Free Seattle Opera Season Kickoff Sunday

Walk on the stage - see the scenery fly - sneak peek of costumes - be entertained by street performers - watch make up artists create zombies - spend the day at the Opera

Come see what’s new and exciting at Seattle Opera this Sunday, Sept. 21 as the company kicks off its 2014/15 season with a free community event from noon to 5:30pm at McCaw Hall. Online registration required.

With an exciting roster of upcoming productions— Don Giovanni, Tosca, Semele, and Ariadne auf Naxos— and a new General Director, Aidan Lang, attendees will have much to learn and enjoy at this look behind the curtain. Additionally, unlike past Seattle Opera events geared specifically toward families, the Season Kickoff will allow arts-loving adults the chance to explore and even play.

“Our mission is to engage our broader community in the Pacific Northwest, providing a means for all people to access our art form,” Lang said. “If you love to be moved, thrilled, and excited by a good book, movie, or play, you might also love opera, too; you just don’t know it yet. We invite you to join us on Sept. 21, whether to get a taste of opera for the first time, or to come explore our spectacular upcoming season.” 

The Season Kickoff will give attendees a rare opportunity to walk on the McCaw Hall stage. See the inner-workings of Seattle Opera’s technical marvels: the how-tos of scenery that flies from rafter to stage, the logistics of secret trap doors used in performance, and the strategic use of crash pads that allow performers to make death-defying jumps and falls. This Technical Demonstration is free (like all of the day’s events) but requires registration.

Get a sneak peek of the colors, costumes, and characters of each upcoming opera. Themed lobby exhibits, designed to bring spectators into the unique world of each production, will take over the public spaces of McCaw Hall. Create an original Tosca plot à la “Clue,” matching a character from Puccini’s masterpiece with a murder weapon and a different historic location in Rome. A fun improv comedy performance, created from audience suggestions, will connect spectators with the commedia clowns of Ariadne auf Naxos. And in the spirit of Don Giovanni’s Stone Guest— the statue of a dead man who pursues his murderer from beyond the grave— watch as Seattle Opera makeup artists transform models into zombies!

The day concludes with a live, onstage performance emceed by Lang and featuring performances by singers Karen Early Evans and Nerys Jones among other fun surprises! Both the backstage technical demonstration (1:15pm and 2:15pm), and the live performance (4:45pm) are free but require online registration.