in demand the world over, wherever bel canto is performed. We’ve had the great good fortune in Seattle to hear him in operas by all three of the great bel canto composers: Rossini (L’italiana in Algeri and Il barbiere di Siviglia), Bellini (I puritani), and Donizetti (Don Pasquale and now La fille du régiment.) We checked in the other day and chatted about this particular role, about his relationship with fellow Seattle Opera YAP Alum and co-star Sarah Coburn (the daughter of our regiment), and about the future of the Young Artists Program.

Lawrence Brownlee singing "Pour me rapprocher"

Thanks for joining me today, Larry! Let’s talk about high notes. Should we be impressed by anyone who has the ability to sing 9 high Cs in a row?
Ok, now, I’ve done this aria, “Ah, mes amis,” for many years, and yes, people are fascinated by the fact that there are 9 high Cs. But I actually sing roles with more than that in a single aria—I think Le Comte Ory has 11 in one aria, and Zelmira has several high Ds. But people know this one, and it can be impressive; but the more difficult aria is the second act aria, “Pour me rapprocher de Marie,” which has a high C# and which has challenges of line, legato phrasing, breath control, all those things.

Sarah Coburn and Lawrence Brownlee at Daughter of the Regiment rehearsal
Alan Alabastro, photo

That second act aria, that’s the one that’s going to make you cry. Or at least it should, as opposed to “Ah, mes amis,” which is just a guy who’s all “Woo-hoo! I’m happy, happy, happy!”
Right, he’s exuberant. But the thing is, if you have a high C in your voice, the way that aria is written, it’s not such a difficult feat. With “Pour me rapprocher,” it is difficult really to SAY something.

Lawrence Brownlee at Daughter of the Regiment rehearsal
Alan Alabastro, photo

What does it feel like, to nail “Ah, mes amis?” You must have that moment of: “All right! I did it!”
You pace yourself from the beginning so you can build up to that moment, because you know that a lot of people who are coming to Daughter of the Regiment are coming to hear whether the tenor can sing the 9 high Cs. So you want to try and deliver something that’s exciting and full of energy. You have to have a cool head and a warm heart, and hopefully it comes off without a hitch.

Lawrence Brownlee (Almaviva), Sarah Coburn (Rosina), and David Hogan (Ambrogio) in The Barber of Seville, 2011
Alan Alabastro, photo

The last time you sang for us, you were Rossini’s Count Almaviva—masquerading as a poor student, a drunken soldier, a conniving music teacher, and finally revealed to be a haughty nobleman. Tonio is a much, much simpler character. How do you make him three-dimensional?
This character can come off as a bit of a buffoon. I just try to make him sincere. He really is in love—if you think of what he does, the great lengths to which he goes—he joins an army, and not even his own army, all for a girl. Think about that. Patriotism, love for your own country, is so important...and yet because she’s made this promise that she wouldn’t marry anyone that wasn’t a part of the regiment, he sacrifices all that stuff to be close to her. And the tragedy is that when he does that, the minute he says to Sulpice and the regiment, “You have to let me marry her,” he’s told that she has to leave. So you make him feel those emotions sincerely: the excitement and the loss.

That’s so interesting how he switches national allegiance—in our production he’s a French guy who becomes an American soldier...
That’s right, you renounce who you are, in order to be with this girl. It’s that important to him. He’s not a coward. He’s come to this camp, in the beginning, he’s all alone; they think he’s a spy. But he’s not hiding anything. In fact he blurts out, “I love you! I came here to be close to you!”

How often have you played this role?
I think I’ve done it 6 or 7 times. I’ve done the Laurent Pelly production at the Met a few times, set in World War I; I’ve done it in Hamburg, in Cincinnati...

Have you and Sarah Coburn sung this together before?
No. This is the first time we’ve done Daughter of the Regiment.

Alex Hajek (Sulpice), Sarah Coburn (Marie), and Lawrence Brownlee (Tonio) rehearse Daughter of the Regiment
Alan Alabastro, photo

But you’ve done other operas with her, such as Barber of Seville here in 2011. And you go way back with her. Casting back, if you can, to 2002 in Seattle Opera’s Young Artists Program...how are you both different?
Ah, but I actually met her in 2001. We met at the Met Auditions that year, we were both two of the ten finalists. How have we changed? We’ve grown. It’s wonderful to watch her grow as an artist. She knows I’m a great fan of her singing. And her career is going very well, she’s worked with important people at all the right places. And I think she is a great musician. We have a very close relationship, we’re regularly in touch, talking about things, from parenthood to politics. I’d like to think that she treats me as a bit of a big brother, even though I’m not!

And have you also learned about yourself, watching your own growth and career reflected in Sarah?
I think so. The more you respect someone, the more you realize what you’re doing yourself. That respect or admiration says something about what you offer as a singer.

Now as you know, Seattle Opera was happy to announce that we balanced our budget last season; but one of the keys to fiscal stability has been this hiatus for our Young Artists Program. What advice do you have to the new General Director, in terms of the next step with that on-hiatus program?
As a former Young Artist, I find that the program is of course extremely close to my heart. I came here in the fall of 2000, and the relationships I made in the program have been so important to me—with Speight, with Perry Lorenzo, Kathy Magiera, Dean Williamson, Chuck Hudson, and so many other people. Some of the people have changed, but a lot of them are still here, which says a lot about the culture of Seattle Opera. And this Young Artists Program has done a lot to launch many people’s careers, people who are now working around the world. It’s sad to see it go. It’s part of a vision for the future of our art form, so I certainly hope that’s still part of what Seattle Opera does.

Lawrence Brownlee (Lindoro) in The Italian Girl in Algiers, 2006
Rozarii Lynch, photo

When you were in the program, in 00/01 and 01/02, the big production was always over in Bellevue. In the last few years, that switched to giving Young Artists more opportunities on the mainstage.
Yes, like when we did Barber of Seville two years ago, and Daniel Scofield was Fiorello and Adrian Rosas was the Sergeant. Having traveled to lots of companies with Young Artists Programs, yes, people do that all the time. Andrew Stenson, who’s doing the other performances of Tonio here, is a Young Artist at the Met right now, and is singing roles at the Met. They trust these people, and invest in them—with the best stage directors and conductors, on one of the best stages in the world. It’s a mark of the faith they have in these young singers, that they can put them in front of the public. I think that opportunity is necessary, to attract the highest caliber young singers. I certainly gained enormously from having such opportunities, as a Young Artist.

Norah Amsellem (Elvira) and Lawrence Brownlee (Arturo) in I puritani, 2008

Is Daughter of the Regiment a good opera for kids?
I think it’s a great opera for anybody. It’s something people can easily follow; it’s light enough, you’re not going to go home depressed. This is an opera where you can go away humming the tunes. The costumes and dancing and chorus and everything that’s going on is captivating, and I think people will say, “That wasn’t fluff—that was good, clean, honest fun.”

Have your kids heard any of this opera?
My kids are very little; my son is 3, and my daughter is not yet 2. But we played a clip of this opera for my son, a little video of me singing the high Cs in Berlin. He was fixated on it, and—we have a video of his reaction, too, it’s really cute—he turns to my wife and nods his head, as if to say, “That was okay. I approve!”