Seattle Opera Podcast

Stage Manager Yasmine Kiss and Assistant Stage Manager Cris Reynolds chatted during an intermission of Siegfried when Seattle Opera re-broadcast its 2005 RING cycle on KING-FM in February. Listen to their stories about what it's like backstage getting costumes, props, scenery, human beings, and livestock organized for their onstage appearances.

Violinist Kathy Boyer and horn soloist Mark Robbins chatted during an intermission of Siegfried when Seattle Opera re-broadcast its 2005 RING cycle on KING-FM in February. Listen to their stories of playing this brilliant opera and the various challenges it has presented them over the years.

Lighting Designer Connie Yun and Master Carpenter Tim Buck (who designed the RING's fire & flight effects) chatted during an intermission of DIE WALKÜRE when Seattle Opera re-broadcast its 2005 RING cycle on KING-FM in February. They discuss how to make mermaids swim, mountain ledges burn, and Seattle's long RING tradition.

Bassoon player Paul Rafanelli and violinist Jeannie Wells Yablonsky chatted during an intermission of DIE WALKÜRE when Seattle Opera re-broadcast its 2005 RING cycle on KING-FM in February. Listen to their perspective on playing these operas and Seattle's long RING tradition.

At Seattle Opera we had the great good fortune to work with the late great bass Arthur Woodley many times over 25 years. In this podcast, which will also air on KING FM during the intermission of BORIS GODUNOV on January 9, Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean shares some of Arthur Woodley's extraordinary vocal performances and memories of this beloved singer. Archival clips featuring the Seattle Opera orchestra, chorus, and soloists from performances of Bluebeard's Castle, 2009, conducted by Evan Rogister; The Marriage of Figaro, 2009, conducted by Dean Williamson; Julius Caesar, 2007, conducted by Gary Thor Wedow; Il trovatore, 2010, conducted by Yves Abel; Fidelio, 2012, conducted by Asher Fisch; La bohème, 2013, conducted by Carlo Monatanaro, and Lucia di Lammermoor, 2010, conducted by Bruno Cinquegrani.

Francesca Zambello recalled the extraordinary adventure of making an opera from the literary world of the great Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez during an intermission chat with Christina Scheppelmann. Zambello, General Director of Washington National Opera and Glimmerglass Festival, is also a stage director who has given Seattle Opera many wonderful productions.This podcast also features musical clips from Seattle Opera performances of FLORENCIA.

Donald Byrd, Artistic Director of Spectrum Dance Theater, has choreographed several productions for Seattle Opera over the years. Just before the pandemic began he made valuable choreographic contributions to CHARLIE PARKER'S YARDBIRD. General Director Christina Scheppelmann interviewed Byrd for a "Seattle Opera Mornings on KING FM" re-broadcast of his Seattle Opera debut, our 2007 production of Handel's GIULIO CESARE.

Vinson Cole decided to be an opera singer when he was 9 years old. Beginning in 1988, with his spectacular debut as Gluck's Orphée (Seattle Opera's first-ever Baroque opera and first-ever modern dress production) the tenor became something of a star-in-residence in the Emerald City. He sang a lead role almost every year in Seattle, excelling in a huge swath of repertoire. General Director Christina Scheppelmann interviewed Cole, who lives now where he grew up, in Kansas City, when "Seattle Opera Mornings on KING FM" re-broadcast his fateful, dazzling performance of ORPHÉE.

Seattle Opera General Director Christina Scheppelmann spoke with soprano Jane Eaglen when "Seattle Opera Mornings on KING FM" played TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, a 1998 production that featured role debuts for both Eaglen (as Isolde) and Ben Heppner (as Tristan). Eaglen describes that eventful summer, what it's like to sing the Liebestod from Isolde's point of view, and the importance of a prompter!

Peter Kazaras has been a mainstay of Seattle Opera since his 1985 debut onstage singing the role of Steva in JENŮFA. His debut as a stage director came in 2003. As Artistic Director of Seattle Opera's Young Artists Program from 2005 to 2013, plus his ongoing work as Director of Opera at UCLA, he has trained a generation of opera artists. For a KING FM Intermission he discussed with Jonathan Dean Verdi's FALSTAFF, an opera Kazaras first staged in 2007, for the Young Artists, and then in 2010 on Seattle Opera's mainstage.

Viswa Subbaraman will make his Seattle Opera debut next spring conducting FLIGHT. This young American conductor discussed Lakmé, and the operatic tradition of "exoticism"—European artworks using images of non-European places and cultures—with Seattle Opera General Director Christina Scheppelmann for an intermission feature on a Seattle Opera Mornings on KING FM broadcast.

University of Michigan professor Naomi André is also Seattle Opera's Scholar-in-Residence. For an intermission feature on "Seattle Opera Mornings on KING FM," she discussed Verdi's OTELLO and its 1967 premiere at Seattle Opera.

Italian conductor Carlo Montanaro was in Seattle, working on our fall video version of THE ELIXIR OF LOVE, when he chatted with Seattle Opera General Director Christina Scheppelmann about Donizetti for an intermission feature that played during a rebroadcast of ANNA BOLENA on "Seattle Opera Mornings on KING FM."

Seattle Opera General Director Christina Scheppelmann spoke with baritone Gordon Hawkins as an intermission feature for "Seattle Opera Mornings on KING FM." In addition to discussing Macbeth and several of his other great roles, Hawkins and Scheppelmann, both of whom knew and admired Ruth Bader Ginsburg, fondly remember the Chief Justice and her love for opera.

Seattle Opera's current General Director, Christina Scheppelmann, chatted with Speight Jenkins, who led the company for three decades, from 1983 through 2014. Speight is a legend in the world of opera, and as you'll hear in this podcast his inimitable, high-energy, opinionated charm is as powerful as ever. They discuss the great tenor Franco Corelli (this conversation was originally an intermission feature on a re-broadcast of Corelli's Seattle debut) and Speight tells the story of how he first came to Seattle.

Seattle Opera General Director Christina Scheppelmann spoke with soprano Jane Eaglen as an intermission feature for "Seattle Opera Mornings on KING FM." Eaglen remembers the dramatic circumstances of her Seattle debut, as Norma in 1994, and how coming to Seattle ended up changing her life.

Phil Kelsey, Seattle Opera's Assistant Conductor, remembered the fantastic fall 1990 Seattle Opera premiere of Rusalka during an intermission chat with Dramaturg Jonathan Dean. Kelsey, who had musically prepared several Seattle Rings during the '80s, has been with the company full-time ever since that Rusalka, and was particularly gratified to watch this great Czech opera—long a personal favorite of his—become part of the standard rep in America.

Stephen Wall has sung with Seattle Opera for almost 40 seasons...but this season has brought him additional fame, as "Ballard Opera Man," offering regular outdoor recitals for his neighbors (with room for them to maintain social distance!). He discussed both his recent activities and his many years with Seattle Opera with General Director Christina Scheppelmann for a recent intermission feature for "Seattle Opera Mornings on KING FM."

Seattle Opera General Director Christina Scheppelmann spoke with baritone Gordon Hawkins as an intermission feature for "Seattle Opera Mornings on KING FM." Between Acts 2 and 3 of NABUCCO, Hawkins, who has sung almost all the great Verdi baritone roles for Seattle Opera, reflected on singing Verdi honestly and his many years with the company.

Many of opera's greatest and most overwhelming moments happen thanks to the chorus. Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean introduces many of the typical functions of the opera chorus, such as saluting a leader, singing in praise—or fear—of God, providing local color, intensifying the drama, and embodying the multitude. Musical excerpts from three decades of Seattle Opera productions feature the work of Seattle Opera Chorus Masters George Fiore, Beth Kirchoff, and John Keene, in Seattle Opera's 2015 Nabucco, 2012 Turandot, 2000 Boris Godunov, 2015 Semele, 2007 Iphigénie en Tauride, 2019 Il trovatore, 2014 Tales of Hoffmann, 2013 La bohème, 2011 Porgy and Bess, 1998 Faust, 1994 Lohengrin, 1994 Norma, 2007 Flying Dutchman, 2012 Fidelio, 1989 Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and 1990 War and Peace, plus a Decca recording of Die Entführung aus dem Serail conducted by Sir Georg Solti, the Leipzig Radio Chorus and Staatskapelle Dresden performing the Tannhäuser Pilgrims' Chorus conducted by Silvio Varviso, and the Decca recording of Peter Grimes conducted by Benjamin Britten.

Come down to the bassment and enjoy the deep sound of the bass and bass-baritone voices with Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean. Basses play dads, priests, kings, old bearded guys, God, and the Devil; they get to be evil, they get to be funny, and they always sing with great authority. Includes a 4-pack bass sampler from BORIS GODUNOV, a taste test of Hagens from GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG, and a buffo bass patter race. Musical examples feature favorite Seattle Opera basses and bass-baritones including Kevin Langan, Richard Best, Peter Rose, Ante Jerkunica, John Relyea, Gabor Andrasy, Nicolas Cavallier, Alexander Anisimov, Arthur Woodley, Eduardo Chama, Shenyang, Ashraf Sewailam, Greer Grimsley, Vladimir Ognovienko, baritone Marius Kwiecien, Alfred Walker, William Wildermann, John Macurdy, Simon Estes, John Del Carlo, Monte Pederson, Kevin Short, and Stephen Milling.

Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean introduces the baritone voice, a sound which celebrates the beauty and power of masculinity. In opera, baritones play clowns and kings, urban sophisticates and unlettered innocents; good, bad, and every shade of grey. They win our hearts, melt our hearts, and break our hearts. Featuring musical examples with sweet lyric baritones, proud heroic baritones, snarly dramatic baritones, and many other varieties, including Seattle Opera favorites John Moore, Dale Duesing, Alfonso Antoniozzi, Mariusz Kwiecien, Gordon Hawkins, Richard Stilwell, Will Liverman, David Adam Moore, Vladimir Chernov, Morgan Smith, Christopher Maltman, Julian Patrick, Malcolm Rivers, Andrew Garland, Richard Paul Fink, and Brett Polegato.

Seattle Opera General Director Christina Scheppelmann spoke with Marketing Director Kristina Murti about the 2017 production of Madama Butterfly as an intermission feature for "Seattle Opera Mornings on KING FM." They discussed the importance of putting historical works in context, something Seattle Opera strove to do at that production by providing audiences with more information about how the opera came to be created, and the powerful and lasting impact created by its images and ideas.

Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean introduces several different types of tenor, from the agile-voiced, graceful and elegant tenori di grazia, to the heroic and powerful tenori di forza, and all points in between. Includes musical examples featuring many favorite Seattle Opera tenors: Antonello Palombi, Edgardo Rocha, Laurence Brownlee, William Burden, Matthew Polenzani, Ben Heppner, James McCracken, Stefan Vinke, Francesco Demuro, Joseph Calleja, Alasdair Elliott, Peter Kazaras, Marcello Giordani, Neil Shicoff, Russell Thomas, Franco Corelli, and Vinson Cole.

Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean investigates two voice types infrequently encountered in opera: trebles (boy sopranos and adolescent female sopranos) and countertenors. Features conversation with Seattle Opera coach-accompanist Jay Rozendaal, and musical examples: TURN OF THE SCREW (Rafi Bellamy Plaice and Forrest Wu), LAKMÉ (Harolyn Blackwell), THE MAGIC FLUTE (Johanna Mergener, Emili Rice, and Isabel Woods), HANSEL & GRETEL (Sasha Cooke and Ashley Emerson), SIEGFRIED (Juls Serger and Julianne Gearhart), FALSTAFF (Peter Rose), Freddie Mercury, Colm Wilkinson, and Will Oakland, I PURITANI (Luciano Pavarotti and Lawrence Brownlee), Alessandro Moreschi, GIULIO CESARE (Bryn Terfel, Milijana Mijanovic, and Jochen Kowalski singing "Va, tacito" and Brian Asawa singing "L'empio, sleale, indegno") and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (Anthony Roth Costanzo).

Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean introduces the mezzo and contralto voices. With their rich, creamy, dark sounds these lower-voiced ladies play opera's most luscious babes, as well as boys, old women, jealous wives, vengeful goddesses, and loving mothers. Featuring musical examples including Seattle Opera favorites Michelle DeYoung, Helene Schneidermann, Sarah Mattox, Rosemary Alvino, Daniela Sindram, Kate Lindsey, Graciela Araya, Laura Polvarelli, Luretta Bybee, Maria Zifchak, Sarah Larsen, Margaret Gawrysiak, Rosalind Plowright, Marvellee Cariaga, Joyce Castle, Stephanie Blythe, Elena Gabouri, Florence Quivar, Ewa Podles, Sheila Nadler, and Geraldine Decker.

Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean leads a tour through the land of soprano, from dazzling coloratura acrobats to fearsome goddesses whose roar sets the opera house aflame. Includes musical examples featuring many favorite Seattle Opera sopranos: Cyndia Sieden, Joan Sutherland, Sarah Coburn, Sally Wolf, Dana Pundt, Jennifer Zetlan, Nuccia Focile, Angel Blue, Alexandra Deshorties, Renee Fleming, Sheri Greenawald, Carol Vaness, Lisa Daltirus, Mary Elizabeth Williams, Marcy Stonikas, Janice Baird and Irmgard Vilsmaier, and Jane Eaglen.

Learn more about this fresh, fascinating, and wholly operatic new work, which will play on www.king.org on Saturday June 13 at 10 am PST. Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean introduces The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, the opera with music by Mason Bates and libretto by Mark Campbell. Musical examples from the new recording of the opera made at Santa Fe Opera, summer 2017, and available from Pentatone records, with Edward Parks (Steve Jobs), Garrett Sorenson (Woz), Jessica E. Jones (Chrisann), Sasha Cooke (Laurene), and Wei Wu (Kōbun), conducted by Michael Christie.

Seattle Opera Mornings on KING FM: coming up June 6, The Marriage of Figaro, performed January 2016. Aidan Lang, then General Director of Seattle Opera, brought his own New Zealand Opera production of one of his favorite works to Seattle. (Lang worked as a freelance stage director for many years before becoming an administrator.) In this podcast (transcribed at www.seattleoperablog.com/2015/12/aida…omes-to.html) Lang shares his thoughts about this extraordinary masterpiece and its beloved characters. Musical examples recorded at Seattle Opera in 2009: conducted by Dean Williamson, starring Oren Gradus (Figaro), Christine Brandes (Susanna), Marius Kwiecien (Count Almaviva), Twyla Robinson (Countess Almaviva), Daniela Sindram (Cherubino), Leena Chopra (Barbarina), Arthur Woodley (Dr. Bartolo), Joyce Castle (Marcellina), Ted Schmitz (Don Basilio), and Barry Johnson (Antonio).

Tosca, featured on "Seattle Opera Mornings on KING FM" on May 30, is both a great opera for newbies to the art form and a rewarding piece to hear multiple times; it's accessible—a 'thriller' as cinematic as any Hollywood classic—and also stacked with layers of sumptuous artistry to savor. Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean introduces Tosca, with musical examples from Seattle Opera archival recordings of Tosca made in 2001, 2007, and 2015 and featuring Stefano Secco and Frank Porretta, Jr. as Cavaradossi, Greer Grimsley as Scarpia, and Marcy Stonikas, Ausrine Stundyte, Lisa Daltirus, and Carol Vaness as Tosca. The chorus and orchestra of Seattle Opera were conducted by Antonello Allemandi in 2001, Vjekoslav Sutej in 2007, and Julian Kovatchev in 2015.

Are you ready for this weekend (May 23)'s KING FM rebroadcast, the wildest opera by the person many consider opera's greatest composer? Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean introduces Il trovatore, with musical examples from Seattle Opera's archival recordings of Il trovatore: from 1997, with Carol Vaness (Leonora) and Gegam Grigorian (Manrico), and Gordon Hawkins (Count Di Luna), conducted by Antonello Allemandi; and from 2010, with Malgorzata Walewska (Azucena), Antonello Palombi (Manrico), and Gordon Hawkins (Count Di Luna) conducted by Yves Abel.

In this series of podcasts, Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean gives listeners a taste of nine different types of traditional opera. Operetta is a delightful kind of entertainment resembling opera, but different; whereas in opera the music tells the story, in operetta the music decorates a story which is usually little more than a joke—a story that nobody could possibly take seriously. Operetta developed, in the late nineteenth century, just as opera began taking itself perhaps too seriously. Operettas from traditions in Paris (Orphée aux enfers), London (The Pirates of Penzance), Vienna (Die Fledermaus) and New York City (Rose-Marie) typify the genre. And although many operettas remained popular for decades, the golden era of creating operetta turned to silver, then iron and finally steel as the twentieth century turned its energy toward making movies and wars. Musical examples on this podcast drawn from the 1997 EMI recording of Orphée aux enfers conducted by Mark Minkowski and starring Ewa Podles and Natalie Dessay, EMI recordings conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent of The Pirates of Penzance, 1961, H.M.S. Pinafore, 1958, and Iolanthe, 1959; the EMI Classics recording of Die Lustige Witwe, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst; the 1960 Decca recording of Die Fledermaus, conducted by Herbert von Karajan; excerpts from Rose Marie from a Pearl Historical recording of Oscar Hammerstein—the Legacy; and from the 1955 film of Oklahoma starring Gordon MacRae.

In this series of podcasts, Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean gives listeners a taste of nine different types of traditional opera. Singspiel (that's German for SongPlay) mixes songs, dialogues, choruses, and marvelous orchestral writing with fun and fantasy for a lowbrow, family friendly art form—the ancestor of today's Star Wars movies. Mozart's ever-popular Magic Flute is the perfect introduction to Singspiel, as well as one of the most beloved operas ever written. Another wonderful Singspiel, Weber's Der Freischütz, demonstrates the power of this form to send a wonderfully creepy chill down your spine. Musical examples on this podcast drawn from Seattle Opera productions of The Magic Flute, 2017, conducted by Julia Jones and starring John Moore, Andrew Stenson, and Christina Poulitsi; Der Freischütz, 1999, conducted by Gerard Schwarz and starring Harry Peeters and Gabor Andrasy; Fidelio, 2003, conducted by Gerard Schwarz and starring Jane Eaglen and Kevin Langan; The Flying Dutchman, 2016, conducted by Sebastian Lang-Lessing; also Marschner's Hans Heiling conducted by Ewald Körner (Marco Polo 1992); Fidelio starring Lucia Popp, Adolf Dallapozza, Gundula Janowitz, and René Kollo and conducted by Leonard Bernstein (Deutsche Gramophon, 1978); Der Stein der Weisen, Jane Giering-De Haan and Kevin Deas conducted by Martin Pearlman (Telarc, 1999); and the 1993 EMI recording of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch. Stay tuned for one more podcast introducing another kind of opera next week!

In this series of podcasts, Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean gives listeners a taste of nine different types of traditional opera. Opéra comique, a native French form of lower-brow musical theater, features spoken dialogue, catchy tunes with easy-to-sing refrains, and middle-class values. Many of the opéra-comiques still performed today (including Carmen, The Daughter of the Regiment, and Beatrice and Benedict, as well as opéra-comique derivatives such as Faust and The Tales of Hoffmann) deal, sentimentally or ironically, with a way of life and a value system which now belongs mostly to ancient history. Musical examples on this podcast drawn from Seattle Opera recordings of Carmen, 2019, conducted by Giacomo Sagripanti; Beatrice and Benedict, 2018, conducted by Ludovic Morlot; Les contes d'Hoffmann, 2014, conducted by Yves Abel and starring Leah Partridge, Alfred Walker, and Tichina Vaughn; La fille du régiment starring Spiro Malas, Monica Sinclair, Joan Sutherland, and Luciano Pavarotti and conducted by Richard Bonynge (Decca 1967); Richard Coeur de Lion starring Michel Trempont and conducted by Edgard Doneux (EMI Classics 1956); and Faust, starring Victoria de los Angeles and Boris Christoff, conducted by André Cluytens (EMI 1953). Stay tuned for another podcast introducing another kind of opera next week!

In this series of podcasts, Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean gives listeners a taste of nine different types of traditional opera. Opera buffa, the beloved old Italian tradition of opera comedy, is what you get by adding music to the even older Italian tradition of improvised (artisanal) comedy, commedia dell'arte. The fools and buffoons of commedia—the sassy wenches, befuddled old professors, suicidal young lovers, dirty old misers, hungry Harlequins, arrogant soldiers, zany servants, and all the rest—found new ways of entertaining us once they began singing gloriously. And with the opera orchestra functioning as a laugh track and adding jokes of its own, opera buffa continues to disarm us and charm us while putting a big grin on our faces. The Barber of Seville and The Elixir of Love are great examples of the genre. Musical examples on the podcast drawn from Seattle Opera recordings of La Cenerentola, 2013, conducted by Giacomo Sagripanti; The Barber of Seville, 2011, conducted by Dean Williamson and starring José Carbo and Lawrence Brownlee; The Marriage of Figaro, 2009, conducted by Dean Williamson and starring Nicolas Cavallier and Barry Johnson; Così fan tutte, 2006, conducted by Andreas Mitisek; the 1986 Hungaroton recording of La serva padrona, starring Katalin Farkas and Jozsef Gregor, with Capella Savaria conducted by Pal Nemeth; Falstaff, conducted by Karajan and starring Luigi Alva, soloists, and the Philharmonia Orchestra (Columbia 1956); Gianni Schicchi, conducted by Antonio Pappano (EMI 1998); and L'elisir d'amore, Ileana Cotrubas, Geraint Evans, and the orchestra of Covent Garden conducted by John Pritchard (Columbia 1977) Stay tuned for another podcast introducing another kind of opera next week!

In this series of podcasts, Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean gives listeners a taste of nine different types of traditional opera. Verismo was a late nineteenth-century reaction against the excesses of the great tradition. The aim was immediate, powerful, realistic opera, with post-Wagnerian music of titanic passion setting stories about simple, everyday, relatable characters. The vogue for verismo dominated opera as the older art form gave birth to the cinema. Leoncavallo's masterpiece Pagliacci (1892) serves as a well-known example of verismo; Il tabarro (1918), by Puccini, isn't so well-known but is every bit as great. Musical examples on the podcast drawn from Seattle Opera recordings of Andrea Chenier, 1996, conducted by Steven Mercurio; La bohème, 2007, conducted by Vjekoslav Sutej and starring Karen Driscoll and Philip Cutlip; Turandot, 2012, conducted by Asher Fisch and starring Antonello Palombi; the 1953 EMI Classics recording of PAGLIACCI conducted by Renato Cellini; and the 1956 EMI recording of Il tabarro conducted by Vincenzo Bellezza and starring Tito Gobbi and Margaret Mas. Stay tuned for another podcast introducing another kind of opera next week!

Dacia Clay, KING FM Creative Director and host of the Classical Classroom Podcast, chats with Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean about Pushkin, the great Russian poet, novelist, and playwright. Pushkin's brilliant works have almost all been transformed into operas, composed by generations of Russian composers. In Part One, Clay and Dean give an overview of Pushkin's brief and colorful life. In Part Two, they start discussing the operas, focusing on Boris Godunov and Eugene Onegin.

In this series of podcasts, Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean gives listeners a taste of nine different types of traditional opera. Music Drama was the personal solution to the problems of presenting opera in nineteenth-century Europe developed by composer/librettist Richard Wagner, opera's ultimate mad genius. These long, loud, big works challenge artists, audiences, and the art form itself. Their complex music and unique spins on old stories continue to attract, repel, and provoke all who encounter them. Wagner's Tristan und Isolde (1865) serves as an example of the genre, as does the Richard Strauss opera Elektra (1909). Musical examples on this podcast drawn from Seattle Opera productions of Lohengrin 1994, conducted by Hermann Michael; Parsifal 2003, conducted by Asher Fisch and starring Stephen Milling; Die Walküre, conducted by Robert Spano, 2005 (starring Jane Eaglen) and 2009; Siegfried, 2013, conducted by Asher Fisch; and Tristan und Isolde (1998, conducted by Armin Jordan and starring Jane Eaglen and Ben Heppner; 2010, conducted by Asher Fisch; opening and English horn solo from the 1966 Bayreuth Festival recording conducted by Karl Böhm; conclusion of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Karajan (Deutsche Gramophon 1977); Elektra, Astrid Varnay and Leonie Rysanek with the orchestra of West German Radio conducted by Richard Kraus (Melodram 1953). Stay tuned for another podcast introducing another kind of opera next week!

Dacia Clay, KING FM Creative Director and host of the Classical Classroom Podcast, chats with Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean about Pushkin, the great Russian poet, novelist, and playwright. Pushkin's brilliant works have almost all been transformed into operas, composed by generations of Russian composers. In Part One, Clay and Dean give an overview of Pushkin's brief and colorful life. In Part Two, they start discussing the operas, focusing on Boris Godunov and Eugene Onegin.

In this series of podcasts, Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean gives listeners a taste of nine different types of traditional opera. Bel Canto Melodrama refers to for serious Italian opera from the first part of the nineteenth century—when opera singing was about dazzling trapeze acts, and opera plots tended toward the wild, far-fetched, and grotesque. Inspired by their newfound obsession with Shakespeare, Europe's Romantic generation created some of opera's most enduringly popular works, including Verdi's Rigoletto and Bellini's Norma. Musical examples on the podcast drawn from Seattle Opera recordings of Rigoletto: from 1995, conducted by Phil Kelsey and starring Harolyn Blackwell; and from 2019, conducted by Carlo Montanaro and starring Giuseppe Altomare and Yongzhao Yu: and Seattle Opera Normas, both conducted by Edoardo Mueller, from 2003 starring Sally Wolf; and from 1994 starring Jane Eaglen. Also, Verdi's Il trovatore conducted by Tullio Serafin (Deutsche Gramophon, 1962); and Rossini's L'assedio di Corinto, Marilyn Horne conducted by Henry Lewis (Decca, 1973). Stay tuned for another podcast introducing another kind of opera next week!

In this series of podcasts, Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean gives listeners a taste of nine different types of traditional opera. Grand opera developed in the mid-19th century and centered on performances at the Opéra in Paris. The roots of the genre stretch back to the opulent court of France's Sun King, Louis XIV, and continue to influence how opera is presented to this day. Verdi's Aida (1871) is probably the world's favorite grand opera (although it's not necessarily a textbook example of the genre, since it wasn't written for the Opéra, is sung in Italian, and is briefer and more straightforward than most grand operas). Another beloved masterpiece is Wagner's Tannhäuser (1845), a work retro-fitted in 1861 for performance at the Opéra. Musical examples on the podcast drawn from recordings of Verdi's Don Carlos (first entrance of Philip II), Vienna Staatsoper performance conducted by Bertrand De Billy, (Premiere Opera Ltd. 2004); "Le divertissement royal – Danse de Neptune" from Lully: l'Orchestre du Roi Soleil, Le Concert des Nations led by Jordi Savall (Alia Vox Spain 1999); Don Carlos (conclusion), soloists, chorus, and orchestra of La Scala conducted by Claudio Abbado (Deutsche Gramophon, 1984); Seattle Opera's 2018 Aida, starring Alexandra LoBianco, David Pomeroy, Elena Gabouri, chorus and orchestra of Seattle Opera conducted by John Fiore; and Tannhäuser (Venusberg Ballet), Staatskapelle Berlin conducted by Daniel Barenboim (Teldec 2002).

In this series of podcasts, Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean gives listeners a taste of nine different types of traditional opera. Opera seria, traditional Italian serious opera, developed in the mid-1600s and lasted into the early 1800s. Handel's Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar), an opera from 1724, is a great masterpiece and an examplar of the genre; another is Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice (aka Orphée et Eurydice, aka Orpheus and Euridice, 1762/1774). Musical examples on the podcast drawn from recordings of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride, Les Musiciens du Louvre conducted by Mark Minkowski (Archiv 1999); Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea, Della Jones and Mark Tucker with the City of London Baroque Sinfonia conducted by Richard Hickox (Virgin Classics 1988); Gluck's Alceste, Kirsten Flagstad and Geraint Jones Orchestra conducted by Geraint Jones (Decca 1956); Ercole sul Termodonte, Topi Lehtipuu and Rolando Villazón conducted by Fabio Biondi (Virgin Classics 2009); Giulio Cesare, Anne Sofie von Otter, Marijana Mijanović, Magdalena Kožená, and Les Musiciens du Louvre conducted by Mark Minkowski (Archiv 2002); also Giulio Cesare, Derek Lee Ragin and Concerto Köln conducted by René Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi 1991); Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice, Maria Callas and Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française, 1961; and Seattle Opera's 2015 production of Semele conducted by Gary Thor Wedow.

"Men die and governments change, but the songs of La bohème will live forever," wrote Thomas Alva Edison to Giacomo Puccini. Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean introduces La bohème, with musical examples from Seattle Opera's archival recordings of La bohème: from 2007, with Rosario La Spina (Rodolfo) and Nuccia Focile (Mimì), conducted by Vjekoslav Sutej; and from 2013, with Andrew Garland (Schaunard), Arthur Woodley (Colline), Michael Fabiano (Rodolfo), Keith Phares (Marcello), and Jennifer Black (Mimì), conducted by Carlo Montanaro.

Seattle's jazz community is getting excited about Charlie Parker's Yardbird. Tenor Joshua Stewart, who makes his Seattle Opera debut as Charlie Parker (a role he has now sung in many other cities), visited radio station KNKX, 88.5 FM, Seattle's connection to Jazz, Blues, and NPR. He brought with him David McDade, Seattle Opera's Head of Coach-Accompanists, and sang some of the arias he sings in this opera—as well as a special treat. Thanks to Robin Lloyd of KNKX for hosting this interview and sharing it with us.

Daniel Schnyder and Bridgette Wimberly, composer and librettist of CHARLIE PARKER'S YARDBIRD, talked about this exciting new opera the other night with Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean and Abe Beeson of radio station KNKX, Seattle's connection to jazz and blues. An edited version of that interview, this podcast offers windows into how Wimberly found the story of several women who loved a musican, how Schnyder bridged the worlds of 'classical' music and jazz, and how their opera evolved. You'll hear brief excerpts from the opera (including a special example of Schnyder playing the role of Charlie on a soprano sax), a clip from Schnyder's oratorio "SUNDIATA KEITA," a snatch of Charlie & Dizzy jamming, and the voice of the real-life Charlie Parker.

After our performances of Eugene Onegin in January 2020 audiences stayed to discuss the show with cast, crew, and staff. Hear highlights from those post-show Q&As. In addition to audience members, voices include those of Tomer Zvulun (Original Production Director), Stephanie Havey (Associate Director), Aleksandar Marković (Conductor), Michael Adams (Onegin), Marina Costa-Jackson (Tatyana—bonus pinch of Miriam and Ginger Costa-Jackson singing Lakmé's Flower Duet also included!), David Leigh (Prince Gremin), Margaret Gawyrsiak (Mme. Larina), Meredith Arwady (Filipevna), and John Moore (Onegin). Christina Scheppelmann (General Director) and Jonathan Dean (Dramaturg) hosted the discussions.

A new opera that combines jazz and classical? Charlie Parker's Yardbird is about music, creativity, communication, race and racism, drugs and addiction, and life and death and freedom. Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean introduces this new opera with music by Daniel Schnyder and a libretto by Bridgette A. Wimberly. Musical examples from an Opera Philadelphia performance, starring Lawrence Brownlee as Charlie Parker, Will Liverman as Dizzy Gillespie, Angela Brown as Addie, Emily Pogorelc as Chan, Elena Perroni as Doris, Chrystal E. Williams as Rebecca, and Tamara Mumford as Nica. The Opera Philadelphia orchestra is conducted by Corrado Rovaris.

Tosca is both a great opera for newbies to the art form and a rewarding piece to hear multiple times; it's accessible—a 'thriller' as cinematic as any Hollywood classic—and also stacked with layers of sumptuous artistry to savor. Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean introduces Tosca, with musical examples from Seattle Opera archival recordings of Tosca made in 2001, 2007, and 2015 and featuring Stefano Secco and Frank Porretta, Jr. as Cavaradossi, Greer Grimsley as Scarpia, and Marcy Stonikas, Ausrine Stundyte, Lisa Daltirus, and Carol Vaness as Tosca. The chorus and orchestra of Seattle Opera were conducted by Antonello Allemandi in 2001, Vjekoslav Sutej in 2007, and Julian Kovatchev in 2015.

One of late twentieth-century opera's great successes, Flight, with music by Jonathan Dove to a libretto by April DeAngelis, makes a long-awaited Seattle premiere in 2021. This "Marriage of Figaro for the 1990s" is a bold and beautiful opera, with a message more pertinent than ever. Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean introduces Flight, with musical examples from the commercially available recording, available from Chandos records at https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%2010197. David Parry conducted the Glyndebourne Festival Orchestra in 2003, and the cast includes Christopher Robson as the Refugee, Claron McFadden as the Controller, Richard Coxon and Mary Plazas as Bill and Tiny, Nuala Willis as the Older Woman, Ann Taylor and Garry Magee as the Stewardess and Steward, and Steven Page and Anne Mason as the Minskman and Minskwoman.

A new production of Mozart's classic promises a fresh look at the legendary seducer and how he is punished. Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean introduces the music and characters of Don Giovanni, with musical examples from Seattle Opera archival recordings of Don Giovanni from 1991, conducted by Gerard Schwarz; 1999, conducted by Klaus Donath, 2007, conducted by Andreas Mitisek; and 2014, conducted by Gary Thor Wedow. Voices include Vladimir Ognovienko as the Commendatore, Eduardo Chama, Ashraf Sewailam, and Kevin Langan as Leporello, Franzita Whelan, Sally Wolf, and Alexandra LoBianco as Donna Anna, Kurt Streit, Lawrence Brownlee, and Randall Bills as Don Ottavio, Elizabeth Caballero and Christine Goerke as Donna Elvira, Mark Walters, Marius Kwiecien, and Jason Howard as Don Giovanni, Anna Steiger, Laura Polvarelli, and Cecelia Hall as Zerlina, and John Kuether, Evan Boyer, and Chester Patton as Masetto.