Lucidity

Composer
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Lucidity

Hometown: New York, NY
Seattle Opera Debut: As One (’16)
Possessing “an ear for the new and interesting” (The New York Times), Laura Kaminsky frequently addresses social and political issues in her work with a distinct musical language that is “full of fire as well as ice, contrasting dissonance and violence with tonal beauty and meditative reflection” (American Record Guide). Her first opera, As One is the most produced contemporary opera since its 2014 premiere, with 60+ productions to date internationally. Other operas: Some Light Emerges, Today It Rains, Hometown to the World, Finding Wright, and February. Upcoming: The Post Office (Queen City Opera), Time To Act for a consortium led by Pittsburgh Opera, and Force of Nature (Utah Opera). Awarded the Polish Gold Cross of Merit (Zloty Krzyż Zasługi RP) by the President of Poland for exemplary public service/humanitarian work, Kaminsky has been recognized by the NEA, Koussevitzky Music Foundation, Opera America, Chamber Music America, and USArtists International, among others. She is on the faculty of Purchase College Conservatory of Music and Boston Conservatory of Music/Berklee, and is a mentor for Seattle Opera's Creation Lab.

Last Updated: October 2024

Librettist
At Seattle Opera in 2023/24: Lucidity

Hometown: New York, NY
Seattle Opera Debut
David Cote is a playwright, librettist, and critic. This season: Blind Injustice with composer Scott Davenport Richards and MasterVoices at the Rose Theater in New York City; Meltdown with composer Stefan Weisman and co-librettist Hai-Ting Chinn at National Sawdust; and regional premieres of Lucidity at Opera in the Heights (Houston) and Opera Ithaca. Previous operas: Blind Injustice at Peak Performances and Cincinnati Opera; Three Way with composer Robert Paterson at Nashville Opera and Brooklyn Academy of Music; and The Scarlet Ibis with Stefan Weisman at the Prototype Festival and Chicago Opera Theater. Cote wrote the text for Nkeiru Okoye’s Black Lives Matter monodrama for baritone and orchestra, Invitation to a Die-In. Recordings include Blind Injustice (NAXOS), Three Way (American Modern Recordings), and In Real Life (AMR). His television and theater coverage appears in The A.V. Club, Observer, 4 Columns, and American Theatre. David is the author of popular companion books about the Broadway hits Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Spring Awakening, Jersey Boys, and Wicked.

Last Updated: October 2024

Conductor
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Lucidity

Hometown: Haverford, PA
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Tosca (Toledo Opera); Alcina (Mannes Opera); Silent Night (Wolf Trap Opera); Il Tabarro (On Site Opera); Flight (Minnesota Opera); Sky on Swings (Opera Philadelphia)

Last updated: August 2024

Director
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Lucidity

Hometown: New York, NY
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Frankenstein (Arizona Opera), L’Elisir D’Amore (Curtis Opera Theatre), Glory Denied (Berkshire Opera Festival), The Immersive Coffee Cantata Experience (On Site Opera), Sketches from Frankenstein and The Tell-Tale Heart (On Site Opera).

Last updated: August 2024

Assistant Director
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Lucidity

Hometown: Richmond, ME
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Assistant Director, The Immersive Coffee Cantata Experience (On Site Opera); Director, The Crucible (Opera in the Pines); Assistant Director, Lucidity (On Site Opera); Director, The Ugly Duckling (Tri-Cities Opera)

Last updated: August 2024

Scenic Consultant
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Lucidity

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Seattle Opera Debut: Così fan tutte (‘04)
Engagements: Leonora (Chicago Opera Theater); Carmen (Music Academy of the West); RUR: A Torrent of Light (Tapestry Opera); Simon Boccanegra (Teatro Colon); Faust (Academy of Vocal Arts); Romeo and Juliet (Wonderbound Dance)

Last Updated: October 2024

At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Co-Props Designer, Lucidity

Hometown: Queens, NY
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Props Supervisor, McNeal (Broadway: Vivian Beaumont Theater); Production Properties, Merrily We Roll Along (Broadway: Hudson Theatre); Props Co-Designer, Lucidity (On Site Opera); Props Manager, Manahatta (The Public Theater)

Last Updated: September 2024

At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Co-Props Designer, Lucidity

Hometown: Manhattan, NY
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Props Co-Designer, Lucidity (On Site Opera); Production Props Supervisor, Fat Ham (Broadway: American Airlines Theatre); Merry Wives (Shakespeare in the Park); Into the Woods (New York City Center); Macbeth (Classic Stage Company); Malvolio (The Classical Theatre of Harlem)

Last Updated: October 2024

Costume Designer
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Lucidity

Hometown: New York, NY
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Sunday in the Park with George (Glimmerglass); The Suffragette's Murder (Denver Center for the Performing Arts); The Immersive Coffee Cantata Experience (On Site Opera); Lady M (Heartbeat Opera); The Mother of Us All (Juilliard, Metropolitan Museum of Art & NY Philharmonic); Indecent (Seattle Repertory Theatre)

Last updated: August 2024

Lighting Designer
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Lucidity

Hometown: Galisteo, NM
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Frankenstein (Arizona Opera); Florencia De Los Amazona (San Jose Opera); Frida (Opera Orlando); Turn of the Screw (Opera Roanoke); La Boheme (Opera Delaware); Zorro (San Jose Opera)

Last Updated: August 2024

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Wigs, Hair, and Makeup Manager & Designer, The Pirates of Penzance; Fellow Travelers; Carmen; Hair and Makeup Manager & Designer, Daphne in Concert

Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Seattle Opera Debut: Hair and Makeup Intern, Giulio Cesare (2007)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Wigs, Hair, and Makeup Designer, Pagliacci ('24); Jubilee ('24); Lucidity ('24); Les Troyens in Concert ('25); The Magic Flute ('25); Tosca ('25); Supplemental Wigs, Hair and Makeup Designer, Das Rheingold ('23); Alcina ('23); X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X ('24); The Barber of Seville ('24)

Ashlee Naegle made a name for herself early on in her career by mastering the dying art of wig building. She created and designed for several companies around town until the Seattle Opera created an in-house Hair and Makeup Designer position for her in 2017. During her time as the in-house Hair and Makeup Designer, she has built a sizable wig collection, built a department, and set high standards for wigs, hair and makeup. With each production, her designs are custom built for the performers and their characters to create a believable façade for the audience as well as complement the costumes and production as a whole.

Last Updated: July 2025

Stage Manager
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Lucidity

Hometown: McKee, KY
Seattle Opera Debut: The Marriage of Figaro (‘22)
Engagements: Die Walkure (Atlanta Opera); Songbird (Washington National Opera); Pagliacci (Austin Opera); 10 Days in a Madhouse (Opera Philadelphia); Sweeney Todd (Utah Opera); Hansel & Gretel (Utah Opera)

Last updated: August 2024

Assistant Stage Manager
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Lucidity

Hometown: Rochester, NY
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: The Extinctionist (Heartbeat Opera); Ki moun ou ye (The Julliard School); Become a Mountain (The Julliard School); American Apollo (Des Moines Metro Opera); The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (The Dallas Opera); TIME:SPANS Contemporary Music Festival (Earle Brown Music Foundation)

Last updated: August 2024

Production Stage Manager

Hometown: Houston, TX
Seattle Opera Mainstage Debut: Les Troyens in Concert (’25)
Jonathan Moore (he/him) is thrilled to be a part of the Seattle Opera Production Team as Production Stage Manager. He has primarily worked in opera and ballet, including, most recently, a 4-season stint at the Houston Ballet. He has also stage managed for plays, musicals, a Fringe Festival, concerts, and a drag show. Favorite projects include a tour to Tokyo, an opera in a hot spring, and several operas in barns. He has worked across the country, including in New York, San Diego, San Antonio, Steamboat Springs, and Logan, UT.

Last Updated: February 2025