Seattle Opera Podcast

Why has Carmen been, since 1875, one of the world's most popular operas? Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean introduces this beloved masterpiece with musical examples from Seattle Opera's archival recordings of Carmen: from 1995, with Greer Grimsley as Escamillo (conducted by Steven Sloane); from 2004, with Stephanie Blythe (Carmen) and Paul Charles Clarke (Don José), conducted by George Manahan; and from 2011, with Anita Rachvelishvili (Carmen), Fernando de la Mora (Don José), and Norah Amsellem (Micaëla), conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi.

In February/March 2026 Seattle Opera premieres a new production of Fellow Travelers, an opera (based on the novel by Thomas Mallon) with music by Gregory Spears to a libretto by Greg Pierce that premiered at Cincinnati Opera in 2016. Jonathan Dean introduces this beautiful new American opera, a love story set against the historical backdrop of McCarthy's witch hunts and the Lavender Scare in 1950s Washington, DC. Musical examples from the world premiere recording of Fellow Travelers, conducted by Mark Gibson and featuring Aaron Blake as Tim, Joseph Lattanzi as Hawk, Devon Guthrie as Mary, Tayla Lieberman as Lucy, Marcus DeLoach, Vernon Hartman, Paul Scholten, and Christian Pursell in other roles, with the orchestra of Cincinnati Opera.

Daphne, by Richard Strauss, comes to Seattle Opera for two concert performances in January 2025. This gorgeous opera, based on Greek myth, is a splendid showcase for a fantastic orchestra. Jonathan Dean explains what Strauss learned from Wagner, tells this unfamiliar opera's story, and explores the meaning of the myth. Musical examples from the 2005 Decca recording of Daphne (West Deutscher Rundfunk Orchestra conducted by Semyon Bychkov, with Renee Fleming, Johan Botha, Michael Schade, Anna Larsson, Kwanchul Youn, Julia Kleiter, and Twyla Robinson); the 1983 EMI recording (Bayerischen Rundfunks conducted by Bernard Haitink, with Lucia Popp, Reiner Goldberg, Peter Schreier, Ortrun Wenkel, and Kurt Moll); and the 1965 Deutsche Gramophon recording (Vienna Symphony conducted by Karl Böhm, starring Hilde Gueden, James King, Fritz Wunderlich, Vera Little, and Paul Schöffler).

Seattle Opera presents its first-ever Gilbert & Sullivan in October 2025: The Pirates of Penzance, in a charming, traditional production that has already delighted many American opera audiences. Jonathan Dean explains the difference between opera and operetta, shares a bit of the music and humor of Pirates, and attempts to explain what The Pirates of Penzance is all about. Musical examples from Seattle Opera recordings of Rigoletto and Il trovatore, plus a recording of Pirates provided by the Atlanta Opera Film Studio (with Susanne Burgess as Mabel and Santiago Ballerini as Frederic, Chorus and Orchestra of Atlanta Opera conducted by Francesco Milioto) and another recorded in 1959 by EMI, featuring George Baker as the Major-General, James Milligan as the Pirate King, Owen Brannigan as the Police Sergeant, plus the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus and the Pro Arte Orchestra conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent.

James Robinson, new General and Artistic Director of Seattle Opera, introduces the 2025/26 season. The Pirates of Penzance promises a musically extraordinary operatic approach to Gilbert & Sullivan; come prepared to laugh and to enjoy some familiar music as you've never heard it before. Daphne In Concert offers a rare opportunity to hear a lush Romantic masterpiece by Richard Strauss, an orchestral tour de force with splendid voices. Fellow Travelers, by Gregory Spears & Greg Pierce, is one of the most successful new American operas of the past decade: a bittersweet gay romance hidden inside a political thriller. And Carmen returns in a powerful production conducted by Seattle's beloved Ludovic Morlot and starring some of our favorite singers. Musical examples include excerpts from a 1959 Glyndebourne Pirates of Penzance, conducted by Malcolm Sargent and starring George Baker, Elsie Morison, and James Milligan; the 1964 Vienna Festival Daphne conducted by Karl Böhm and starring Hilde Gueden, Fritz Wunderlich, and James King; the recording of Fellow Travelers' world premiere, 2016 at Cincinnati Opera and starring Aaron Blake, Joseph Lattanzi, and Devon Guthrie, with the Cincinnati Symphony conducted by Mark Gibson; and Seattle Opera recordings of Carmen from 2019, Les Troyens from 2025, starring J'Nai Bridges and conducted by Ludovic Morlot, and Hansel und Gretel from 2016 starring Sasha Cooke and conducted by Sebastian Lang-Lessing.