Top 10 most recognizable opera pieces used in film

You probably know more opera music than you think you do. If you like to watch TV or go to the movies, you’ve undoubtedly heard music from operas used in ways the original composers could never have even imagined. We’ve raided the Seattle Opera archives to put together a playlist featuring some of opera’s greatest hits—tunes you may already know because you’ve heard them in the cinema.

#1: From Apocalypse Now: Ride of the Valkyries (Die Walküre)

Francis Ford Coppola used the “Ride of the Valkyries,” famous music from the second opera of the Ring cycle, not for Wagner’s Norse goddesses of death but for American helicopters dealing out death from above in Vietnam in Apocalypse Now. It made for a brilliant, chilling moment—opera music used not just for emotional effect but as part of a film’s story.

Sung by Wendy Bryn Harmer, Jessica Klein, Suzanne Hendrix, Luretta Bybee, Tamara Mancini, Sarah Heltzel, Renée Tatum, and Cecelia Hall, with the Seattle Opera Orchestra conducted by Asher Fisch.

Staff Chat with Crafts Supervisor LIA SURPRENANT

As the Costume Shop’s Crafts Supervisor, Lia Surprenant, more than per­haps anyone else at the company, knows how bloody the opera business can be. All of the countless opera singers who have been imprisoned, tor­tured, or wounded in the dramas enacted on Seattle Opera’s stage in the past nine years have worn a costume with Surprenant’s signature artistry.

You are the “crafts supervisor” in Seattle Opera’s Costume Shop. What falls under the category of “crafts”?
Crafts are everything you wouldn’t consider to be a standard cloth­ing item—jewelry, shoes, glasses, armor, hats, sometimes baldrics. Accessories, that sort of thing. And then I do all of the dyeing for the shop, unless we’re doing more than a 100-yard parcel, which we sometimes send out to dye in New York.

When we think about Lucia, we think of the iconic bloody dress. We don’t think about the person behind the scenes who has to clean that dress and make it bright white for the next performance. Are you that person? What goes into that?
Wardrobe cleans the dress each night, but I’m the person who figures out what type of blood to use and what solution we can use to remove it. Blood, honestly, is really difficult. With something like this show, where it’s a white dress that becomes bloodied and has to become white again, it’s a special challenge. You have to be careful of what kind of fabric you use. Generally speaking you can’t use silk—which is what we use for most of our costumes because it’s especially beauti­ful—because the washable bloods still stain it. Usually polyester is a good choice for fabric because almost nothing can stain polyester, but it doesn’t have that rich look that something like a silk or a wool or a cotton might have. I do a lot of testing and experimentation. Susan [Davis, Costume Shop Manager,] will usually give me several samples of fabric, and I’ll try different types of blood on different types of fabric and wash it out in different ways.

What are some “different types of blood”?
Right now our favorite kind of blood is Nick Dudman Blood, which we affectionately call “Harry Potter” blood. It’s what they used in the movie. It’s a very realistic color and it works really well. We’ve also gotten another new type of blood that we haven’t tried yet. It’s called ICU Blood.

ICU Blood?!
I should point out that most of the time when we do blood we do a permanent painted blood or a fabric patch blood. This is for somebody coming onstage already having been wounded, and it’s part of their permanent costume. That’s also challenging because directors always want that super shiny, bright fresh blood look and that’s really hard to do. It doesn’t really look like that when you get onstage under the lights, so we add things like super-fine glitter to the blood, or we’ll use silicone windshield sealant to make it shiny and wet.

Is there any carryover? Tricks of the trade that you find helpful in real life?
The best way to get blood out of a garment, if it’s a small quantity of your own blood, is to spit on it because there are enzymes in your saliva that take out your own blood.

You might be the only person I know who could dare to have a white rug and a white couch in her home.
I have too many ani­mals for that.

Aside from dyes and blood, what else do you do with costumes?
We also do a lot of distressing, which is prematurely aging a costume through physical means—sanding, using a bench grinder to grind the fabric, rasping it with rasp tools to make it look worn and shredded and then using paints to make it look dirty. There is at least one show every season where we have to age something so that it looks like the performer/character has been beaten up, tortured, or held prisoner.

Sounds like you’re seeing our singers at their worst.
We actually do see perform­ers at their most vulnerable, when they’re undressed, when they’re exposed emotion­ally as well as physically. We have to be very careful because we don’t want them to be uncomfortable. We want them to love what we’re making for them and feel that character coming out, so it’s kind of a tricky balance. I’m a shy person, and it’s difficult for me to invade someone’s personal space, but you have to do it some­times—get right up to them and do stuff on their bodies—and it can be very difficult.

Have you always worked in costume design for theater?
I’ve done a horror movie.

Of course!
It was called Night of the Beast. It was terrible; I don’t even know that it got released. All I know is that I worked on it and I never got paid.

-Jessica Murphy
Photos by Rozarii Lynch
This Staff Chat first appeared in Seattle Opera’s program for Lucia di Lammermoor in October 2010.

Seattle Opera's 2010/2011 Artists of the Year

Last week at Seattle Opera’s Annual Meeting, Speight Jenkins announced the winners of the company's 2010/2011 Artists of the Year awards: soprano Aleksandra Kurzak and costume designer Zandra Rhodes. Both of these artists made their Seattle Opera debuts last season, and both made memorable impacts on their respective productions.

As Lucia in the October 2010 production of Lucia di Lammermoor (see left; photo by Rozarii Lynch), Polish soprano Kurzak blew audiences away and earned rave reviews from critics, who called her “a determined young woman of considerable talent,” and said she “set the theater alight both vocally and dramatically.”

Said Jenkins: "Aleksandra Kurzak gave us one of the great Lucias of my life, vocally and dramatically. She suggested Lucia's condition and both acted and sang her madness with unforgettable panache."


If you missed Kurzak as Lucia, check out the trailer for last season’s production to get a glimpse of her in action:




Our other Artist of the Year recipient, Zandra Rhodes (pictured here at Neiman Marcus in Bellevue; photo by Alan Alabastro), made her company debut as costume designer for the season-closing production of The Magic Flute in May.

Rhodes is a noted fashion designer whose creations have been flaunted by royalty, Hollywood celebrities, and Vogue, and who only recently began designing for the stage. Her incomparable style, which makes use of vivid colors and textures, has been stunningly upheld in her transition from couture to costumes.

"[She] opened her imagination to create the most extraordinarily fanciful costumes for The Magic Flute," said Jenkins. "Their greatest virtue was that no matter how exotic or colorful, they never overwhelmed the musical and dramatic realization of the different characters."

Just a few of Zandra Rhodes' costumes for The Magic Flute. (Pictured center: John Tessier as Tamino.) For more photos, visit the production and costume photo albums on our Facebook page.
Photo by Rozarii Lynch

About the Artists of the Year Awards:

In 1991, Seattle Opera's Artist of the Year award was created to honor the individual singer, conductor, director, or designer who had made the most significant contribution to the success of the season. At the conclusion of the 2003/04 season, Seattle Opera began honoring two Artists of the Year for each season: one a conductor, director, or designer; the other a singer. Participating in the selection process of Seattle Opera's Artists of the Year are members of Seattle Opera‟s Board of Trustees, Diamond Level and Platinum Circle donors, and staff, as well as selected members of the local press. This is the company‟s twenty-first annual selection of Artist of the Year.

Vote for Your Favorite Opera of 2010/11

It's been quite a year for us here at Seattle Opera! We heard operas in German, Italian, and French, and from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Now that 2010/2011 is in the books, it's time to poll you, our wonderful audience, on your favorite production of the season.

Are you a Wagner fan who will choose Tristan und Isolde, or did you prefer the elegance of Lucia di Lammermoor? Was it the comedy of The Barber of Seville or the magical world of The Magic Flute that won you over? Or perhaps it was Seattle Opera's first-ever Don Quixote that thrilled you most. Whichever your choice, we want to know--so cast your vote today!

SHARED EXPERIENCES: Neil Low

At the recent City Arts-sponsored Fireside Chat centering on Lucia di Lammermoor, we had the good fortune to meet Neil Low, a captain with the Seattle Police Department, and author, who has often dealt professionally with real-life incarnations of the violence and crime that Lucia makes into fiction and music. We're grateful to Neil for sharing his perspective on this show and story today.

"I am a 42-year Seattle Police veteran, and as a captain I have commanded the department’s Internal Affairs, Ethics, Advanced Training, Homicide and Violent Crimes, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, and now the Metropolitan Special Response sections. I have written three murder mysteries set in the Seattle of the 1940s, where I expose, rather than glamorize, corruption, murder, and the cruelty of reality, the latter two being themes Speight Jenkins and I addressed during our panel discussion on Myth, Absinthe, Murder, Insanity, and the Opera at the Sorrento Hotel on October 21st."

The Sorrento Hotel was an appropriately film noir-ish setting for a discussion of the madness and murder in Lucia.

"My published novels include: Thick as Thieves, Sign of the Dragon, and Unreasonable Persuasion. I also lead the Seattle Murder Mystery Tour through Pioneer Square when time, weather, and opportunity move me. Given the theme of my stories and the era I write about, I'm also a Romantic: a perfect candidate to fall in love with opera. I'm especially drawn to operas that share the compelling themes I know so well, such as family cruelty, domestic violence, and murder, which are central to Lucia. From my work and life experiences I understand murders, domestic violence, and the stressors that can contribute to violent acts and crimes of passion like those in this opera. What could be more entertaining for a writer than Lucia di Lammermoor?"

Speight Jenkins and Neil Low discuss Lucia over a glass of absinthe at the Sorrento.

"Lucia presents a straightforward murder, following Lucia’s compelled wedding to the seemingly well-meaning Arturo. It would not require a modern, well-equipped CSI team, armed with DNA swabs and luminal testing kits to study blood splatter patterns to determine the probable murder suspect in this scene. Lucia’s stunning performance as a fragile soul driven mad by her family’s self-serving manipulation should be sufficient evidence (res gestae) to prove her culpability, but of course Lucia’s defense council would be wise to argue against her guilt, claiming temporary insanity or non compos mentis. There were plenty of witnesses to her post-event behavior to substantiate that Lucia was not acting rationally.

The ensuing tragedy is that no one steps forward to help save Lucia from her madness, her grief, and herself, which is similarly the case for the very distraught Edgardo. Perhaps it was more convenient for the families if the two would-be lovers did the “honorable thing” and ended their desperate lives on their own. This climax is great for passion and great for the opera, but not great for two humans caught in a crisis."

Low and Jenkins.

"This was a marvelous opera, and my wife, my publisher, and I all had a memorable night that we will always cherish. My compliments to Speight Jenkins for this astonishing production. The highlights of the night were of course the arias of the entire cast, most notably Alesksandra Kurzak, William Burden, Arthur Woodley, and Andrew Stenson. I also caught myself saying, “Wow!” as the raising of the curtains revealed Robert Dahlstrom’s stunning set. Kudos also to the conductor Bruno Cinquerani for a flawless performance."

Neil Low is a captain with the Seattle Police Department and is currently the Commander of Advance Training. Other areas he has commanded include: Homicide and Violent Crimes, Internal Affairs, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Ethics and Professional Responsibility Section. He is a Vietnam veteran and a cum laude graduate of the University of Washington’s Bothell campus, where he also wrote for the school’s weekly newspaper, The UW Bothell Commons. A Seattle native, he now lives in Everett with his wife and three daughters.

Photos by Alan Alabastro.

SHARED EXPERIENCES: Laurie Skouge

Today, we hear from LAURIE SKOUGE: Software Systems Specialist at Seattle Opera by day, but at night (at least, these last few weeks) she's been putting on a dazzling nineteenth-century ball gown and appearing as a supernumerary in Lucia di Lammermoor. Laurie has been a supernumerary (a non-singing extra, sometimes known as a 'spear-carrier') at Seattle Opera for several shows now; here's her report on her adventures these last few weeks:

Being a Supernumerary may seem like a simple task. After all, it is the best part of being in an opera without singing. It is actually quite challenging, but not for the reasons you might think.

Yes, the hoop skirt is not the easiest thing to maneuver. It seems like a physical impossibility when my fellow super and I have to get ourselves up the spiral staircase with fans and champagne in hand in Act 2. After many trips (literally) up the stairs we have managed to make our way up to the top balcony with a certain amount of grace.

The hardest part of being a super for me is staying in character but not getting overly emotionally mired into the scene. When Edgardo busts into the party I can’t help but feel joy for Lucia. He has returned for her, (albeit a little too late) but I am supposed to look shocked that he is there...not happy that he has come for his true love. Or later, in Act 3 as Lucia is going insane, I am supposed to look on her with shock and disgust on my face as she sings the most beautiful, lilting high notes.

But it isn’t all hard work. Without giving away too much, let me share some insights from backstage:

Bill Burden is a superhero. I am convinced of it. The moment he walked in to our first rehearsal, with a smile on his face...I swear to you I saw a gleam shine from his teeth and heard a chime ring in my head.

The scuffling terror you see in the mad scene is real. These ladies fully immerse themselves in the character of Lucia. Each night their performances are a little different, so we never know when Lucia is going to get in our faces or come running across the stage. There have been a couple of times when the blood is flying and we are all trying to avoid getting hit.

One night in particular, our Lucia was gesticulating wildly with the knife in her hand and some blood had landed on one of the other Supers--right in the middle of his forehead. He turned to me and pointed out the drop of blood which by this time was running down his face. I had a very difficult time containing my laughter.



There are moments that are truly magical. Most often, those moments happen in the infamous “Mad Scene”. We see our Lucia at her most vulnerable and transparent. I can’t help but feel pity for the girl as she comes unhinged mentally after feeling that she has been deserted by everyone she loves. Add to that the beautiful music that both singers perform in awe-inspiring fashion: I find myself holding my breath at times it is so beautiful. I sense that we all, audience included, are completely entranced by the end of the mad scene because we have collectively witnessed something truly beautiful. I look forward to every performance knowing that I will get to share in a special moment again.

Photos by Rozarii Lynch

Happy Halloween from Your Bloody Friends at Seattle Opera

Here's a Halloween greeting from Seattle Opera, filmed at our ArtsCrush "How to Make Fake Blood" workshop last weekend, featuring Props Master Pete Olds. Video by Matt Holmes.

A Chat with Aleksandra Kurzak

Today we speak with Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak, who—along with Davinia Rodríguez—is performing her role debut as Lucia in Seattle Opera's Lucia di Lammermoor. Kurzak has received glowing reviews for her portrayal of a woman driven to madness, and we asked her what that experience has been like.

This is your first time performing Lucia. What has been the biggest challenge in learning the role? What have you enjoyed the most?
The biggest challenge has been all the memorizing, but I enjoyed the rehearsal time very much, and working with my great colleagues!

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?
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.

Lucia is a victim in the opera, but she does end up committing murder. Do you think she can be held responsible for her actions, or is it not her fault that she kills Arturo?
She is out of her mind, and I think she doesn't really know what she is doing.

Aleksandra Kurzak (Lucia) and William Burden (Edgardo) in Seattle Opera's Lucia di Lammermoor

You’ve done several comic operas in the past, and now you are performing a tragic role with one of opera’s most famous mad scenes. Do you have a preference? Would you rather do light, fun roles, or do you prefer more dramatic operas?
I like interesting roles. I’ve sung Gilda and Violetta, as well, so I haven’t done only light stuff. But Lucia is definitely a special one because of the mad scene, which I just love to play!

How did you rehearse the mad scene? You move all over the stage, lie down, tear at your veil and clothes, wave a knife at people. How difficult is it to coordinate all those moves with your singing? How much is fixed, and what changes each night?
This is not difficult at all for me, because it’s something that comes from inside me. Each time is a little bit different. I know the basic movements and when I have to be where, but director Tomer Zvulun gave me freedom to experiment. Because of that, I’ve heard from the people that the mad scene really keeps their attention, and never gets boring.

Aleksandra Kurzak (Lucia) in Seattle Opera's Lucia di Lammermoor

You and Davinia Rodríguez are both performing Lucia for the first time. Did you know each other before coming to Seattle? Do you share notes and ideas during the rehearsal process, or do you work separately from each other?
We knew each other, but we never worked with each other. I've sung with Davinia's husband, conductor Riccardo Frizza, a few times. Davinia and I have spent a lot of time together here in Seattle and have had fun and gone shopping, but we don’t talk about work.


Photos by Rozarii Lynch

A Chat with LUKE YUGAWA

I was backstage at a performance of Lucia the other day and got to chat with one of the younger people on the Lucia team, twelve year-old supernumerary Luke Yugawa (left, in circle). A “supernumerary” is a non-singing character performed, usually, by a volunteer; Seattle Opera is blessed to have dozens of people in our community eager to volunteer their time and theatrical talents to bear princesses on litters, carry corpses on biers, swell ranks of soldiers, run away from crossfire in a Vietnamese village, or any number of other things. In Lucia, Luke plays a young Lammermoor who greets Arturo Bucklaw, upon his entrance to the castle in Act Two Scene Two, and (with another young supernumerary) offers him flowers on his wedding-day.

Luke, how did you get involved in this production?
I did a lot of acting at Seattle Children’s Theatre and I have a lot of connections there. I think Paula [Podemski, Seattle Opera’s Production Coordinator] had a person who was going to play my role in this production, who backed out right before the rehearsals started. She contacted Seattle Children’s Theater, my mom saw the email, we printed it out and that day had the interview with Paula.

When might we have seen you at SCT?
Two summers ago I played a fawn in Through the Looking Glass; last summer I played Jeff in There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom.

And were you the boy in the girl’s bathroom?
I played the friend of this kid who got labeled a bully. It was about how he, sort of, changes into a better person because someone believes in him as a human being.

Let’s talk about Lucia. Where do we look for you in this opera?
I’m in Act Two Scene Two. We give Arturo flowers, as he comes down this staircase. I know it’s safe, but it shakes a little bit, and it’s hard to keep balance. It gets worse when Edgardo comes running through...that makes it shake more.

What’s your favorite part of the opera?
I really like the mad scene, with the flute.

Do you play an instrument?
Yeah, I play flute.

Have you tried to play the mad scene on your flute?
Never...I suppose I might be able to try.

How did you get started with the instrument?
My sister started playing violin when she was 3, and I’ve always been around a lot of musicians. I love the sound of the flute, and I really wanted to play it. I’ve been playing for about seven years.

Back to Lucia...what’s your least favorite part?
Ooo…that’s hard. I can’t think of any part that I don’t like. I like opera music, even when the story’s not that great.

Would you say this opera has a dumb story?
I wouldn’t say it has the best story...but for me, operas are really about music anyway.

Whose voice do you like the most?
I’d say the gold cast Edgardo, Bill Burden. His style, his voice, it’s different, it stands out from all the other people’s voices.

Do you have any advice for our characters? What would you like to be able to tell Lucia?
I would tell Lucia that if her family is gonna get killed, she should probably marry Arturo, even if she doesn’t love him. I think it’s a bit selfish of her to get all of them killed just because she was in love.

How unromantic of you! Any advice for the other characters?
I’d tell Edgardo not to freak out at Lucia’s wedding...I suppose I’d ask Enrico not to be quite so evil, not to be so hard on Lucia, even if he’s going to die if she doesn’t marry Arturo. And as for Arturo, I’d tell him to be cautious…Lucia’s got a knife!

If you were to work for an opera company when you grow up, what job would you most like to have?
I think...I’d like to be a conductor.

What surprised you the most about being in an opera?
I’ve seen a lot of operas, and I had this stereotype from just sitting there watching them. I thought they were very old fashioned. I didn’t know they were wearing wigs, for instance, I never thought about what the singers would look like when they weren’t onstage, and they’re so normal! My favorite part of this whole experience was being in the rehearsal room, watching all the people in their jeans and t-shirts, singing opera. That was pretty interesting.

Do you want to be in another opera?
Yes! [Smiles broadly.]

A Chat with Arthur Woodley

Bass Arthur Woodley is a Seattle Opera favorite, having appeared in 12 productions going back to the 1997/1998 season, when he performed the role of Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro. Now he’s back in Seattle as Raimondo, Lucia’s family minister and confidant, in Lucia di Lammermoor. Today we talk to Woodley and get some insight into his character and the production.

Let’s start with your character. Is Raimondo one of the “good guys”? After Lucia goes mad, he blames Normanno for all the bloodshed, but it doesn’t appear that Raimondo himself did much to help the situation.

Raimondo is a man, a minister, and a conciliator. A good man? I don't think we can put him in an either/or category. He is a man that is trying to bring peace between two factions and happiness to all. He knows it will be difficult and that difficult choices will have to be made.

Raimondo blames Normanno because it was Normanno who spied on Edgardo and Lucia and tells Enrico. Why? Because he is ambitious—he wants power and position and is willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead. Raimondo confronts him twice in Act 1.

So in Act 2, when Raimondo convinces Lucia to marry Arturo, is he just following Enrico’s orders, or does he believe he’s doing the right thing?

Raimondo convinces Lucia to marry Arturo because he truly believes that Edgardo, who has left for France, is being unfaithful to Lucia. In his Act 2 recitative, Raimondo recalls how he has sent a letter written by Lucia to Edgardo and has received no answer, which he fears points to Edgardo's unfaithfulness. He has known both Lucia and Enrico since they were children and knew their dead parents. He wants to do the best for the entire family and feels that he needs to secure a concrete future for both of them.

Raimondo (Arthur Woodley) comforts Lucia (Aleksandra Kurzak)

Have you performed Lucia before?

This is my fourth production of Lucia. Wow! Time flies!

This production of Lucia adds the little recitative after the mad scene in which you chew out Normanno for having caused so much trouble. This part is usually cut, so why is it included in this production?

We all had a discussion about it. We wanted to know if the recitative offered an opportunity to move the story forward or added an explanation of motives. With the addition of this scene we see that another person was involved in pushing this tragedy forward. You can say it "puts the blame on Mame" or, in our case, Normanno.

Raimondo confronts Normanno (Eric Neuville)

You’ve been in about a dozen productions with Seattle Opera, going back to the 1997/1998 season, including Le nozze di Figaro, Boris Godunov, Les contes d'Hoffmann, Il trovatore, and many others. Is there any role you haven’t yet tackled that you’d like to?

So, since you mention that I have been in productions since the 1997/1998 season, are you saying that I am one of Seattle Opera's ancient men? Truth be told, I can't believe it's been so long. I wish I could single out one great memory with Seattle Opera, but I can't, though I remember my nervous debut in Figaro.

The role that I haven't done and would love to do is King Philip in Don Carlo.

Vocally, this role of Raimondo in Lucia goes down pretty low. Where does your vocal range tend to lie, and how does it fit with this role?

Raimondo is very rangy and I love roles that allow me to use all of my voice. I am a basso cantante, which can also be called a lyric bass. It means that I have the range of a bass with a little extra at the top of the range and am able to sing smoothly (legato) as well. Donizetti has written a role that is both dramatically and vocally satisfying. When I began singing, I wanted to be a Verdi baritone, but with time and lessons we found my true voice and I am so thankful for being a basso cantante.

Photos of Seattle Opera's Lucia di Lammermoor by Rozarii Lynch

Young Artists in LUCIA

Our production of Lucia di Lammermoor features a cast with a few familiar faces and also plenty of new ones—including three members of our very own Young Artists Program: mezzo-soprano Lindsey Anderson (Alisa), tenor Eric Neuville (Normanno), and tenor Andrew Stenson (Arturo). Today, we talk to this trio of Young Artists about their Lucia experience.

All of you are making your Seattle Opera mainstage debuts in Lucia. What has that been like?

Lindsey: As a Young Artist, to be entrusted with a mainstage role is both a true honor and a priceless learning experience.

Eric: A Seattle Opera debut is a huge milestone for any young singer, and it’s the ultimate educational experience. The three of us were a little green coming in, and we all wanted to make a great impression and not step on any toes. What a great way to learn--to be out there every night, side-by-side with the best. Thank you for the opportunity, Speight!

Andrew: I have had an AMAZING experience with Seattle Opera thus far. Everyone involved that I've met and worked with in Lucia has been wonderful, from my colleagues on stage to my wonderful wig/makeup artist Anne. I had no idea that I would be doing something like this at my age when I first started pursuing opera. We all really want to prove that the company made a great decision giving the Young Artists this fantastic opportunity.

Lindsey Anderson (Alisa) and Davinia Rodríguez (Lucia)

In Lucia, you’ve had the opportunity to work side-by-side with a cast of veteran performers. How has this helped you in your own performances?

Lindsey: Aleksandra Kurzak and Davinia Rodríguez have especially taught me a lot. In Act 1 Scene 2, when Lucia waits in the garden for Edgardo, my character, Alisa, tries her best to talk some sense into Lucia. Every time we do this scene there is something different—nothing is set in stone. That’s what really tells a story, when it is real and not calculated. Their spontaneity has truly helped me break away from the academic conventions of theater and use my instincts. This is a lesson you can't learn in a classroom.

Eric: Having recently moved up to tenor from baritone, I've faced many technical hurdles these last few months. It was invaluable having William Burden and Scott Piper here to answer questions that came up. Both were incredibly generous with their time and advice.

Andrew: Every member of the cast has been very supportive. I think Scott Piper is a brilliant artist who gives so much of himself in his performances; Bill Burden must have magic powers in order to be as vocally consistent and expressive as he is; Arthur Woodley has a voice so beautiful it makes you feel better about life just listening to it. Aleksandra Kurzak has this magical ability to make it seem like she is creating the music rather than interpreting it; Davinia Rodríguez has this visceral power in her voice that immediately commands the attention of the audience; Phil Cutlip could sing any baritone role he wants; Ljubomir Puškarić was a young artist at Cincinnati TWO summers ago and now here he is leading at Seattle, which says a lot in itself!

Eric Neuville (Normanno), Andrew Stenson (Arturo), and Ljubomir Puškarić (Enrico)

What productions or companies have you been a part of in the past? How do your past experiences compare to your time with Seattle and Lucia?

Lindsey: This past summer I took part in my first apprentice program, at Central City Opera in Colorado. It was a wonderful experience and was a great place to make my debut. I was Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and covered the role of Public Opinion in Orphée aux enfers. After Central City I came to Seattle and I understand why so many artists feel the way they do about this company. It is a beautiful thing to be part of!

Eric: I made my professional debut this summer as Beppe in Chautauqua Opera's Pagliacci. Before that, my stage experience included last year with Seattle Opera's YAP (Guglielmo and Harlekin), grad school, and then community theater productions back home in Wisconsin. Witnessing the experience and brilliant logistics here at Seattle Opera pushes me to bring absolutely everything I can to that stage. Knowing someone will be there to glue my mustache on before the show is one less thing I have to worry about.

Eric Neuville as Normanno

Andrew: I have been involved in four shows at Cedar Rapids Opera as a chorister and/or comprimario singer. Cedar Rapids really helped show me the process of putting together an opera, which really doesn't differ much from anywhere else, as far as the timeline goes. It really helped me prepare for the expectations of professional work so that when it came time to apprentice at Santa Fe, sing a leading role at Glimmerglass, or support here at Seattle, I knew exactly what to expect and how to be ready. All the training in schools and apprenticeships help you prepare for those big moments in your future. Debuting at Seattle Opera, to me, is like getting your first call up to the majors in professional baseball.


Photos by Rozarii Lynch

A Chat with Ljubomir Puškarić

Today we speak with our baritone for our Wednesday and Saturday night Lucias di Lammermoor, Ljubomir Puškarić, making his Seattle Opera debuts in the role of Lucia's manipulative brother.

First off, could you help us with the correct pronunciation of your name?
LYU-boh-meer (with a rolled “r”) PUSH-car-eech, with an emphasis on the first syllable of both.

Your character in Lucia, Enrico, doesn’t come off in the most favorable light. But what do you think about him?
True, Enrico is bad guy in this opera, but there are a lot of musical places in this role that show he has emotions. I do not believe that he is strictly a bad guy! I would say that he is a weak person who is trying to cover it with violence. He is especially too weak to lead his family after the death of both parents. In this production, we have tried to explore this direction as much as we could, and it was a pure joy for me to have a chance to work with [Stage Director] Tomer Zvulun and Maestro Cinquegrani! It is so much more interesting to sing a role like this, instead of one that’s just a plain violent person.

Enrico threatens Lucia (Ljubomir Puškarić and Aleksandra Kurzak)

When you alternate a role with someone, as you do with Philip Cutlip for Enrico, do you pay attention to what the other singer is doing? For example, do you compare notes or discuss the role with each other?
It was a great experience to have Philip as a partner in this production, along with all the other principals from both casts. I actually do not remember if we talked in detail about the role, but I was certainly paying attention when he was rehearsing because I was supposed to work on the same scene later. So it would definitively not be good if I had gone out and got some coffee instead!

Edgardo threatens Enrico (William Burden and Ljubomir Puškarić)

You grew up in Zagreb, Croatia. What is it like studying opera in Croatia? Is there a passionate opera following there?
Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb celebrates its 150th birthday this season! There are certainly a lot of opera lovers in Zagreb, but also in all of Croatia, which has four opera houses. The one in Zagreb is the biggest, with a very long and busy season. Performances in CNT include opera, ballet, and drama, so every day there is a performance in the theatre, and the opera has about 12 productions each season.

Studying opera is a lot more difficult in Croatia then in the U.S. For example, in Bloomington, Indiana, where I studied, a student has many opportunities and gets a chance to study, perform, and prepare himself for the start of his career. Everything you need is set on the table for you and it is just a question of if you are capable enough to take what is offered. Unfortunately, the Music Academy in Zagreb cannot compete with all those productions and facilities at Indiana University, due to a lack of funds. However, it is a lot cheaper to study in Croatia, starting from private lessons and coaching up through going to a university.

Have you had time to explore the local Croatian community in Seattle?
Actually I met a lot of Croats. During my first week here Arthur Woodley told me about Croatia Fest, which took place at Seattle Center on October 2nd and 3rd. So I went and met several people including the organizers. It is not often that somebody from Croatia sings at Seattle Opera so they wanted to announce that. I went on stage, introduced myself and talked a bit about the opera. Of course, I invited them all to see Lucia di Lammermoor. Some of them already went and some will come to see upcoming performances. That was nice, and I’m still in contact with some of them.

Does speaking Croatian make it easier to sing in other Slavic languages, such as Russian? I saw that you recently sang in Boris Godunov.
Since both are Slavic languages there are some similarities but not too many. However, I think that it is a lot easier for me to learn to sing in Russian than for someone who is not from a Slavic country. But in general it is easier for me to sing in Italian because I did not have a chance to sing in Russian a lot while studying.

Enrico conspires with Normanno (Ljubomir Puškarić and Eric Neuville)

I read on your website that you studied journalism and worked as a journalist for five years. When was this, and why did you decide to leave journalism? Were you studying opera at the same time?
My story is definitely not a typical one. After I finished high school I started to study journalism, but at the same time I started to sing in a big church chorus in Zagreb. Up until then, I had not had any contact with music, although I come from a musical family. I was more interested in sports, and starting when I was six, I trained for swimming, diving, athletics, soccer...when I started to study journalism, my idea was to become a sports writer.

I started with radio, then got a job in the sports section of a Croatian daily newspaper. I liked it very much; I traveled, wrote interviews with several national soccer players who now play in England's Premier league as well as many more interesting stories. But during the time, I also got an opportunity to sing as a freelance chorus member in Zagreb's Opera house; it was Verdi's Aida and they needed actually a small chorus of freelance singers to sing the slaves. The chorus master of my church chorus was also the chorus master for the opera, and I was one of several people he thought capable of doing this job.

It was completely new for me, but I was very happy! So, first I did Aida, then the same thing happened for Don Carlo and Boris Godunov in next two years. I was able to work both jobs, since the hours did not interfere too much at that time. Then, in spring 2005, I was asked to to sing in the opera chorus at every performance--that was the time of big decisions. I was not sure if I could pull that off because of my journalism job but I decided to try. My parents were not thrilled about that because they, as musicians, know how hard it is to make a living in music. And none of us knew whether I had any talent.

Along with all this, I was taking private voice lessons, so my schedule was pretty full. I had a small scooter, that saved me enormous amount of driving time and parking money. Also, I had a great editor at the newspaper who was not so strict about some things. I was able to work like that for about a year. But then the music director at the opera heard me and gave me a chance in several smaller roles. And I realized that my greatest talent is singing, not writing. Eventually I stopped working as a journalist and concentrated on singing.

I sang Figaro in Barber of Seville in two productions, in Zagreb and Rijeka, during my first year at the Music Academy. Everything was moving too fast, so I decided to take some time and study without having to work at the same time. I moved to the U.S., where I learned so much in two years in Bloomington, got a lot of knowledge, experience, contacts, and excellent management and now I am prepared for "second" start of my career. None of that would be possible without amazing efforts of my teacher Dr. Robert Harrison, my accompanist Davis Hart, but also Carol Vaness and Robert Porco. For now, all is going really well and I very grateful to Mr. Jenkins who gave me a chance to sing Enrico in Seattle.

Photos of Lucia di Lammermoor at Seattle Opera by Rozarii Lynch.

Upcoming CityArts & ArtsCrush Events

It's a busy week at Seattle Opera; in addition to performances of Lucia di Lammermoor, we have two exciting events presented in partnership with other groups.

Thursday night, October 21, at 6 pm we hope you'll join us and City Arts for a Fireside Chat at the Sorrento Hotel, 900 Madison St., for a discussion around mental illness as it relates to absinthe and the arts, with a focus on Lucia. Special guests include the opera's General Director Speight Jenkins, Director of Education Sue Elliot, Jamie Keyes, Ph.D. (a staff psychologist from Group Health), a homicide detective, and renowned Marteau Absinthe distiller Gwydion Stone. Marteau Absinthe will be available for the thirsty!

Then, on Saturday morning, October 23, as part of ArtsCrush Seattle Opera Props Guru Pete Olds will be teaching a workshop on stage blood, just in time for Halloween! Pete has been in the Seattle Opera blood-making business for more than 20 years and has made blood for operas such as Lucia di Lammermoor, Macbeth, and Bluebeard’s Castle. Everyone will get a chance to make different kinds of blood (thick, thin, spray-able, ooze-able). Everything is provided but beware: you’ll get bloody yourself so be sure to come prepared to get messy (this blood stains clothes). THIS EVENT IS NOW FULL.

First Reviews for LUCIA

Lucia di Lammermoor opened on Saturday evening to an enthusiastic audience that showered applause on soprano Aleksandra Kurzak and the rest of the cast. And now that the reviews are starting to come in, it looks like the critics are also crazy for Lucia.

Bernard Jacobson of THE SEATTLE TIMES said “Seattle Opera triumphs with ghostly Lucia di Lammermoor,” and that Kurzak “set the theater alight both vocally and dramatically.” He went on to say: “[Director Tomer] Zvulun's production marshals principals and Beth Kirchhoff's superb chorus on a clever set adapted from the one Dahlstrom originally created in 2008 for I puritani with telling clarity, drawing intensely lifelike performances from all concerned…. Conductor Bruno Cinquegrani paced the score authoritatively.”

Richard Campbell praised Kurzak’s mad scene on THE GATHERING NOTE: “Kurzak made the most of it, not only vocally but theatrically. She did more than descend the stairs, with blood staining her dress, and singing all those vocal flourishes. She actually seemed demented: terrorizing the wedding guests, throwing flowers, brandishing a knife, slashing her wrists….”

Writing for CORNICHON, Ronald Holden says, “You can't help but fall in love with the singers,” and notes that William Burden “becomes more assured and musically confident with each appearance [in Seattle]. …Burden has the unenviable task of following one of the most famous scenes in opera with an anguished aria of his own; he pulls it off with aplomb.”

Kristen Russell of PARENT MAP gives Lucia its stamp of approval, saying it “represents an excellent chance to expose teens to opera. Why? Short acts, plentiful scene changes, melodic arias, tragic madness and bloody death. Perfection! Opera buffs will find this Lucia heart wrenching, enthralling, impeccable and thrilling, and even opera newbies will be swept away by the music – gorgeous arias, duets, and, notably, Lucia’s signature sextet.”

And OPERA CASCADIA’s Dale Abersold had praise for the entire cast, and said, “Seattle Opera’s magnificent new Lucia di Lammermoor succeeds on every level, a near-total triumph to a degree that astonishes me. It’s a brilliant night at the opera. …I’m going to go again. Two more times, if possible. Because a performance like this is what opera should be.”

Our FACEBOOK page is also buzzing with comments such as: “This is one of the best performances I have seen in Seattle. I saw Anna Netrebko as Lucia at the Met last year but Aleksandra Kurzak's performance topped this and was simply outstanding last night!” (Bjorn Wahl) and “I thought it one of the best productions I've seen in my 35 years of opera subscription!” (Gretchen Freed Loschen).

If you’ve also seen Lucia, head over to FACEBOOK or TWITTER and let us know what you thought!

Photo of Edgardo (William Burden) cursing Lucia (Aleksandra Kurzak) by Rozarii Lynch.

Lucia di Lammermoor Opening Night Q&A with Speight Jenkins

After every performance, General Director Speight Jenkins hosts a free Q&A session in the lecture hall at McCaw Hall. Listen to Lucia di Lammermoor’s opening night session and hear Jenkins answer questions from the audience. The General Director also gives his own reaction to Aleksandra Kurzak's breathtaking "Mad Scene" performance, in which he says "I've been seeing this opera for 60 years and I have never seen a mad scene even close to that".

LUCIA Opening Night Dedicated to Sutherland; Photos of Today's Singers

Last night, before the maestro took the podium for Act One, Speight Jenkins addressed the crowd at McCaw Hall:

"It would be impossible to present Lucia di Lammermoor this week without noting the loss of Dame Joan Sutherland. The great Australian soprano, clearly the most famous Lucia of the last fifty years, passed away earlier this week. Ms. Sutherland had a strong connection to Seattle and told me how much she enjoyed our city. She appeared with Seattle Opera four times before I became General Director--in Le roi de Lahore, Don Giovanni, The Tales of Hoffmann, and Lakme. She was one of the unforgettable artists of the 20th century and certainly one of the greatest singers I ever heard. We dedicate this opening night performance of Lucia to her memory."

Here at McCaw Hall, as I post this, everyone is getting prepared for our second performance, featuring the Seattle debut of Davinia Rodríguez, who (like Aleksandra Kurzak last night) is making her role debut as Lucia. The world will miss Dame Joan, but the tradition continues.

A few photos of today's cast:

Davinia Rodríguez as Lucia

Scott Piper as Edgardo

Philip Cutlip as Enrico

Enrico (Philip Cutlip) threatens Lucia (Davinia Rodríguez) with what will become of their family if she refuses to wed Arturo

Edgardo (Scott Piper) demands of Lucia (Davinia Rodríguez) whether she really signed the marriage contract

Photos by Rozarii Lynch.

A Chat with Scott Goff

Before Lucia opens tonight, I had time to check in with our flute soloist, Scott Goff. Born in Panama City, Goff lived at various military posts until his family settled in Tacoma, Washington, upon his father’s retirement from the United States Army. Goff began playing flute at age twelve and studied with successive principal flutists of the Seattle Symphony. He has been principal flutist with the Seattle Symphony since 1969, and plans to retire at the end of this year.

Scott, you’ve been a professional flutist for fifty years. How many productions of Lucia di Lammermoor have you now played?
I’ve done this opera five times with Seattle Opera, which is (I think) all of them! I played it for Beverly Sills, who sang the role at Seattle Opera with Milton Katims conducting; and we once did the mad scene in concert, at Seattle Symphony, with Joan Sutherland.

Wow, what was that like, playing with Sutherland and with Sills?
Sills was perhaps a little closer to my heart, just because she was such a perfect musician. I think her technique was perhaps a little more instrumental. But how could anyone say no to Sutherland’s remarkable voice--its sheer size and quality, and her phenomenal technique, plus her range. Sills didn’t have the huge top that Sutherland had. Sutherland was probably the better voice for Lucia...although Sills sang the best “Marten aller Arten” from Abduction of the Seraglio I’ve ever heard. No one else ever even came close.

What’s your favorite opera?
My wife and I are real opera lovers. We’d much rather go to an opera than to the symphony! I think right now the thing I’m enjoying the most is probably Il trittico; there was a phenomenal production at the Met a few years ago. It’s one of the few operas I never got a chance to play. Puccini is at the top of my list. I also love Verdi, adore Il trovatore, particularly if you have the right kind of tenor. We also love listening to Don Pasquale.

Do you listen to Lucia when you’re not playing it?
Yes, the Sutherland is one of favorite recordings.

Is it difficult to get the flute solo in Lucia in sync with what’s happening onstage?
Not as long as the stage director doesn’t throw you a curve. I’m trying to remember which production it was--many years ago, when Lucia started her cadenza, her back was to me and the audience. For some dramatic effect she was way upstage, and it’s hard to do a duet with somebody who’s standing with their back to you, and fifty feet away! Fortunately Speight doesn’t let stage directors do silly things like that. In our current production she’s downstage practically the whole time. That makes it much much easier.

Aleksandra Kurzak sings Lucia's mad scene at Seattle Opera tonight (Rozarii Lynch, photo)

Where are you standing when you play the solo?
I stand on the podium, right next to the conductor, who helps me. It’s a bit crowded, but it’s necessary that I see her. That’s the way we’ve always done it here, I don’t know what they do elsewhere. That’s how we do the Siegfried horn call, too.

Are you reading the music, or do you have it memorized?
Yes, I use my music--I have a music stand up, on the podium.

Do you need to see the soprano breathing?
Yes, I certainly pay attention to when she’s going to take a breath--that triggers me that she’s about to start singing.

The soprano varies the color of her sound with a thousand different parameters. How do you achieve a variety of musical color on the flute?
You don’t, really. You can vary your vibrato, and of course your dynamics. If you’re asking about musical choices such as slurs, staccato/legato, etc., the phrasing is pretty much set. The way Aleksandra Kurzak, our Lucia tonight, shapes each phrase, she does it the same. She may have more freedom in terms of the staging, that may be different each night, but the musical choices stay the same.

Any advice you’d like to give to young flutists who hear the production?
Lots of luck!

Lucia di Lammermoor Preview Trailer

Follow Lucia's path to madness and murder - and get goose bumps along the way - as everything comes together in this trailer video. Beautiful music, exquisite costumes, detailed sets, big choruses, and passionate acting prove that this production has it all.

To learn more about Seattle Opera's production of Lucia di Lammermoor, visit the Seattle Opera website.

First Photos from LUCIA

Last night's first dress rehearsal of Lucia di Lammermoor promised a memorable production of this beloved opera.

Aleksandra Kurzak as the mad Lucia

Tomer Zvulun's production features Robert A. Dahlstrom's striking set, lit by Robert Wierzel and costumed by Deborah Trout

Lucia (Kurzak) is in love with Edgardo (William Burden), her family's enemy

Lucia's brother Enrico (Ljubomir Puškarić) conspires with his henchman Normanno (Eric Neuville) to destroy Lucia's faith in Edgardo...

...and the terror that follows drives Lucia (Kurzak) out
of her mind.

More great photos by Rozarii Lynch coming tomorrow!

A Chat with William Burden

With only a few days left before Lucia di Lammermoor opens at McCaw Hall, we spoke to our opening night Edgardo, tenor William Burden, and found out how he prepares for roles, what he thinks about his character, and how he's evolved since his Seattle Opera debut 10 years ago.

Seattle audiences last saw you creating a role in Amelia, and now you’re back in Seattle for Lucia. That’s a big shift, from premiering an opera to performing one that is so well known!
You'd think that there would be a significant difference between the preparation for a newly composed role and one that has long existed in the canon of operatic literature, but actually, as both roles were new to me, my preparation was virtually the same. The one difference is that there is plenty of reference (by way of recordings) for study when preparing a role from the standard rep. As I was originating the role of Dodge in Amelia, I had the privilege of creating the reference! That being said, since both Dodge and Edgardo were new roles for me, my initial preparation was the same: start with the rhythm and text, then the notes, then slowly put it all together with the help of my teacher and some great coaches (who help with musical style and accuracy). Once in Seattle, the process takes on new layers when I get to work with the director and my singing colleagues.

William Burden in Amelia

On a related note, how do you make a familiar character like Edgardo your own? Do you try to personalize the role?
Any time I'm taking on a new character, I have to find the ways that I can relate to him within the context of the story. I'm not sure that "personalizing" is what I'm after, but the character must seem real to me. The fun part is working with a director, conductor, and other singers to make sure we are telling a clear and exciting story.

In the Director’s Talk video for Lucia, we see a clip of you rehearsing with Aleksandra Kurzak. The two of you are in an embrace, and there is so much emotion in your face and in the movement of your body. How emotionally invested do you get in the characters you portray?
Okay - true confessions time. Performing is therapy for me. I can work out all sorts of stuff when I'm on stage playing someone other than myself! That being said, emotions like deep love and passion are easy. We all have experienced these, and in the hands of a gifted composer, the soundtrack just makes the playing even easier! When you develop trust with your colleagues through the rehearsal process, exploring the emotions of the characters is safe and thrilling and should be a window for the audience into the narrative.

One of the most dramatic moments in Lucia is when Edgardo becomes furious because he believes Lucia has betrayed him, and doesn’t give her much of an opportunity to explain. [Friday/Sunday Edgardo] Scott Piper said that moment shows that “Edgardo can be selfish, moody, and impetuous.” What do you think?
I would like to believe that I would react differently in the same situation, but one never knows. It is completely believable to me that Edgardo would behave exactly as he does. We have all acted before thinking (I do it daily, I fear), and the degree of hurt and humiliation he is experiencing (even if it's somewhat self-imposed) could make anyone lash out. Bottom line: it makes for good opera!

William Burden in Seattle Opera's 2000 Lakmé

This is your seventh production with Seattle Opera, going back to 2000 when you performed the role of Gerald in Lakmé. How have you felt your voice and your performance style evolving in the years and productions since then?
I'd like to think I have continued to grow with each production. I'm so grateful to Speight for taking the risks he has taken and for giving me the wonderful opportunities he has over these years. It is his confidence in me that has allowed me to do whatever growing I can lay claim to. Each role has posed new challenges and opportunities to explore my instrument and my stage craft, and the great colleagues at Seattle Opera have encouraged me to "up my game" with every outing!

What else do you have lined up for this season?
I have a bunch of new music to learn this year, some new opera and some concert works, along with some challenging twentieth-century opera by Britten and Henze. I’m grateful that it's a full year with lots to look forward to.

Photos by Rozarii Lynch and (Lakmé) Gary Smith.