The first contemporary opera presented by Seattle Opera.
Romanian soprano Mariana Nicolesco was a beautiful Violetta.
Edward Sooter made a great addition to our Ring cast at its fifth consecutive summer.
Seattle Opera’s first original commissioned work.
A favorite young composer of ours in the 1970s!
Listen to Corelli’s stunning “Ah, lève-toi soleil!”
Explore the 1964/65 Lucia di Lammermoor Program!
A new Brünnhilde headlined our second complete cycle.
Explore the 1965/66 Il trovatore Program!
Beverly Sills sang Lucia in Seattle.
Giovanni Martinelli’s one Seattle Opera appearance!
Seattle Opera’s only production of this tuneful comedy.
Listen to excerpts from Seattle Opera’s English-language RINGS!
Seattle Opera’s first-ever performance of Mozart’s intriguing comedy.
Seattle Opera’s first production of Verdi’s comic Shakespearean masterpiece.
Glynn Ross’s third and final Turandot–a production worthy of an MGM Bible epic spectacular!
Fiorenza Cossotto stole the show with “O don fatale.”
Remarks from the award ceremony
Hear the voice of Noel Tyl, one of our first Wotans.
Starring husband-and-wife James McCracken & Sandra Warfield!
Explore the 1964/65 Boris Godunov Program!
Dorothy Kirsten’s Seattle appearance.
Seattle’s first French-language opera production!
Sherrill Milnes’s Seattle Opera debut!
Sir Geraint Evans returns!
Italian baritone Matteo Manuguerra shines in Seattle Opera’s second staging of Rigoletto.
Explore the 1965/66 Samson and Delilah Program!
How Glynn Ross organized the two casts necessary for presenting opera in Seattle.
Wagner’s rollicking sea yarn came to Seattle with a famous cast.
Our second production of Puccini’s perennially popular tragedy.
Joan Sutherland wowed the opera-goers of Seattle in 1970 by singing all three ladies in “The Tales of Hoffmann.”
with Glenn Ross in 1970
A splendid production of Verdi’s masterpiece–complete with live horses!
A sexy devil bewitched Seattle Opera in 1974.
Excerpt from The Journal of the Wagner Society of Northern California
Seattle Opera’s first production of Mozart’s great fairy-tale.
World Premiere of a new Pasatieri opera!
Anna Moffo’s Seattle Opera appearance!
A multi-national cast brought Verdi’s tuneful melodrama to Seattle.
Listen to Sutherland and Tourangeau sing the famous “Lakmé” Flower Duet!
as told by Hans Lehmann
The fledgling company’s first production.
Seattle’s first completely comic opera!
Seattle Opera’s first Traviata wasn’t ours at all—it came from the Met.
as told by composer Carlisle Floyd
Klara Barlow was Seattle’s first necrophilic nymphomaniac princess.
The final cycle produced by Glynn Ross.
A Met tour of a beloved opera.
A precursor of Seattle Opera’s Young Artists Program.
Hear Archie Drake in this thrilling American premiere.
The world’s first ‘rock opera’ was Bette Midler’s only Seattle Opera appearance!
Seattle Opera opens its doors with Rigoletto.
A lively production of Rossini’s great comedy.
Starring Kaaren Erickson as Susanna.
Polish soprano Zdizislawa Donat was a memorable Lucia.
A seductive production of Carmen that had it all.
The first Wagner production at Seattle Opera!
Johanna Meier and Alberto Remedios joined our cast this summer.
The first time the world ended at Seattle Opera!
The world’s favorite operetta, starring several popular television stars of the day.
Joan Sutherland returned to Seattle as Donna Anna.
The first Ring performed complete within a week in the U.S. in a generation.
Carol Neblett made her debut as Puccini’s coquette.
Our only performance of this charming operetta.
Our first production of Wagner’s great song of love and death.
Hear the mezzo who was Seattle’s original Queen of the Gods.
A cast substitution with unexpected results.
Hear the bass who was with us from before the beginning.
The first performance of Bizet’s classic tale in Seattle Opera history!
Explore the 1969/70 Turandot Program!
A pioneer opera education program, which later became a model for programs nationwide.
Thomas Pasatieri’s opera based on the Checkov play.
Opera education and outreach, ’70s-style!
“Ride of the Valkyries” — sung in English!
A fantastic cast brings Bizet’s stunning opera alive.
Joan Sutherland in a Massenet rarity—also starring the young James Morris!
Hear the voice of Seattle Opera’s first Music and Education Director!
Korean soprano Sung-Sook Lee was Seattle Opera’s second Butterfly.
Cinderella comes to Seattle Opera for the first time.
Explore the 1964/65 Rigoletto Program!
Régine Crespin’s Seattle Opera appearance!
The unforgettable Seattle debut of Franco Corelli!
Simon Estes was a strong Hagen, and Ute Vinzing joined our Ring for the first time as Brünnhilde.
Glynn Ross begins introducing his favorite opera tetralogy to Seattle.
Starring June Anderson as Rosina!
Hear Archie Drake sing Gunther–in English!
Explore the 1965/66 Lohengrin Program!
Beverly Sills’ only Mimì!
The return of this great American work, first performed in Seattle in 1970.
Explore the 1965/66 La Boheme Program!
Explore the 1964/65 Faust Program!
Jon Vickers as Britten’s tragic fisherman misfit.
A game of musical chairs ensued when several Ring singers switched parts.
It’s love at first sight (and hearing!) when Seattle Opera meets Richard Wagner.
By 1980, Seattle’s Ring was a well-known west coast cultural phenomenon.
The first Seattle Opera appearance of the appealing Mary Costa.
A huge cast assembled for Strauss’s great comedy.
350 schoolchildren starred in a Seattle Opera production in 1973!
Explore the 1966/67 Turandot Program!
as told by Julian Patrick
Archie Drake’s first outing as Benoit/Alcindoro–a role he owned for decades at Seattle Opera.
A new Siegfried added to the excitement of Seattle Opera’s most ambitious summer program yet.
Starring Seattle Opera’s first African-American singer!
A starry production of Verdi’s great melodrama.
The Seattle Opera debut of Julian Patrick!
Seattle Opera goes psychedelic!
A 1982 article about Glynn Ross and Seattle’s Ring.
Hear the SIEGFRIED Riddle Scene–in English!
A 1978 production of Bizet’s thrilling opera.
Starring Norman Treigle as the devil!
Roberta Peters was Seattle Opera’s first Lucia.
Hear the voice of Seattle’s original Ur-Mutter.
Jerome Hines sang his greatest role in Seattle.
A second Ring opera is added to Seattle’s repertory.
Hear the voice of Seattle Opera’s founding General Director!
James McCracken brought down the house!
A great star, but a compromised performance!
An Aida featuring several RING singers.
Franco Corelli at Seattle Opera.
Seattle Opera’s first production of Puccini’s beloved tragedy.
Nilsson as the Ice Princess.
Explore the 1966/67 The Barber of Seville Program!
Hear the voice of Seattle Opera’s resident tenor in the ’70s!
Explore the 1966/67 Lakme Program!
R. M. Campbell’s obituary recaps the remarkable career of Glynn Ross.
Seattle Opera’s only production of Tchaikovsky’s Pushkin-inspired tragedy.
Hear an astonishing “Si, pel ciel” from a great American tenor!
Joan Sutherland’s Seattle debut!
Hear Seattle’s first malevolent Lord of the Ring.
Our first production directed, designed, and built entirely in-house!
