Seattle Opera Choristers Stephen Wall and Eleanor Stallcop-Horrox, Assistant Conductor Philip A. Kelsey, and Company Manager Paula Podemski have worked at the opera a combined total of 145 years, creating memorable opera experiences both onstage and behind the scenes. Tosca marks the end of their Seattle Opera careers, but before they start the next chapter of their lives, these veteran professionals shared some of their best memories. All agree that they are looking forward to being in the audience and staying in touch with their friends at the opera for many years to come.
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Thursday, April 10, 2025
Seattle Opera’s Legendary Tosca Production
It was the mid-‘60s. Glynn Ross, the dynamic General Director of the brand-new Seattle Opera, wanted to show his employers—the Seattle Opera Board of Trustees—that he could present compelling opera productions while balancing the budget. Before Ross, every attempt to present opera in Seattle had ended in a big deficit, including the Seattle Symphony’s opulent 1962 Aida, presented as part of the World’s Fair. While creating Seattle Center, the city had transformed its vast old Civic Auditorium into the Seattle Opera House. (It would later be transformed into McCaw Hall, which opened in 2003.) It’s nice to have a terrific theater in which to showcase opera. But you still have to have the money to pay for the world’s most expensive art form.
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
When in Rome
A historian considers the characters of Tosca
by Susan Nicassio
With some operas, the exact setting, in terms of time and
place, doesn’t much matter. Not so in Tosca. The historic context of
Rome during the Napoleonic wars is as integral to the story as Tosca’s jealousy
and Scarpia’s cunning. We meet Tosca on a particular day in history—June 17,
1800—as Napoleon’s army encroaches into Italy and pushes back the Austrians,
who were allied with the conservative forces that governed Rome. The fictional
characters of Tosca, originally conceived in the play by Victorien Sardou,
are as true to their time as any you’ll find on the opera stage. Let’s consider
them in the order we’re about to meet them.
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Battle of Austerlitz, 2 December 1805, François Gérard, 1810, Palace of Versailles. |
Monday, March 17, 2025
Tosca's Rome
by Jonathan Dean
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Praise for The Magic Flute
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Duke Kim as Tamino with Ethan Ibsen, Caleb Petrini, and Autumn Helene Chociej as the Three Genies in The Magic Flute at Seattle Opera. Photo: David Jaewon Oh. |
Audiences have one last weekend to catch Seattle Opera’s latest production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which has taken the city by storm. Concocted by visionary director Barrie Kosky and mixed-media theater group 1927, the production blends hand-drawn animations with silent film aesthetics in a unique, fully animated film projected over live performers. Read what critics have to say about this audacious new production, and don’t miss your chance to see The Magic Flute, playing at McCaw Hall until March 9. Tickets and info at seattleopera.org/flute.
Thursday, February 6, 2025
THE MAGIC FLUTE in Pop Culture
The Magic Flute is one of the operas with tunes so catchy and recognizable, even those who have never seen a performance of it have probably heard its music. Whether it’s the overture played as background music at the mall on an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or a music box on an episode of House bringing Papageno’s "Das klinget so herrlich" front and center, The Magic Flute is definitely in the pop culture landscape.
How is this Magic Flute Different?
by Jonathan Dean
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Seattle Opera's 2017 production of The Magic Flute, featuring costumes designed by Zandra Rhodes. Photo © Jacob Lucas |
The Magic Flute is one of the world’s favorite operas, and Seattle Opera has presented it many times—once in a charming production by Maurice Sendak (of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Nutcracker fame), once in a whimsical version by British cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, and most recently (2017) in an eye-popping production with costumes by fashion legend Zandra Rhodes.
A Magical Storybook
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Director's Statement by Kevin Newbury
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Kevin Newbury, Stage Director of Fellow Travelers. © Marcus Shields |
In the 2025/26 season, Seattle Opera will present Fellow Travelers, one of the most frequently performed new operas of the past decade, in collaboration with New York-based artistic collective Up Until Now, as part of a national project that brings this important story to stages across the country. This special initiative, which is launching in Seattle, is one of the largest consortium projects within the US opera industry and is headed by director Kevin Newbury (The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs ’19) and producer Jecca Barry.
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
A Conversation with Russell Thomas
by Chloe Woodward
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Photo by Fay Fox. |
Russell Thomas, “a tenor of gorgeously burnished power” (The New York Times), returns to the McCaw Hall stage this January. Thomas sang the role of Ismaele in Nabucco (‘15), and we are excited to welcome him back as Aeneas in Les Troyens in Concert on January 17 & 19.
In this interview, he shares his favorite roles, his inspirations, his future goals, and more.