Seattle Opera

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of former Seattle Opera General Director, Speight Jenkins.

Speight began his tenure in 1983, transforming Seattle Opera into one of the leading US opera companies during his 31 years as General Director, until 2014.

A passionate, precise, and persistent leader, Speight was an icon in the Pacific Northwest and held in the highest esteem across the opera industry. Under his watch, Seattle Opera grew into one of the largest and most respected opera companies in the United States, recognized worldwide for its ambitious programming, its nurturing environment for young artists, and its vital presentations of Wagner’s four-opera epic, Der Ring des Nibelungen.

“As we mourn the loss of Seattle Opera’s former General Director, we also celebrate the extraordinary impacts he made on the world of opera and the greater arts scene in the Pacific Northwest,” says General & Artistic Director, James Robinson. “Speight was a force, a true impresario who launched countless careers over the years... [he] was exacting, demanding, and utterly committed to excellence. He remains an inspiration to so many of us who now lead opera companies in the US.”

A staunch believer that even the grandest operas should be for the people, he helped usher in a new era of audience accessibility with practices we now consider standard, like translated supertitles (making Seattle Opera one of the first US companies to use this technology) and post-show talkbacks.

In 2006, he was named one of the 25 “most powerful” names in American Opera by Opera News, and upon his retirement the city and county proclaimed August 9, 2014, Speight Jenkins Day, naming a street in his honor.

We extend our most heartfelt condolences to his family and all those who knew him. In the coming days we'll be collecting and sharing memories from the many people he impacted in the opera world. If you have stories or photos you'd like to contribute, leave a comment or send them via DM/email.

Read the full announcement with tributes from artists and colleagues at seattleopera.org/speightjenkins

Photo 1 by Rick Dahms.

Thanks to everyone who brought donations to the YouthCare supply drive during the run of Carmen, we were able to donate an entire cart of pantry staples, household supplies, and other necessities to Isis House, a residential home with programming focused on LGBTQ+ youth ages 18–21.

Isis, which stands for Independence, Security, Initiative, and Success, opened in 1998 as the first housing program in Washington to focus on the unique needs of LGBTQ+ youth. During their time at Isis, young people build community and work with their case manager to get connected to school and employment, and transition to permanent housing.

Thank you to everyone who donated! Stay tuned for details on our next supply drive during the run of Salome.

We're excited to announce that soprano Amanda Batista will be joining the cast of El último sueño de Frida y Diego as Catrina, the powerful Keeper of the Dead in the underworld of Mictlán.

In her 2025-26 season, Batista sang the roles of Helen in The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier at the Metropolitan Opera, and Nedda in Pagliacci at Minnesota Opera. She also covered the role of Catrina at Lyric Opera of Chicago, as well as Musetta in the iconic Franco Zeffirelli production of La bohème at the Metropolitan Opera.

Please join us in welcoming Amanda to the cast of this vibrant production by composer Gabriela Lena Frank and librettist Nilo Cruz, opening in January of next year.

Photo by Dario Acosta.

Thanks to everyone who came out for a fun and furry night at Carmen with our very own Escamillo () as his fursona,
 
Over 60 members of the furry community joined us for Furry Night at Carmen, which included a meet & greet with Chester in costume as Escamillo, and even an impromptu bullfight! 
 
summed up the evening perfectly: 
 
“Opera has a reputation for being a stuffy, upper-class art form, something exclusive, intimidating, and maybe not entirely meant for me. But just as my assumptions about the furry community turned out to be lazy and incomplete, so too were my assumptions about the opera. Furry Night at the Opera reminded me that both are, at their best, invitations: spaces built around passion, community, and the simple joy of sharing an experience with others. Art, it turns out, is for everyone.”

So good you'll want to see it twice 🎟️🎟️ Here's what people are saying about our "1950's tinged" production of Carmen.

There are only three performances left! Get tickets to Carmen while you can at seattleopera.org/carmen