A Conversation with Kevin Newbury

Kevin Newbury, Stage Director of Fellow Travelers. © Marcus Shields

This February, 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. We sat down to chat with Kevin Newbury, Director of Fellow Travelers, about his experience bringing this story to life over the last 10 years, the importance of telling queer stories, and how this show continues to impact audiences.  

The History of the Lavender Scare

by David K. Johnson

In the 1950s, the United States was in the grip of the Cold War, a nuclear standoff with the Soviet Union. The struggle was seen by many not only as a military matter but also as a moral crusade against the threat "atheistic communism" posed to the values of the Judeo-Christian West. And homosexuality was at the center of the struggle.

Five Reasons to Hear Daphne in Concert

by Jonathan Dean

With Daphne In Concert, two performances only on January 16 & 18, Seattle Opera offers another unique live musical experience, building on the success of our 2023 Samson & Delilah and 2025 Les Troyens. At an opera in concert, the full orchestra is onstage, with the singers pushed all the way downstage, so their voices are even closer to you. Although the show doesn’t feature scenery or costumes, the music, with a little help from lighting design & supertitles, will create the story directly inside your imagination. It’s a great way to experience incredible music like Daphne. And for a miraculous story like this one—where the heroine ((SPOILER ALERT!!!)) is transformed into a tree at the end—your imagination is the most powerful collaborator of all.

Apollo and Daphne, a marble sculpture made by Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, executed in 1622–1625. © Wikimedia Commons

Conductor David Afkham on Daphne in Concert

Photo: Rafa Martín

Conductor David Afkham, Artistic Director of the Spanish National Orchestra in Madrid and a specialist in the music of Richard Strauss, will make his Seattle Opera debut this January in Daphne in Concert. Seattle Opera recently spoke with Maestro Afkham to ask him about Strauss’s daunting score and how he prepares to conduct a new piece for the first time. 

Praise for The Pirates of Penzance

 

Reginald Smith Jr. (The Pirate King, center) with members of the Seattle Opera Chorus in The Pirates of Penzance. Photo: Sunny Martini.

Audiences are raving about The Pirates of Penzance! Seattle Opera's first-ever Gilbert & Sullivan production, this topsy-turvy tale is a swashbuckling good time for the whole family. Read what critics have to say about this bright, colorful show and don't miss your chance to catch The Pirates of Penzance at McCaw Hall, now through November 1. Tickets and info at seattleopera.org/pirates.

There's no such thing as operetta!

by Joshua Gailey

Promotional poster for The Pirates of Penzance, c. 1880.
Source: The Library of Congress.

A Few Questions for the Pirate King

Grammy and Emmy Award winning baritone Reginald Smith Jr. makes his Seattle Opera debut in October as the Pirate King in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance.
Photo © Jiyang Chen

After spending part of the summer at the Interlochen Festival, we had time to speak with baritone Reginald Smith Jr. In our chat with the Pirate King, we learn about why this role is special, his talented mother, and what he packs for life on the road. 

A Few Questions for Mabel

We open our 2025/26 season with Gilbert and Sullivan’s nautical farce, The Pirates of Penzance. Soprano Vanessa Becerra is singing the role of Mabel and is making her Seattle Opera debut. 
Photo © Andrew Morstein

Soprano Vanessa Becerra is eager to make her Seattle Opera debut in The Pirates of Penzance in the coming months. She’s equally eager to sing the part of Mabel for the first time…well, sort of. In this conversation, Vanessa clears the air about this role debut, talks about her childhood quest for pop stardom, and explains her desire to sing Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro. And you’ll have the opportunity to hear Vanessa again this season; she’s also appearing in Fellow Travelers in 2026.

A Few Questions for Major-General Stanley

Baritone Thomas Glass will make his Seattle Opera debut in The Pirates of Penzance this fall singing the role of Major-General Stanley.

Baritone Thomas Glass will sing the role of the Major-General in this fall’s production of The Pirates of Penzance. We recently caught up with Thomas in his hometown of Edina, MN, a suburb of Minneapolis, to discuss his childhood, his performance bucket list, and what he’s currently binge-watching.

Artist Statement by Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce

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. Read on for an artist statement from composer Gregory Spears and librettist Greg Pierce.