Freddie Ballentine and Kunal Lahiry Recital Leads Slate of Spring Events at Seattle Opera

Seattle Opera will kick off the spring season with an exciting pair of recitals, led by a special one-night-only appearance from tenor Freddie Ballentine and pianist Kunal Lahiry on Sunday, April 27.

One of America's leading tenors, Ballentine returns to Seattle Opera following his “captivating” (Bachtrack) performance as Loge in 2023's Das Rheingold. He is joined by pianist Kunal Lahiry, a BBC New Generation Artist who makes his Seattle Opera debut following recent appearances at the Kennedy Center, Aix-en-Provence, and Carnegie Hall. The program, titled Our People, features a diverse range of repertoire exploring Black and LGBTQ experiences, from songs by Margaret Bonds, Aaron Copland, and Sergei Rachmaninoff to newer music by Nina Simone, Ricky Ian Gordon, and David Krakauer.

“We created this program to show reverence to our people,” said Ballentine and Lahiry. “Not just our contemporaries, but also the beautiful queer people who came before us, whose stories never had the ending they deserved. We tell their stories, honor their memories, and rejoice in the beauty that is Our Queerness.”

 

On Friday, March 21, audiences will get the chance to hear Seattle Opera's 2024/25 Resident Artists, Michael J. Hawk (The Speaker/The Old Priest, The Magic Flute '25) and Tiffany Townsend (America Robinson, Jubilee '24), in an intimate evening of art songs and arias. Featuring selections from Richard Strauss's Four Last Songs and Margaret Bonds's Songs of the Seasons, as well as excerpts from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser, this is a rare chance to hear a pair of stellar young singers at the outset of their careers.

The rest of the spring season showcases Seattle Opera's education programs. From now through early May, the School Opera Tour will take the one-act opera Earth To Kenzie to over 50 different schools across Washington State, serving an estimated 18,000 students. The opera, written for youth audiences, tells the story of Kenzie, an imaginative fifth grader who turns to her favorite video game for comfort when she finds herself living in a family shelter with her mom. Full of innovative and approachable tunes, the fully staged and costumed opera is performed with professional singers and live piano accompaniment.

Audiences in Seattle can see Earth To Kenzie at the Opera Center in three public performances on Saturday, June 7. Performances last 45 minutes, with an additional 15-minute post-show Q&A. The 11:00am show is a sensory-friendly performance featuring additional support for patrons with neurodiverse needs.

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