How Glynn Ross organized the two casts necessary for presenting opera in Seattle.
The world’s first ‘rock opera’ was Bette Midler’s only Seattle Opera appearance!
Explore the 1975/76 Eugene Onegin Program!
Joan Sutherland in a Massenet rarity—also starring the young James Morris!
A sexy devil bewitched Seattle Opera in 1974.
Explore the 1974/75 Barber of Seville Program!
Explore the 1977 Ring Program.
Hear Archie Drake in this thrilling American premiere.
Explore the 1978/79 Norma Program!
Nicola Ghiuselev sang the title role in Russian, and Giorgio Tozzi sang it in English!
Explore the 1979/80 Lucia di Lammermoor Program!
Fiorenza Cossotto stole the show with “O don fatale.”
Explore the 1975/76 Thais Program!
Klara Barlow was Seattle’s first necrophilic nymphomaniac princess.
Explore the 1969/70 Salome Program!
Explore the 1979/80 La Traviata Program!
A lively production of Rossini’s great comedy.
Program for 1972/73 Manon Lescaut–the production that launched our Scenic Studios and Costume Shop.
The first time the world ended at Seattle Opera!
The first Ring performed complete within a week in the U.S. in a generation.
Explore the 1969/70 Turandot Program!
Mary Costa and Leo Goeke sang Massenet’s unfortunate lovers.
Seattle Opera’s first production of Verdi’s comic Shakespearean masterpiece.
Thomas Pasatieri’s opera based on the Checkov play.
Explore the 1975/76 The Seagull Program!
Seattle Opera’s first Norma featured powerful singing from Cristina Deutekom.
Explore the 1969/70 Of Mice and Men Program!
Explore the 1979/80 Fidelio Program!
A precursor of Seattle Opera’s Young Artists Program.
A pioneer opera education program, which later became a model for programs nationwide.
Hear the voice of Seattle Opera’s first Music and Education Director!
Seattle Opera’s first production of Puccini’s beloved tragedy.
Hear the voice of Seattle Opera’s founding General Director!
Explore the 1971/72 Black Widow Program!
Explore the 1972/73 Die Walküre Program!
A new Brünnhilde headlined our second complete cycle.
A fantastic cast brings Bizet’s stunning opera alive.
Explore the 1976/77 Tosca Program!
Explore the 1978/79 La Boheme Program!
Explore the 1970/71 Carmen Program!
Explore the 1976/77 Cinderella Program!
Explore the 1971/72 Lucia di Lammermoor Program!
An Aida featuring several RING singers.
Explore the 1977/78 Falstaff Program!
Explore the 1972/73 Faust Program!
Explore the 1974/75 Manon Progarm!
A huge cast assembled for Strauss’s great comedy.
Explore the 1979/80 Faust Program!
Seattle Opera’s first-ever performance of Mozart’s intriguing comedy.
Explore the 1973/74 Rigoletto Program!
Explore the 1976 Ring Program!
Explore the 1977/78 Boris Godunov Program!
Explore the 1977/78 Magic Flute Program!
Hear the mezzo who was Seattle’s original Queen of the Gods.
A cast substitution with unexpected results.
Cinderella comes to Seattle Opera for the first time.
Our first production directed, designed, and built entirely in-house!
World Premiere of a new Pasatieri opera!
Opera education and outreach, ’70s-style!
Explore the 1978/79 Don Giovanni Program!
Explore the 1976/77 Werther Program!
Explore the 1977/78 Madama Butterfly Program!
A second Ring opera is added to Seattle’s repertory.
Explore the 1971/72 La Boheme Program!
Remarks from the award ceremony
Archie Drake’s first outing as Benoit/Alcindoro–a role he owned for decades at Seattle Opera.
Explore the 1972/73 La Traviata Program!
Explore the 1970/71 Marriage of Figaro Program!
350 schoolchildren starred in a Seattle Opera production in 1973!
Explore the 1976/77 Of Mice and Men Program!
Explore the 1969/70 Force of Destiny Program!
Seattle Opera’s first original commissioned work.
Explore the 1973/74 Cosi Fan Tutte Program!
Explore the 1970/71 Tales of Hoffmann Program!
Explore the 1977/78 The King of Lahore Program!
Seattle Opera’s first production of Mozart’s great fairy-tale.
Explore the 1974/75 Il Trovatore Program!
Explore the 1974/75 Mefistofele Program!
Featuring the meltingly honeyed voice of Leo Goeke in the title role.
as told by composer Carlisle Floyd
Beverly Sills sang Lucia in Seattle.
Explore the 1971/72 Flying Dutchman Program!
Explore the 1971/72 A Masked Ball Program!
with Glenn Ross in 1970
Hear the voice of Seattle’s original Ur-Mutter.
Glynn Ross comissioned a new Pasatieri chamber opera for a church in Medina.
Hear the voice of Seattle Opera’s resident tenor in the ’70s!
Erich Parce makes his Seattle Opera debut.
Explore the 1973/74 Gianni Schicchi, Pagliacci Program!
Explore the 1979/80 Queen of Spades Program!
Explore the 1978/79 Macbeth Program!
This Sarajevo Opera production starred some of Yugoslavia’s greatest singers.
Simon Estes was a strong Hagen, and Ute Vinzing joined our Ring for the first time as Brünnhilde.
as told by Julian Patrick
Explore the 1973/74 Siegfried Program!
Starring Norman Treigle as the devil!
Listen to excerpts from Seattle Opera’s English-language RINGS!
Our only performance of this charming operetta.
Hear the voice of Noel Tyl, one of our first Wotans.
Explore the 1979 Ring Program!
Explore the 1976/77 Otello Program!
Polish soprano Zdizislawa Donat was a memorable Lucia.
“Ride of the Valkyries” — sung in English!
Our second production of Puccini’s perennially popular tragedy.
Explore the 1970/71Madama Butterfly Program!
Explore the 1973/74 Daughter of the Regiment Program!
Glynn Ross begins introducing his favorite opera tetralogy to Seattle.
Johanna Meier and Alberto Remedios joined our cast this summer.
Italian baritone Matteo Manuguerra shines in Seattle Opera’s second staging of Rigoletto.
Wagner’s rollicking sea yarn came to Seattle with a famous cast.
The return of this great American work, first performed in Seattle in 1970.
Edward Sooter made a great addition to our Ring cast at its fifth consecutive summer.
Explore the 1974/75 Gotterdammerung Program!
Hear Seattle’s first malevolent Lord of the Ring.
A favorite young composer of ours in the 1970s!
Explore the 1972/73 La Perichole Program!
Joan Sutherland wowed the opera-goers of Seattle in 1970 by singing all three ladies in “The Tales of Hoffmann.”
Explore the 1969/70 Die Fledermaus Program!
Explore the program for our Summer 1981 Wagner festival, featuring the Ring and Tristan and Isolde.
Mary Costa was an attractive Desdemona.
A great star, but a compromised performance!
Korean soprano Sung-Sook Lee was Seattle Opera’s second Butterfly.
Excerpt from The Journal of the Wagner Society of Northern California
Anna Moffo’s Seattle Opera appearance!
A multi-national cast brought Verdi’s tuneful melodrama to Seattle.
A 1978 production of Bizet’s thrilling opera.
Hear the SIEGFRIED Riddle Scene–in English!
Explore the 1975/76 Aida Program!
Hear the bass who was with us from before the beginning.
Explore the 1978/79 Carmen Program!
Explore the 1975/76 Der Rosenkavalier Program!
Explore the 1978 Ring Program!
Hear Archie Drake sing Gunther–in English!
Explore the 1974/75 Ring Program!
Explore the 1970/71 Don Carlo Program!
