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