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

Praise for Tristan and Isolde

The reviews are in for Tristan and Isolde and it's a hit! Read what critics had to say about this beautiful production.

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

TRANSPORTING IT TO A NEW PLANE

Mary Elizabeth Williams has a habit of stealing the show when she appears at Seattle Opera. Her uncanny ability to fuse sound, sense, and stage action has made her a company favorite—not to mention the kind of singer Wagner fantasized about when he dreamed up his “total work of art." Preparing Isolde for the first time has been an extraordinary adventure for Williams, who now invites us to come along with her on this journey.

Seattle's Opera-World Gazette: 11/6/15

Introducing a new series of blog posts in which we check in on what our Seattle Opera artists are up to elsewhere. Please let us know what you think in the ‘Comments’ area!

We’ve closed The Pearl Fishers in Seattle, but all over the world our artists are keeping busy as the fall opera season continues. Here’s the latest on some folks who will be coming to Seattle soon:

Mary Elizabeth Williams sings her first Lady Macbeth.
In Switzerland, our amazing Abigaille from this summer’s Nabucco added another scary early Verdi killer to her repertoire: Mary Elizabeth Williams debuted as Lady Macbeth at the Theater St. Gallen. Watch footage of her hand-washing mad scene in this video trailer starting at 3:22:

Macbeth from theatersg on Vimeo.

Mary Elizabeth Williams returns to Seattle in February as Queen Elizabeth in Mary Stuart.

Joyce El-Khoury and Christopher Alden in Toronto.
Joyce El-Khoury makes her Seattle debut in February as Mary Stuart. The Lebanese soprano sings her final performance as Violetta in Canadian Opera Company’s La traviata in Toronto tonight. Tomorrow, COC closes its run of a fascinating double-bill: a new opera by Canadian composer Barbara Monk Feldman on Pyramus and Thisbe paired with two small pieces by Claudio Monteverdi, Renaissance Italy’s opera pioneer. Director Christopher Alden, whose COC Flying Dutchman comes to Seattle next May, staged this double-bill; here are some of the photos:

Duane Schuler lights Houston’s Tosca, starring Weston Hurt.
If you’re in Houston, don’t miss the chance to enjoy the work of Seattleite and famed lighting designer Duane Schuler, who comes home to light our upcoming Marriage of Figaro in January. Singing Scarpia at Houston's Saturday, November 14 performance is Weston Hurt, who terrorized the Israelites as Nabucco in Seattle this summer, and who returns to administer extreme unction to Mary Stuart this February—he sings the role of Talbot in our upcoming production of Donizetti’s political thriller.

Morgan Smith sings Starbuck in LA Opera’s Moby-Dick.
The original production of Jake Heggie’s popular whale-tale comes to LA Opera starting tomorrow, November 7, with Seattleite Morgan Smith reprising his role as the tormented first mate Starbuck. Smith, who just created the role of Jim Crowley in Seattle Opera’s world premiere of An American Dream, returns as Count Almaviva in our upcoming Marriage of Figaro. (When he was a Seattle Opera Young Artist, back in ’99, Smith sang Figaro!)

Morgan Smith as Starbuck and Joshua Guerrero as Greenhorn in LA Opera’s production of Moby-Dick (Photo: Craig T. Matthew/LA Opera)

Praise for Nabucco

Mary Elizabeth Williams as Abigaille in Seattle Opera's Nabucco. Philip Newton photo

THE DIVA:

"Mary Elizabeth Williams emerged as the star of the evening, delivering a theatrically vivid and thrillingly sung performance of the power-hungry, jilted Abigaille. With her untiring and excitingly huge voice, Williams showed remarkably even strength in the registral extremes on which the part notoriously relies. Her dynamic control was similarly admirable. Phrasing with imagination throughout, in her solo in Part Two she hinted at a dimension of inner turmoil, mitigating Abigaille's imperious demeanour with moments that suggested self-doubt." - Bachtrack 

Gordon Hawkins as Nabucco. Philip Newton photo

PRODUCTION AS A WHOLE: 

"But few people attend opera for the plot; it’s the music and the musicians that make the difference. Here is where Seattle Opera’s “Nabucco” shines, with Carlos Montanaro presiding over an orchestra and cast that are almost uniformly excellent...Since 'Nabucco' apparently comes around only slightly more often than Halley’s comet, Seattle-area opera lovers should seize this chance to check out some early Verdi — and some remarkable voices." - The Seattle Times 

THE TITLE CHARACTER: 

"Hawkins gave a marvelous performance as Nabucco, a boisterous man initially all puffed up with his victories until he addled by a force beyond his comprehension. To heighten the sense of someone brought to his knees, Hawkins lowered his voice to a shudder and convincingly found the emotion of a man who was on the brink of destruction." - Northwest Reverb 

HAWKINS, BARTON & THOMAS: 

".... (Hawkins) gave a memorable performance, particularly as a weakened fuzzy-minded old man. Young mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as Fenena, new here, has a truly beautiful voice with depth and nuance. She will surely be back, while tenor Russell Thomas, another Young Artist graduate, singing Ismaele, is another it will be a pleasure to hear again. In short, every voice was a joy to hear." 

- The SunBreak

Christian Van Horn as Zaccaria with the Seattle Opera Chorus. Philip Newton photo

VAN HORN AS ZACCARIA:
"As the Jews’ High Priest, Christian Van Horn lived up to his reputation as a noteworthy young bass. He had a reassuringly imposing resonance, edged with warmth that made us want to follow his Zaccaria anywhere." 

- The Queen Anne News

"IF YOU LIKE YOUR OPERA CRAZY & BIBLICAL, YOU'LL LOVE NABUCCO":

"The (Nabucco) plot fits together like a blooper reel. Over the course of the four head-spinningly fast 'parts' (such weirdly shaped chunks of drama they’re not even referred to as “acts”) the following events occur:

• Jerusalem is sacked.
• The Temple of Solomon is trashed
• The throne is usurped
• A pair of princesses fall for the same guy (who happens to be the enemy).
• One princess finds out she’s actually a slave.
• Two people are killed—but not really because it’s just a rumor so they come back to life.
• Somebody offs herself with poison.
• An idol crumbles literally.
• The terrarium-like Hanging Gardens of Babylondescend to earth.

• Guys march around with antler-headed Gandalf staffs and debate whose god is better than whose and somebody badmouths god and—BOOM!—he’s struck by lightning, which doesn’t kill him but turns him for a while into a madman." 

- The Stranger 

Weston Hurt, Nabucco and Jamie Barton, Fenena. Elise Bakketun photo

INNOVATIVE, NEW PRODUCTION:

"I enthusiastically recommend this production of “Nabucco” for its brilliant staging and musicality. Seattle Opera succeeds in giving this early and rarely performed Verdi piece the stylistic edge it needs to draw a wide audience and infuse a sense of freshness into this classic Italian opera, while maintaining its political grit and the religious, metaphysical themes present throughout." -  The UW Daily

MAESTRO & KEY ORCHESTRA: 

"Conductor Carlo Montanaro paced the orchestra expertly and brought out textures that worked well with the singers. Superb playing by principal cellist Eric Han and principal flutist Alexander Lipay added marvelously to the production, and the offstage banda (chamber ensemble) also contributed splendidly." - Northwest Reverb 

Raffaella Angeletti as Abigaille. Elise Bakketun photo

ANGELETTI & HURT: 
"Abigaille­ is a hugely demanding role vocally and emotionally, and Raffaella Angeletti sang a gorgeous Abigaille on Sunday, fire and rage in her soaring high notes, determination and fury in her chesty, low passages. Weston Hurt delivered an authoritative, thundering Nabucco, and the chorus sounded phenomenal, luscious and full of longing, on "Va' pensiero" (The chorus of the Hebrew slaves), the opera's most famous melody." - City Arts 

Nabucco plays now through Saturday, August 22 at McCaw Hall. For tickets and information, go to seattleopera.org/nabucco and join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with #SONabucco. 

ABIGAILLE and Her Sisters

Who’s the most kickass warrior woman in all opera? While the “Ride of the Valkyries” and Wagner’s other tunes for Brünnhilde and her sisters are some of opera’s most popular music, don't think that the ladies of Italian opera are all wimps and pushovers. Earlier this season at Seattle Opera, Puccini’s Tosca gave Scarpia a memorable kiss with a very sharp dinner knife; and last season we celebrated Donizetti’s extremely unladylike Daughter of the Regiment. But for really hardcore warrior women in Italian operas, you need to listen to early Verdi.

We’re about to present Verdi’s first unbelievably great opera, Nabucco. The diva plays Abigaille, who’s really a piece of work. She makes an impressive entrance in the opera’s first scene disguised as an Assyrian soldier, leading a commando team in to sack the Temple of Jerusalem. Later, she goes mad with jealousy when the tenor rejects her and falls for her sister; beserk with rage when she discovers that she’s illegitimate and that her ‘father’ intends to disown her; then gets completely drunk on power and ambition, before self-destructing. Rare among Verdi’s operas, Nabucco has a happy ending—everyone is relieved, at the end, when Abigaille dies!

Costume design for Abigaille © Ginette Grenier

The vocal demands of this fearsome role are so extreme, the soprano who sang it at the first performances retired from singing shortly thereafter. (She also moved in with Giuseppe Verdi and eventually married him!) In our 50+ years, Seattle Opera has never before presented Nabucco; Speight Jenkins decided to program it, several years ago, because he was so impressed with the Abigaille of Mary Elizabeth Williams, a graduate of our Young Artists Program and one of our favorite singers.

Mary Elizabeth Williams as Tosca with Philip Horst as Scarpia
Elise Bakketun, photo

Verdi never again wrote such a voice-shredding role as Abigaille, although he did create a couple of other fantastically killer soprano roles. Four years after the premiere of Nabucco, Verdi wrote Attila, which Seattle Opera presented in 2012. Ana Lucrecia Garcia sang Odabella, the fire-breathing warrior woman who defends Italy from the invading armies of Attila the Hun:

Odabella concludes that opera by chopping off Attila’s head with the sword of her slain father, making Attila another of those rare Verdi happy endings. Verdi immediately followed Attila with Macbeth, another opera about a brutal tyrant and a very scary woman, only this time they’re in cahoots. When Seattle Opera last presented Macbeth, Andrea Gruber sang Lady Macbeth. Here she is, in her entrance aria, crying out Verdi-style “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood.”

It doesn’t end well for Lady Macbeth, of course (another happy ending?!). Verdi went on to create many other wonderful female characters, including the warlike Joan of Arc, the vengeful Azucena, and the gleefully sadistic Merry Wives of Windsor. But in terms of blazingly difficult coloratura, women who want to burn you to ashes with their laser-voices, there aren’t any roles quite like his Lady Macbeth, Odabella, and Abigaille.

Mary Elizabeth Williams sings Abigaille’s aria, posted by her agency

If you're really big on warrior women, there will be a free screening of the movie Hero in Volunteer Park this Friday, 7/17, at 9 pm. Don't miss the gorgeous battle between Ziyi Zhang and Maggie Cheung!

Marcy Stonikas to Sing Final Performance of TOSCA Saturday 1/24

Marcy Stonikas will sing the title role at our final performance of Tosca this Saturday, January 24. Ausrine Stundyte, who sang on opening night and on Wednesday, January 14, has withdrawn from the production after not recovering from a cold. Stundyte was originally scheduled to share the role with Mary Elizabeth Williams, who sang her own scheduled performance on January 11 as well as the broadcast performance last Saturday, January 17, and last night's show, January 21. Williams will also sing tomorrow, Friday, January 23, as scheduled. Williams returns to Seattle Opera twice next year: as Abigaille in Nabucco and as Queen Elizabeth in Mary Stuart.

Stonikas gave Seattle Opera riveting mainstage performances of Turandot and Leonore in Fidelio in 2012 as well as Magda Sorel in The Consul in 2014. Prior to those performances Stonikas sang Tosca in an Opera Santa Barbara production directed by Josemaria Condemi, who also staged Seattle Opera's current production. She sings Fidelio in Vienna in March and Turandot in Cincinnati in July. The Chicago-born soprano is scheduled to return to Seattle as Ariadne in May’s production of Ariadne auf Naxos, a role she will share with Christiane Libor.

Seattle Opera engages two casts for major roles, so that the company can present back-to-back performances such as this weekend’s Friday and Saturday. Leading roles, like Tosca and Ariadne, are so vocally demanding the singers need at least a day off between performances.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery for Ausrine Stundyte, whose riveting opening night performance received strong reviews. And many thanks to Mary Elizabeth Williams and Marcy Stonikas--both graduates of Seattle Opera's Young Artists Program--for their professionalism as well as their incredible voices.

Photo of Marcy Stonikas as Tosca at Opera Santa Barbara

Mary Elizabeth Williams Also Sings Tosca Tonight 1/21

Mary Elizabeth Williams will sing the role of Tosca at tonight's performance. Unfortunately, the cold which prevented Ausrine Stundyte from singing Saturday night's performance hasn't let up. Many thanks to Ms. Williams for again taking on the role at this evening's performance. Photo of Mary Elizabeth Williams as Tosca by Elise Bakketun

Mary Elizabeth Williams to Sing Tonight's Broadcast of Tosca

Mary Elizabeth Williams will sing the role of Tosca at tonight's performance of Puccini's opera, which will be broadcast locally on Classic KING FM 98.1 and throughout the world on www.king.org. Ausrine Stundyte, who was scheduled to sing tonight, is indisposed. Many thanks to Ms. Williams, whose performance as Tosca last Sunday was described as "riveting in all its nuances" by the Seattle Times, for taking on the role at this evening's performance.

Three performances of Tosca remain; Mary Elizabeth Williams is scheduled to sing Friday, January 23 and Ausrine Stundyte on Wednesday, January 21 and Saturday, January 24.

Photo of Mary Elizabeth Williams as Tosca by Elise Bakketun

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!)