Why I’m Looking Forward to the (R)evolution of Steve Jobs at Seattle Opera

1. The Protagonist is a Baritone

One of my favorite things about Aidan Lang’s leadership of Seattle Opera has been his selection of baritone-rich operas. Steve Jobs (I can’t keep typing the whole title. My autocorrect keeps turning the (R) into a ® and it’s killing me) has a very small cast, and the title role is a baritone. Not just any baritone, either. Barihunk John Moore, whose Figaro in The Barber of Seville made me waver in my Will Livermore crush, is playing Jobs in every performance. Adam Lau (American Dream, Madame Butterfly) is his mystical bass, the Zen teacher.

2. Contemporary and Timely Subject

Seattle Opera has been fighting against opera’s reputation as a mummified art form for a long time with its progressive chamber operas and in the audience education programs around the regular season productions. With Steve Jobs, they are elevating the themes of contemporary opera to the main season stage, replacing misbehaving royals with a tech tycoon. Could anything be more relevant to 21^st century Seattle than a story that examines the impact of technology on our community and even our minds?  

3. Cool Uses of Technology

Yes, “Technology is a lie,” is an oft-repeated phrase in my house. Our devices continue to complicate and bleach our lives as they promise to simplify and enrich them. I’m all for a conversation about whether the digital tail is wagging the dog (see #2 above) but at the same time, art is innovation. This is an opera about tech presented in a city about tech, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t expecting some amazing tech-driven set design.

4. Interesting Music

When I watch traditional operas, I tend to focus on the story over the music, even though for the creators, the story was just a hanger to drape the music on. So in theory, I should favor contemporary operas, which tend to privilege story over music. (My husband still complains that there were like two musical phrases in the entire End of the Affair.) But actually, opera needs the whole package, and the recording of Steve Jobs won a Grammy. I’ve read just enough about Mason Bates’ music for Steve Jobs to get excited about it. I don’t usually like the idea of amplified voices in opera, but it makes sense in this context. I’m looking forward to hearing opera voices mixed with electric guitar and electronic soundscapes.

5. The Plot

For all that Seattle needs to have a conversation about tech, I wasn’t initially excited to watch anything about the life of Steve Jobs. All the tech genius billionaires seem like emotionally underdeveloped, privileged white guys who recklessly transformed the lives of millions in pursuit of a clever idea and quick money. But then I read the librettist’s post about the story and changed my mind. The nonlinear presentation of fragmented key scenes in Job’s life sounds like it will feel like visiting the library in Ready Player One. That’s another story glamorizing an emotionally stunted tech genius, but it was still fun, and now I expect Steve Jobs will be too.

Bonus: No sopranos die for love in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.

The Details

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs

Music by Mason Bates

Libretto by Mark Campbell

In English with English captions

Marion Oliver McCaw Hall

Tickets are available online.

Performances: February 23, 24, 27, March 2, 6, 8, and 9, 2019

Approximate Running Time: 1 hours and 25 minutes with no intermission

Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinee at 2:00 p.m.

Premiere: July 22, 2017, Santa Fe Opera

Seattle Opera premiere

Cast:

Steve Jobs                      John Moore

Laurene Powell Jobs         Emily Fons*

Steve Wozniak                Garrett Sorenson*

Kōbun Chino Otogawa      Adam Lau

Chrisann Brennan            Madison Leonard*

Paul Jobs                         Morgan Smith

Conductor                       Nicole Paiement*

Stage Director                 Kevin Newbury

Scenery Designer            Vita Tzykun

Costume Designer           Paul Carey*

Lighting Designer            Japhy Weideman*

Video Designer                59 Productions*

Sound Designer               Rick Jacobson*

*Seattle Opera Company Debut

Co-commission with Santa Fe Opera and San Francisco Opera, with support from Cal Performances Co-production with Santa Fe Opera, San Francisco Opera, and The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Production