Looking Forward to Seattle Opera’s 2020/2021 Season

Seattle Opera announced their new season really early this year. Coincidentally, I happened to be on their website that day and saw the new line-up before the press release even hit my inbox. I didn’t get around to writing about it until now, but not for lack of enthusiasm. It’s going to be an interesting season.

Cavalleria rusticana & Pagliacci

Cavalleria rusticana
Music by Pietro Mascagni
Libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci
Premiere: May 17, 1890 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome
Previous Seattle Opera Performances: 1966, 1983, 1990

Pagliacci
Music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo
In Italian with English captions
Premiere: May 21, 1892 at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan
Previous Seattle Opera Performances: 1966, 1974, 1983, 2008 
Marion Oliver McCaw Hall
Performances: August 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 19, 21, & 22, 2020

Approximate Running Time: 3 hours, including one intermission.  
Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m

Two in One

I’ve mentioned before that my idea of the perfect soprano was formed by the movie A Room with a View. Eventually I found out the song was ‘O mio babbino caro’ from Puccini’s one-act opera Gianni Schicchi. And I was sad because I assumed Seattle Opera only does full-length operas.

This season will be the first in my experience to have a mainstage production featuring two separate one-act operas. Seattle Opera calls them:

Two distinct yet complementary tales of jealousy, adultery, and revenge explore elemental emotions when affairs lead to crimes of passion.

I’m really curious to see how it feels to see two unrelated stories with similar themes/narrative arcs back to back. Opera is so extra, a performance tends to stay with me for days after I watch it. Will these two operas be forever blended in my memory? Will one dominate? I can’t wait to find out.

{Also note the conductor, Oksana Lyniv. I confess I do not have the sophistication ear to identify the impact of a conductor on a quality orchestra. But I know it’s a field in which women are seriously underrepresented, and I’m happy to see a woman on the podium here in Seattle – perhaps for the first time.}

Cavalleria rusticana (Rustic Chivalry)

I’d never heard of this opera before seeing it on the schedule for next season, and I’m unfamiliar with the composer Pietro Mascagni. Honestly, the plot sounds like trashy high school drama, so I hope the music is good. The casting of Marcy Stonikas is a good sign – she turned an opera in English about bureaucracy into one of the most affecting nights of opera I’ve experienced.

Pagliacci

I had heard of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, although I didn’t know much more about that the name. It is reportedly inspired by Cavalleria rusticana, and revolves around similar relationship dramas, with the added benefit of a domestic violence murder. Delightful. Again, the casting gives me hope. Vanessa Goikoetxea’s in 2019’s Carmen turned Micaela, a paper doll of a character, into a woman you would like to know while Joyce El-Khoury’s voice was one of my favorite things about Maria Stuarda. And I am always happy to see Will Liverman.

Cast

Santuzza (Cav.)    
Melody Moore (Aug. 8, 12, 16, & 22)
Marcy Stonikas (Aug. 9, 15, 19, & 21)

Turiddu (Cav.) and Canio (Pag.) 
Gregory Kunde (Aug. 8, 12, 16, & 22) 
Arsen Soghomonyan* (Aug. 9, 15, 19, & 21)

Nedda (Pag.)  
Vanessa Goikoetxea (Aug. 8, 12, 16, & 22) 
Joyce El-Khoury (Aug. 9, 15, 19, & 21)

Alfio (Cav.) and Tonio (Pag.)
Michael Mayes

Mamma Lucia (Cav.)   
Tichina Vaughn

Lola (Cav.)                       
Sarah Larsen

Silvio (Pag.)                     
Will Liverman

Beppe (Pag.)                    
Andrew Stenson

Conductor
Oksana Lyniv*

Director
Guy Montavon*

Set Designer
Hank Irwin Kittel*

Costume Designer
Bianca Deigner*

 * Company Debut

The Elixir of Love

Music by Gaetano Donizetti 
Libretto by Felice Romani
In Italian with English captions
Premiere: May 12, 1832 at the Teatro della Canobbiana in Milan
Previous Seattle Opera Performances: 1969, 1985, 1998
Marion Oliver McCaw Hall
Performances: October 17, 18, 21, 24, 25, 28, 30, & 31, 2020
Approximate Running Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes including one intermission
Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m

New Opera, Old Composer

I’ve seen Daughter of the Regiment and Maria Stuarda by Donizetti, but The Elixir of Love is another new-to-me opera, despite claims that it’s the second-most famous opera comedy of all time. I could use a good human folly comedy, and I’m looking forward to this one.

Heroine Adina will be performed by Madison Leonard and South African soprano Vuvu Mpofuwho taught herself to sing by mimicking opera DVDs before auditioning for college as a self-taught artist. I loved Leonard’s light, gorgeous voice in Steve Jobs and in Rigoletto, and I’ve been curious about Mpofu since reading about her in scholar-in-residence Naomi Andre’s book, Black Opera. So this casting duo is win-win.

Cast

Adina
Madison Leonard (Oct. 17, 21, 25, & 31)
Vuvu Mpofu* (Oct. 18, 24, 28, & 30)

Nemorino
Liparit Avetisyan (Oct. 17, 21, 25, & 31)
Matthew Grills (Oct. 18, 24, 28, & 30)

Dulcamara 
Peter Kálmán (Oct. 17, 21, 25, & 31)
Patrick Carfizzi (Oct. 18, 24, 28, & 30)

Belcore  
Michael Adams

Conductor
Carlo Montanaro

Director 
Stephen Lawless*

Set and Costume Designer
Ashley Martin-Davis*

* Company Debut

Angela Meade & Jamie Barton in concert with John Keene, pianist

A special concert featuring a mixed-genre program with a variety of favorite opera arias and rarities. One night only!

Marion Oliver McCaw Hall
Performance: 7:30 p.m., October 23, 2020

In the past I have only attended the mainstage performances. I’m not even sure if Seattle Opera has always put on mid-season recitals or if it’s something they started in recent years. But I have a goal in the future to attend some of them.

Don Giovanni

Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 
Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte 
In Italian with English captions
Premiere: Oct. 29, 1787, National Theatre in Prague
Previous Seattle Opera Performances: 1968, 1979, 1991, 1999, 2007, and 2014
Marion Oliver McCaw Hall
Performances: January 16, 17, 20, 23, 24, 27, 29, & 30, 2021
Approximate Running Time: 3 hours, 25 minutes including one intermission
Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m

Mixed Feelings

I have mixed feelings about this one. (If you’re not already familiar with Don Giovanni, here’s a summary). I was bored by Don Giovanni the first time I saw it. I hated the main character and the monochromatic, monolithic  set didn’t give me anything else to look at. But I saw the same production a few years later (I had season tickets) and really liked it. So many baritones! A villainous man who actually gets what he deserves! Mozart! And the topic of sexual predators is unfortunately still timely – and more relevant than stories of petty jealousy.

But I’ve seen Don Giovanni a couple times now, and I don’t really know if I need to see it again. As my experience with this very opera proves, every viewing gives you something new. So I’ll still go if I can, and see what this one has to offer. I think it will be fresh – the cast list, including both Giovannis, is loaded with Seattle Opera debuts. Plus, both the director and conductor are women, which should add something to the way a story about a predator is told.

Cast

Don Giovanni     
Daniel Okulitch* (Jan. 16, 20, 24, & 30)
Jared Bybee* (Jan. 17, 23, 27, & 29)

Donna Anna
Vanessa Goikoetxea (Jan. 16, 20, 24, & 30)
Laura Wilde* (Jan. 17, 23, 27, & 29)

Leporello 
Michael Sumuel* (Jan. 17, 23, 27, & 29)

Don Ottavio
Edgardo Rocha (Jan. 16, 20, 24, & 30) 
Miles Mykkanen* (Jan. 17, 23, 27, & 29)

Donna Elvira
Keri Alkema (Jan. 16, 20, 24, & 30) 
Helena Dix* (Jan. 17, 23, 27, & 29)

Zerlina 
Jasmine Habersheim*

Masetto  
William Thomas*

Commendatore
Kenneth Kellogg*

Conductor  
Lidiya Yankovskaya*

Director  
Brenna Corner*

Scenic Designer
Mimi Lien*

Costume Designer 
Erik Teague*

Lighting Designer 
Robert Wierzel        

* Company Debut

Flight

Music by Jonathan Dove 
Libretto by April De Angelis
In English with English captions
Premiere: Sept. 24, 1998 with Glyndebourne Touring Opera in Glyndebourne
Seattle Opera premiere
Marion Oliver McCaw Hall
Performances: February 27, 28 and March 3, 6, 7, 10, 12, & 13, 2021
Approximate Running Time: 2 hours and 40 minutes including one intermission
Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m

Fresh and New

Speaking of fresh, it feels a little odd to call something written in the late 20^th century “new.” But Flight is 98 years newer than anything else in the season, and 211 years newer than the oldest program. I’m super excited about this one. To start with, I like new things, even in old art forms.

In addition, it sounds like it will be good. Like that Tom Hanks movie, it’s about a man stranded at the airport by politics. Based on the true story stateless refugee Mehran Karimi Nasseri’s 18-year forced residency at Charles de Gaulle airport, it is both relevant and timely. Yet it promises to also be humorous. Art that is simultaneously thought-provoking and entertaining is kind of the holy grail.

The only point of concern is the music. I think part of the reason opera fans come across as so reactionary sometimes is because a lot of contemporary classical music is kind of hard to listen to, or tediously minimalistic, while the old stuff is so accessibly beautiful. I’ve never heard composer Jonathan Dove’s music, but he is one of the rare contemporary composers whose operas are often performed. Not to sound crassly commercial, but if his work is being performed, it’s probably not scaring away the audiences, so I’m cautiously optimistic.

Cast

Refugee  
David DQ Lee* (Feb. 27, Mar. 3, 7, & 13)
Randall Scotting (Feb. 28, Mar. 6, 10 & 12)

Bill 
Joshua Kohl  

Tina
Karen Vuong

Steward  
Mark Diamond  

Minskwoman   
Renée Rapier

Immigration Officer 
Damien Geter

Conductor   
Viswa Subbaraman*

Director   
Brian Staufenbiel*

Set Designer     
Dave Dunning*

Costume Designer
Alina Bokovikova*

Projection Designer    
David Murakami*

Lighting Designer    
Matthew Antaky*

* Company Debut

Tosca

Music by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Luigi Illica & Giuseppe Giacosa
Performed in Italian with English captions
Premiere: Rome, 1900
Previous Seattle Opera Performances: 1964, 1969, 1977, 1986, 1993, 2001, 2008, 2015
Marion Oliver McCaw Hall
Performances: May 8, 9, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 22, & 23, 2021
Approximate Running Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes including two intermissions
Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m

Out With A Bang

You gotta love Tosca. Puccini’s gorgeous music and okay, that does always come with a woman tragically dying for love. But what a woman! Tosca is all that. It was the first opera I attended twice to see both casts, and it is still one of the only ones I’d happily watch all over again exactly the same way. But it’s not Ausrine Stundyte or Mary Elizabeth Williams this time. It’s two new performers we’ve not seen in Seattle before. In fact, all six singers of the primary cast and the conductor are new to Seattle. That’s how you do an old favorite fresh.

But one old thing I’m excited to see is that sets and costumes are listed as “Seattle Opera.” In the old days, Seattle Opera productions were all original (I think. At least, that’s what a friend who worked in their stagecrew told me decades ago). Modern finances don’t allow such a thing, and I’m nearly always awed by the physical productions Seattle Opera brings to town. But I’m excited to see a Seattle Opera original again.

Cast

Floria Tosca     
Saioa Hernández* (May 8, 14, 16, 19, & 22)
Karine Babajanyan* (May 9, 12, 15, & 23)

Mario Cavaradossi  
Marco Berti* (May 8, 14, 16, 19, & 22)
Robert Watson* (May 9, 12, 15, & 23)

Baron Scarpia   
Lucio Gallo* (May 8, 14, 16, 19, & 22)
Michael Chioldi* (May 9, 12, 15, & 23)

Conductor  
Kazem Abdullah*

Director    
Dan Wallace Miller

Sets & Costumes  
Seattle Opera

Lighting Designer        
Connie Yun

*Company Debut

Anybody else looking forward to next season?