Carmen

Love hurts. Lust kills.

May 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 13, 16, & 17, 2026
McCaw Hall

Overview

Three acts of exquisite earworms and engaging action”

– The Seattle Times

Music by Georges Bizet
Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy

One of the world's most popular operas ever! The irresistible Carmen captivates the eyes of every man she meets, including the lovesick soldier Don José. As he forsakes his military duty, his fiancée, and the law, his admiration becomes uncontrollable obsession and Carmen leaves him for prestige and freedom. Bizet's famous music accompanies a lethal dance of lust, love, and survival that only stops when the struggle for freedom ends.

"Opera's guilty pleasure" (The Seattle Times) returns in a "gorgeous production" (Seattle Magazine) featuring Tacoma native, mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges, whose Carmen is "young, sexy, vibrant, and dangerous" (Opera Today), and the "bewitchingly lustrous" (The New Zealand Herald) voice of mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke.

Performance Information

McCaw Hall

In French with English subtitles

Evening performances at 7:30 PM. Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM.

Performance Time: 3 hours and 30 minutes including 2 intermissions

Movie-Style Rating: PG-13

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Accessibility Offerings

Audio Described Performance: Sunday, May 10

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Cast

Vuvu Mpofu

Violetta

Soprano
At Seattle Opera in 22/23: Violetta, La traviata

Hometown: Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Gilda, Rigoletto (Glyndebourne Festival); Micaela, Carmen (Bayerische Staatsoper); Pamina, The Magic Flute (Staatsopera Stuttgart); Leïla, The Pearl Fishers (Cape Town Opera); Bess McNeil, Breaking the Waves (Theater St Gallen); 1st Nymph, Rusalka (Royal Opera House)

Last Updated: February 2023

Vuvu Mpofu

Violetta

Seattle Opera Debut
May 6, 10, 14, 17 & 20

Mané Galoyan

Violetta

Soprano
At Seattle Opera in 2022/23: Violetta, La traviata

Hometown: Berlin, Germany
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Suor Angelica/Lauretta, Il trittico (Deutsche Oper Berlin); Pamina, Die Zauberflöte (Wiener Staatsoper); Donna Anna, Don Giovanni (Canadian Opera Company); Suor Angelica, Suor Angelica (Bayerische Staatsoper); Vixen, Cunning Little Vixen (Detroit Opera); Luisa Miller, Luisa Miller (Oper Köln)

Last Updated: February 2023

Mané Galoyan

Violetta

Seattle Opera Debut
May 7, 13, 19 & 21

Dominick Chenes

Alfredo

Tenor
At Seattle Opera in 2022/23: Alfredo, La traviata

Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Seattle Opera Debut: Pinkerton, Madame Butterfly (’17)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Cavaradossi, Tosca ('21)
Recently: Don Jose, Carmen (Palm Beach Opera); Alfredo, La traviata (New National Theatre Tokyo); Turiddu, Cavalleria Rusticana (New Orleans Opera); Pinkerton, Madame Butterfly (Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège); Carlo, I Masnadieri (Valencia Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia); Pollione, Norma (Oper Leipzig)

Last Updated: April 2023

Dominick Chenes

Alfredo

May 6, 10, 14, 17 & 20

Duke Kim

Alfredo

Tenor
At Seattle Opera in 2023/24: Count Almaviva, The Barber of Seville; Soloist, 60th Anniversary Concert & Gala
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Tamino, The Magic Flute

Hometown: Seoul, Republic of Korea
Seattle Opera Debut: Alfredo, La traviata ('23)
Engagements: Roméo, Roméo et Juliette (LA Opera, Washington National Opera); Tamino, The Magic Flute (The Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera); Alfredo, La traviata (Pittsburgh Opera); Faust, Faust (Irish National Opera, Berkshire Opera Festival); Il Conte D’Almaviva, Il barbiere di Siviglia (Des Moines Metro Opera); Nemorino, L’elisir d’amore (Irish National Opera).

Last Updated: February 2024

Duke Kim

Alfredo

Seattle Opera Debut
May 7, 13, 19 & 21

Michael Chioldi

Giorgio Germont

Baritone
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Tonio, Pagliacci

Hometown: New York, NY
Seattle Opera Debut: Baron Scarpia, Tosca (’21)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Donner, Das Rheingold ('23); Giorgio Germont, La traviata ('23); Marcello, La bohème (’21)
Engagements: Iago, Otello (MET Opera Orchestra Tour); Álvaro, Florencia en el Amazonas (Metropolitan Opera); Germont, La Traviata (Pittsburgh Opera); Rigoletto, Rigoletto (Metropolitan Opera); Falstaff, Falstaff (Palm Beach Opera); The Dutchman, The Flying Dutchman (Utah Opera)

Last Updated: June 2024

Michael Chioldi

Giorgio Germont

May 6, 10, 14, 17 & 20

Joo Won Kang

Giorgio Germont

Baritone
At Seattle Opera in 2022/23: Giorgio Germont, La traviata

Hometown: Gunsan City, South Korea
Seattle Opera Debut: Nourabad, The Pearl Fishers (’15)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Dandini, Cinderella (’19)
Engagements: Marcello, La Bohème (Metropolitan Opera); Ping, Turandot (San Francisco Opera); Chou En-lai, Nixon in China (Los Angeles Philharmonic); Corrado, Maria de Rudenz (Wexford Festival); Figaro, The Barber of Seville (Arizona Opera); Papageno, The Magic Flute (Utah Opera)

Last Updated: February 2023

Joo Won Kang

Giorgio Germont

May 7, 13, 19 & 21

Sarah Larsen

Flora Bervoix

Mezzo-soprano
At Seattle Opera in 2022/23: Flora, La traviata
At Seattle Opera in 2023/24: Flosshilde, Das Rheingold

Hometown: Seattle, WA
Seattle Opera Young Artist 2011/12, 2012/13
Seattle Opera Debut: Mercédès, Carmen (’11)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Stewardess, Flight (’21); Hansel, Hansel and Gretel (’16); The Composer, Ariadne auf Naxos (’15); The Secretary, The Consul (’14); Maddalena, Rigoletto (’14); Tisbe, Cinderella (’13); Suzuki, Madama Butterfly (’12)
Engagements: 2nd Ancella, Medea (The Metropolitan Opera); 2nd Dame, Die Zauberflöte (The Metropolitan Opera); Flora, La traviata (The Metropolitan Opera); Laurene Powell Jobs, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Austin Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Atlanta Opera); Cassandra Smith, Another City (Houston Grand Opera)

Last Updated: January 2023

Sarah Larsen

Flora Bervoix

May 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20 & 21

John Marzano

Gastone de Letorieres

Tenor
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Beppe, Pagliacci; Spoletta, Tosca

Hometown: Tacoma, WA
Seattle Opera Debut: Giuseppe, La traviata (’17)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Soloist, Divo to Diva: Anita Spritzer in Recital (’24); Oronte, Alcina (’23); Gastone de Letorieres, La traviata (’23); Philistine Messenger, Samson and Delilah in Concert (’23); Recitalist, Summer Recital Series (‘21); Le Remendado, Carmen (’19); Ruiz, Il trovatore (’19)
Engagements: Cassio, Otello (Vashon Opera); Tenor, Pride Pops (Seattle Symphony); National Semifinalist, National Council Auditions (Metropolitan Opera); Andronico, Bajazet (Portland Opera); Alfredo, La traviata (Vashon Opera); Camille de Rosillon, The Merry Widow (Tacoma Opera)

Last updated: June 2024

John Marzano

Gastone de Letorieres

May 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20 & 21

Darren Drone

Barone Douphol

Baritone
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Edmund Watkins, Jubilee

Hometown: Sherwood, AR
Seattle Opera Debut: Baron Douphol, La traviata ('23)
Engagements: Adult James/Foreman, Fire Shut Up in My Bones (The Metropolitan Opera); Belcore, L'elisir d'amore (Florentine Opera Company); Marcello, La bohème (Glimmerglass Festival); Falstaff, Falstaff (Portland Opera); Tonio, Pagliacci (Utah Opera); Germont, La traviata (Berkshire Opera Festival)

Last Updated: August 2024

Darren Drone

Barone Douphol

Seattle Opera Debut
May 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20 & 21

Christian Zaremba

Marchese d'Obigny

Bass
At Seattle Opera in 2022/23: Marchese d’Obigny, La traviata

Hometown: Rutherford, NJ
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Sparafucile/Monterone, Rigoletto (Opera Colorado); Leporello, Don Giovanni (Berkshire Opera Festival); Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro (Austin Opera); Sarastro, The Magic Flute (Opéra de Montréal); Colline; La bohème (New Orleans Opera); Sarastro; The Magic Flute (Théâtre du Capitole)

Last Updated: October 2022

Christian Zaremba

Marchese d'Obigny

Seattle Opera Debut
May 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20 & 21

Shelly Traverse

Annina

Soprano
At Seattle Opera in 2022/23: Annina, La Traviata
At Seattle Opera in 2023/24: Wellgunde, Das Rheingold

Hometown: Seattle, WA
Seattle Opera Debut: Hero, Beatrice and Benedict ('18)
Seattle Opera Chorus Member since 2015
Previously at Seattle Opera: First Bridesmaid, The Marriage of Figaro (’22); Songs of Summer LIVE! (’21); Eurydice, Orpheus and Eurydice (’21); Chan Parker, Charlie Parker's Yardbird (’20)
Engagements: Pamina, The Magic Flute (Vashon Opera); Lucia, The Rape of Lucretia (Tacoma Opera); Soprano, The Little Match Girl Passion (Eugene Opera)

Last Updated: January 2023

Shelly Traverse

Annina

May 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20 & 21

Craig Grayson

Doctor Grenvil

Bass
At Seattle Opera in 2023/24: Doctor Grenvil, La traviata

Hometown: Englewood, NJ
Seattle Opera Debut: Sergeant, La bohème (’07)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Eagle, Of a Feather (Creation Lab ’20), Jailer, Tosca (’15); Sergeant, La bohème (’13)
Seattle Opera Chorus Member since 2003
Engagements: Commendatore, Don Giovanni (Pacific Northwest Opera); Sparafucile, Rigoletto (Lyric Opera Northwest); Sarastro, The Magic Flute (Tacoma Opera)

Last Updated: March 2023

Craig Grayson

Doctor Grenvil

May 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20 & 21

Creative Team

Carlo Montanaro

Conductor

Conductor
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Pagliacci

Hometown: Cecina, Italy
Seattle Opera Debut: Don Quichotte ('11)
Previously at Seattle Opera: La traviata (’23); The Elixir of Love (’20); Rigoletto (’19); Il trovatore (’19); Madame Butterfly ('17); Mary Stuart ('16)
Engagements: Lucia di Lammermoor (Deutsche Oper Berlin); Aida (Hungarian State Opera); Tosca (Oper Frankfurt); Madama Butterfly (Opera Australia); Fedora (Oper Frankfurt); Norma (Palm Beach Opera)

Last Updated: June 2024

Carlo Montanaro

Conductor

Francesca Zambello

Stage Director

At Seattle Opera in 2022/23: Original Stage Director, La Traviata

Hometown: New York, NY
Seattle Opera Debut: Faust (’87)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Porgy and Bess (’18); Aida (’18); Billy Budd (’01); Tristan und Isolde (’98); Florencia en el Amazonas (’05,’98); War and Peace (’90); Werther (’89)
Emerita of The Glimmerglass Festival, Artistic Director of The Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center
Engagements: Stage Director, West Side Story (Lyric Opera of Chicago); The Sound of Music (Glimmerglass Festival); Aida (LA Opera); Elektra (Washington National Opera); Idomeno (Aspen); Rebecca (Raimund Theater, Vienna)

Last Updated: February 2023

Francesca Zambello

Stage Director

Joshua R. Horowitz

Associate Director

At Seattle Opera in 2022/23: La traviata

Hometown: Old Bethpage, NY
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Assistant Director, Blue, (Washington National Opera); La traviata, (Lyric Opera of Kansas City); Carmen, (Lyric Opera of Kansas City); Romeo, and Juliette, (The Glimmerglass Festival); Romeo and Juliette, (Washington National Opera)

Last Updated: March 2023

Joshua R. Horowitz

Associate Director

Seattle Opera Debut

Peter J. Davison

Set Designer

At Seattle Opera in 2022/23: Original Set Designer, La traviata

Hometown: London, UK
Seattle Opera Debut: Porgy and Bess (’18)
Engagements: Set Designer, The Rake’s Progress (Metropolitan Opera); Cyrano de Bergerac (Metropolitan Opera); The Marriage of Figaro (Theater an der Wien - Vienna); Florencia en el Amazonas (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Sound of Music (Glimmerglass Festival)

Last updated: February 2023

Peter J. Davison

Set Designer

Mark McCullough

Original Lighting Designer

Lighting Designer
At Seattle Opera in 2022/23: Original Lighting Designer, La traviata

Hometown: Charlotte, NC
Seattle Opera Debut: The Elixir of Love (’98)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Porgy and Bess (’18); Aida (’18); Norma (’03)
Engagements: Lighting Designer, Aida (LA Opera); Così fan tutte (Washington National Opera); La traviata (International Festival of Vocal Music “Opera Apriori”); Florencia en el Amazonas (Lyric Opera of Chicago)

Last updated: February 2022

Mark McCullough

Original Lighting Designer

A.J. Guban

Revival Lighting Designer

At Seattle Opera in 2023/24: La traviata

Hometown: Mogadore, OH
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Il Trovatore (Washington National Opera); Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs (National Symphony Orchestra); La bohème (Washington National Opera); The Kennedy Center 50th Anniversary Concert (The Kennedy Center, PBS); The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawsom (Washington National Opera); The Turn of the Screw (Opera Cleveland)

Last Updated: April 2023

A.J. Guban

Revival Lighting Designer

Seattle Opera Debut

Jess Goldstein

Costume Designer

At Seattle Opera in 2022/23: Original Costume Designer, La traviata

Hometown: New York, NY
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Costume Designer, Il trittico (Metropolitan Opera); Two Women (San Francisco Opera); The End of the Affair (Houston Grand Opera); Jersey Boys (Broadway); Disney’s Newsies (Broadway); The Rivals (Lincoln Center Theatre)

Last Updated: February 2023

Jess Goldstein

Costume Designer

Seattle Opera Debut

Parker Esse

Original Choreographer

At Seattle Opera in 2022/23: La traviata

Hometown: Houston, TX
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Choreographer, The Light In The Piazza (NY City Center Encores!); A Bed and a Chair (NY City Center Encores!); West Side Story (The Muny); Catch Me If You Can (Arena Stage); Associate Director/Choreographer, Finnian’s Rainbow (Broadway); Tale of Two Cities (Broadway).

Last Updated: March 2023

Parker Esse

Original Choreographer

Seattle Opera Debut

Andrea Beasom

Associate Choreographer

At Seattle Opera in 2022/23: Choreographer, La traviata

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: The Lion, The Unicorn, and Me (Washington National Opera); The Anonymous Lover (Los Angeles Opera); Rigoletto (Opera San Antonio); The Silent Woman (Bard Summerscape); La Traviata (Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Glimmerglass Festival, Atlanta Opera, Jacobs School of Music, Washington National Opera); Eugene Onegin (Washington National Opera)

Last Updated: February 2023

Andrea Beasom

Associate Choreographer

Seattle Opera Debut

Michaella Calzaretta

Chorus Master

Chorus Master

Hometown: Muscatine, IA
Seattle Opera debut: The Elixir of Love (’22)
Michaella Calzaretta made her Seattle Opera debut in 2022 as the company’s new chorus master and head of music staff. Acclaimed for her high standards and superb preparation skills, Calzaretta oversees all musical activities at the company and prepares the chorus for main stage productions. In January, the chorus embarked on their immensely successful first-ever tour to Mt. Vernon and Vashon Island. Recent praise includes “Her chorus was one of the stars... the voices were radiant” (Bachtrack) and “... the singers are both zesty and accurate (they’re also extremely nimble)” (The Seattle Times). Calzaretta is a doctoral candidate in choral conducting at Indiana University.

Last Updated: July 2024

Michaella Calzaretta

Chorus Master

Orchestra, Chorus, & Additional Artists

Orchestra

Violin I
Noah Geller, Concertmaster
Emerson Millar, Assistant Concertmaster
Jennifer Bai
Cecilia Poellein Buss
Timothy Garland
Leonid Keylin
Andy Liang
John Weller
Ji Yeon Lee
Victoria Parker

Violin II
Seung Hoon Lee, Principal
Kathleen Boyer, Asst. Principal
Evan Anderson
Stephen Bryant
Ilana Zaks
Adrianna Hulscher
Yesol Im
Heewon Park

Viola
Susan Gulkis Assadi, Principal
Mara Gearman, Asst. Principal
Timothy Hale
Olivia Chew
Wesley Dyring
Daniel Stone

Cello
Efe Baltacigil, Principal
Meeka Quan DiLorenzo
Eric Han
Roberta Downey
Vivian Gu
David Sabee

Bass
Jordan Kaufman, Principal
Jonathan Burnstein
Jennifer Godfrey
Travis Gore

Flute
Demarre McGill, Principal
Zartouhi Dombourian-Eby

Piccolo
Zartouhi Dombourian-Eby

Oboe
Ben Hausmann, Principal
Winnie Lai

Clarinet
Benjamin Lulich, Principal
Laura DeLuca

Bassoon
Seth Krimsky, Principal
Kipras Mažeika

Horn
Jeffrey Fair, Principal
Jenna Breen
John Turman
Danielle Kuhlmann

Trumpet
David Gordon, Principal
Christopher Stingle

Trombone
Ko-ichiro Yamamoto, Principal
Keith Winkle
Eden Garza

Tuba
John DiCesare, Principal

Timpani
Matt Decker, Principal

Percussion
Michael Werner, Principal
Rob Tucker

Harp
Valerie Muzzolini, Principal

Offstage Banda

Violin I
Andy Liang

Violin II
Stephen Bryant

Viola
Olivia Chew

Cello
Vivian Gu

Bass
Jonathan Burnstein

Flute/Piccolo
Jeffrey Barker, Principal
Robin Peery

Oboe
Stefan Farkas, Principal

Clarinet
Emil Khudyev, Principal
Eric Jacobs

Bassoon
Paul Rafanelli, Principal

Horn
Mark Robbins, Principal
Jonathan Karschney

Trumpet
Alexander White, Principal
Michael Myers

Trombone
Ko-ichiro Yamamoto, Principal

Percussion
Michael Werner, Principal
Rob Tucker

Personnel Manager
Liz Kane

Assistant Personnel Manager
Keith Higgins

Rotating members of the string sections are listed alphabetically. The Orchestra is composed of members of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.

Chorus

Soprano
Jennifer Campbell
Carissa Castaldo
Karen Early Evans
Dana Johnson Robbins
Ellaina Lewis
Linda Mattos
Ashanti Proctor
Eleanor Stallcop-Horrox
Amy Van Mechelen
Lyndee White
Eliza Woodyard

Mezzo-Soprano
Lorraine Burdick
Erica Convery
YeonSoo Lee
Julia Meyering
Elizabeth Peterson
Melissa Plagemann
Susan Salas
Heidi Vanderford
Lucy Weber

Tenor
Andrew Etherington
DuWayne Andrews Jr.
James Galbraith
Anthony James
Tim Janecke
Ian Loney
German Mendoza
Karl Reyes
Jon Suek
Stephen Wall

Bass
Craig Grayson
Craig Garretson
Glenn Guhr
Michael Monnikendam
Micah Parker
Julian Reisenthel
Jonah Spool
Revere Taylor
Nathaniel Voth
Robin Wyatt-Stone

Dancers

Livanna Marissa Maislen, Dance Captain
Annalisa Brinchmann
Alice Cao
Alexander Castro
Devin Dye
Sabrina Lobner
Hannah Simmons
Chloe Singer

Supernumeraries

Diane Abbey
Amy Aracuto
Allan Armstrong
Richard Eidal
Monica Kilwine
Marco Lago
David Lee
Laura McFarlane
Tyrone Olds
Leah Papernick
Sara Pierce
Bruce Schickler
John Smilgin
Ryan Strong