Extra credit: listen for the Cimbasso in ATTILA!

Those of you who like to look deep into the orchestra pit from your box seats may spot an unusual instrument at our performances of Attila: the cimbasso, played by Chris Olka, Principal Tuba for Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera (photo of Chris, right, holding the instrument). Up until his final operas, Verdi wrote his lowest brass parts for cimbasso, which tends to blend more seamlessly with the trombones than a tuba. It makes a difference with a score like Attila, which--although chock-full of that toe-tapping, red-blooded Verdian vigor that we love from this composer--is technically a bel canto opera, and requires elegance and beauty in addition to sheer power.

Although many opera companies use a tuba to play Verdi's lowest brass lines, thanks to one of our donors Seattle Opera was able to invest in a cimbasso some years ago, and we're lucky that Chris is an expert with the instrument. In fact, his example has led other companies to follow suit.