Aidan Lang News

Alejandra Valarino Boyer is now Seattle Opera's Director of Programs and Partnerships-the department which plays a crucial role in bringing opera to more than 400,000 people through engagement and learning programs. Valarino Boyer is focused on expanding civic impact, building future audiences, and enriching the audience experience.

The Handel and Haydn Society, led by artistic director Harry Christophers, will bring one of the most beautiful and deeply moving masterpieces of the Baroque period to life with a performance of Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas on Friday, March 29, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 31, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. at NEC's Jordan Hall in Boston.

Do you remember what life was like before the iPhone? Steve Jobs, the man who created that game-changing device in your pocket, will soon have his story play out at McCaw Hall. This February, Seattle Opera presents the West Coast premiere of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, a smash hit with music nominated for multiple Grammy Awards.

Seattle Opera is pleased to offer tickets to furloughed federal governments workers. Workers can receive two free tickets to the company's performances of Il trovatore at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 19 and 23, and at 2 p.m. on Jan. 23. To redeem, simply present your federal government ID at the McCaw Hall box office before the performance. The box office opens two hours prior to performances; 5:30 p.m. for evening performances and noon for the matinee.

In Spring 2019, the internationally renowned, Boston-based, early music champion, the Handel and Haydn Society, returns to New York City for two stunning concerts. These performances, housed in two of New York City's most unique and celebrated concert venues, reflect the Handel and Haydn Society's impeccable consideration for historically-informed concert traditions, immaculate expression of the Renaissance and Baroque philosophies, and characteristic taste and precision of artistry. Under its esteemed artistic director of a decade, Harry Christophers, the 204-year-old ensemble brings the fiercely emotive early opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell to the spectacular Temple of Dendur setting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Sackler Wing, as well as an all-Vivaldi recital including works for soprano, violin, and viola d'amore at the Morgan Library.

As Seattle Opera gears up to present The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, the company is asking hard questions about the effects of Big Tech, both in Jobs' life, and in our rapidly expanding community. Prior to the production's Feb. 23 - March 9 run at McCaw Hall, the public is invited to join the dialogue at two free panel discussions. Both events take place in Tagney Jones Hall, in the newly opened Opera Center.

With a mix of new and traditional takes on opera, Seattle Opera unveils a 2019/20 Season that offers something for everyone. Audiences will experience new-to-Seattle productions of Rigoletto, Cinderella, and Eugene Onegin; the company premiere of Charlie Parker's Yardbird; and the return of a beloved classic, La boh me.

The brand-new, state-of-the-art rehearsal, storage and administrative building is now ready for use by the opera company

When Verdi sat down to compose Il trovatore, he had no idea that he was creating opera's version of Game of Thrones. But this is how stage director Dan Wallace Miller describes this tale of revenge, which opens at McCaw Hall in January 2019. Similar to a certain TV show, Il trovatore is dark and brutal-the most merciless of all nineteenth-century operas. And yet, it's also a crowd-pleaser, one known for lengthy applause during the middle of performances. Why? Miller says it's all about the music.

Come celebrate the Grand Opening of Seattle Opera's new civic home! This state-of-the-art building will allow the company to expand its work with communities across Washington State, and, from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, December 15, members of the public are invited to a free open house. 

Seattle Opera announced today that General Director Aidan Lang will leave the company to become General Director of Welsh National Opera. The third General Director of Seattle Opera, Lang departs at the close of the 2018/19 season following a five-year tenure. Under Lang's leadership, Seattle Opera has: increased its audiences, particularly, young people, created a new civic home for opera at Seattle Center, introduced new chamber opera productions in locations around the city, and made organizational strides toward racial equity.

Whether it's a $5 donation or a $50,000 donation, Allison Rabbitt knows that donors of all levels are needed to sustain art forms such as opera-every gift matters. With more than 18 years of experience fundraising for some of Seattle's impactful nonprofits, Rabbitt was recently appointed by General Director Aidan Lang to lead Seattle Opera's Development Department. Rabbitt will also ensure the completion of the $28.5 private fundraising campaign for Seattle Opera's new home at Seattle Center.

When you think of the song, 'Summertime,' perhaps you hear the elegant Ella Fitzgerald-or the earthy Janis Joplin-singing in your mind. But, while many great covers exist, there's nothing like experiencing the song where 'fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high,' as Gershwin first wrote it: for the powerful voice of an opera singer.

This May, two different artistic genres-street art and opera-are coming together for Seattle Opera's Aida. Acclaimed stage director Francesca Zambello was looking to create something unique when she asked the graffiti artist RETNA (born Marquis Duriel Lewis) to collaborate with her on a new production of Verdi's masterpiece. RETNA created the bold visual backdrops for Aida with his same distinct style, a type of graphic lettering and illuminated script that has earned him commissions from Usher and Justin Bieber.  

Seattle's Black community is invited to 'Cultured Conversations: Black Inclusion at the Opera,' an open forum led by facilitator ChrisTiana ObeySumner. ObeySumner, social impact consultant for Seattle Opera, is leading conversations on Black representation and inclusion this spring and summer during the company's presentations of Aida and Porgy and Bess. The March forum is free and open to individuals who identify as Black* with an interest in theater, classical music, the performing arts, and especially-opera. Participants will be able to speak freely and share ideas in this safe space for people of color. Topics will include Black representation onstage and behind the scenes, various ways to get involved with the art form, and potential steps toward a future for opera that centers people of color.

With 16 Handel and Haydn Society premieres, the first performance of Schubert's Symphony No. 9 by H+H since 1865, and a host of notable guest performers, the Handel and Haydn Society announces its 2018-19 season, the 204th season in its history.

Seattle Opera teams up with both ACT Theatre and Seattle Symphony for the first time to celebrate Shakespeare in a brand-new production of Berlioz's Beatrice and Benedict. The story, based on Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing, delights in the "skirmish of wits" between fiery Beatrice and bombastic Benedict and their failed resolution to avoid falling in love with each other. Their merry-war-turned-love-story has proven catnip to Hollywood-there are two film versions, one directed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer writer Joss Whedon, and the other directed by Kenneth Branagh and also starring Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, and Michael Keaton. Now the story is ready for the Seattle Opera treatment.

Based on Shakespeare's delightful comic romp Much Ado About Nothing, the opera embodies the composer's love for the Bard

Seattle Opera steams up McCaw Hall this winter with a comedy about sex: Mozart's Cos fan tutte! In this story, two sisters, Dorabella and Fiordiligi, are adored by their respective fianc s Ferrando and Guglielmo. But, when the two buddies decide to test the sisters' fidelity, the plot takes an unexpected turn: each man disguises himself and begins to woo the other's lover. Soon it becomes clear that everyone's feelings are much more complicated than any of them had thought.

Seattle Opera's 2018/19 season offers something new for everyone. Every production is new to Seattle, and the offerings span the entire repertoire from the standard European classics Il trovatore and Carmen to the twentieth- century masterpieces The Gershwins' Porgy And BessSM and The Turn of the Screw. The season also reaches into the twenty-first century with The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, which comes to Seattle after its world premiere and rave reviews in Santa Fe where it was hailed as the best-selling new production in the company's history.