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