Pagliacci

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

Director
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Pagliacci

Hometown: Seattle, WA
Seattle Opera Debut: The Combat (’17)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Welcome Back Concert: Die Walküre (’21); Tosca (’21); Three Singing Sisters ('19); Il trovatore (’19)
Engagements: Director, Rigoletto (Opera San Jose); Director, Scenes Program (Santa Fe Opera); Director, Roméo et Juliette (Central City Opera); Director, Susannah (Wolf Trap); Director, Tosca (Opera Naples); Director, Carmen (Kentucky Opera)

Last updated: June 2024

Scenery and Props Designer
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Pagliacci

Hometown: Houston, TX
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Set Design, American Apollo (Des Moines Metro Opera); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Atlanta Opera); Sesame Street Live! (International Tour); Macbeth (The Atlanta Opera); Stiffelio (Sarasota Opera); Bluebeard’s Castle (Opera San Jose)

Last Updated: July 2024

Costume Designer
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Pagliacci

Hometown: Winona, MN
Seattle Opera Debut: The Ballad of Baby Doe (’92)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Così fan tutte (’18); Ariadne auf Naxos (’15); Porgy and Bess (’11); Pagliacci (’08) 
Engagements: Mary Poppins, Singin’ in the Rain, My Fair Lady, Newsies (Village Theatre) 

Last updated: June 2024

Lighting Designer
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Pagliacci

Hometown: Asheville, NC
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: La fanciulla del West, Street Scene, Pirates of Penzance (Central City Opera); Don Pasquale (Opera Omaha); King James (The Old Globe); Tosca (Pittsburgh Opera)

Last Updated: June 2024

Fight Director
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Pagliacci, Jubilee

Hometown: Seattle, WA
Seattle Opera Debut: War and Peace (’90)
Previously at Seattle Opera: A Thousand Splendid Suns (’23); Rigoletto (’19); Carmen (’19); Il trovatore (’19); The Ring (’13, ’00)
Engagements: Fat Ham (Seattle Rep); The Skin of Our Teeth (Seattle Rep); Sweat (ACT Theatre); Macbeth (Seattle Shakespeare Company); Camelot (Village Theatre)

Last Updated: September 2024

At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Wigs, Hair and Makeup Designer, Pagliacci; Jubilee; Lucidity; Les Troyens in Concert; The Magic Flute; Tosca

Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Seattle Opera Debut: Hair and Makeup Intern, Giulio Cesare (2007)
Previously at Seattle Opera: 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 2024

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

Youth Chorus Master
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Pagliacci, Tosca

Hometown: Kent, WA
Seattle Opera Debut

Julia Meyering made her Seattle Opera singing debut in 2018 as a chorus member in Porgy and Bess (’18). She is thrilled to be joining Seattle Opera as Youth Chorus Master. Currently, she serves as choral director at Tillicum Middle School in Bellevue, WA, where her choirs have won numerous regional, national, and international choir competitions.

Last Updated: July 2024

Assistant Director
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Pagliacci

Hometown: Denver, CO
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Assistant Director, Romeo et Juliette (Central City Opera); Tosca (Pittsburgh Opera); Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci (Pittsburgh Opera)

Last Updated: July 2024

Assistant Stage Manager
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Stage Manager, Pagliacci; Assistant Stage Manager, Jubilee

Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Seattle Opera Debut: La traviata ('23)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Alcina ('23)
Engagements: Blind Injustice (Montclair University); La ville morte (Greek National Opera); Carmen (Des Moines Metro Opera); Bluebeard (Opera San Jose)

Last Updated: August 2024

Assistant Stage Manager
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Pagliacci, Jubilee, The Magic Flute, Tosca

Hometown: East Coast
Seattle Opera Debut: Il trovatore ('19)
Previously at Seattle Opera: X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X ('24); Das Rheingold ('23); A Thousand Splendid Suns ('23)
Engagements: Sanctuary City (Seattle Repertory Theatre); A Christmas Carol (ACT Contemporary Theatre); Everything is Illuminated (Book-It Repertory Theatre)

Last Updated: August 2024

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

Hometown: Seattle, WA
Seattle Opera Debut: The Marriage of Figaro ('22)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Das Rheingold ('23); The Elixir of Love ('22)
Engagements: POTUS (ACT Contemporary Theatre); Waitress (5th Avenue Theatre); Bye Bye Birdie (5th Avenue Theatre); After Midnight (5th Avenue Theatre)

Last Updated: July 2024