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The Pirates of Penzance

A swashbuckling good time!

October 18, 19, 24, 26, 28, 29, 2025
November 1, 2025
McCaw Hall

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October 18

Sat. 9:30 PM

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October 19

Sun. 4:00 PM

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October 24

Fri. 9:30 PM

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October 26

Sun. 4:00 PM

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October 28

Tue. 12:30 PM

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October 29

Wed. 9:30 PM

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November 01

Sat. 9:30 PM

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Overview

Plenty of sweet bites and fresh delights of songs, silliness, and sass”

– ArtsATL

Music by Arthur Sullivan
Libretto by W.S. Gilbert

Ahoy mateys! Get ready for opera on the high seas with Gilbert and Sullivan's popular piratical comedy. The story begins as young Frederic is due to be released from his accidental apprenticeship to a band of pirates; he dreams of living an honorable life dedicated to love. However, a leap year loophole puts his freedom on the line. When the very modern Major-General's doting daughters arrive, hearts are promised, vows are made, and eventually pirates are pardoned in this light-hearted comedy.

Making its Seattle Opera debut, this production of the family-friendly farce comes to Seattle following rave reviews at The Glimmerglass Festival, The Atlanta Opera, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Featuring an exciting cast of operatic talent and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, you'll be thrilled with rapid-fire lyrics and toe-tapping tunes.

Available now with 2025/26 season tickets.
Individual tickets will go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, June 17.

Performance Information

McCaw Hall

In English with English subtitles

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

Performance Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes including 1 intermission

Tuesday, October 28: 10:30 AM matinee performance

Movie-Style Rating: PG

Accessibility Offerings

Audio Described Performance: Sunday, October 26

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Cast

Thomas Glass

Major-General Stanley

Baritone

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Major-General Stanley, The Pirates of Penzance (‘25)

Hometown: Edina, MN
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Starbuck (cover), Moby Dick (Metropolitan Opera); Marcello, La bohème (Opera Theatre of St. Louis); Jack Torrence, The Shining (Atlanta Opera); Leporello, Don Giovanni (Minnesota Opera); Guglielmo, Cosí Fan Tutte (Palm Beach Opera)

Last Updated: March 2025

Thomas Glass

Major-General Stanley

Seattle Opera Debut

Reginald Smith, Jr.

The Pirate King

Baritone

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: The Pirate King, The Pirates of Penzance (‘25)
Seattle Opera Debut
Hometown: Atlanta, GA

Engagements: Amonasro, Aida (Baltimore Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago); Porgy, Porgy and Bess (Washington National Opera); Scarpia, Tosca (New Orleans Opera); Marcello, La bohème (Opera Memphis); Emile Griffith, Champion (Lyric Opera of Chicago)

Last updated: January 2025

Reginald Smith, Jr.

The Pirate King

Seattle Opera Debut

David Portillo

Frederic

Tenor

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Frederic, The Pirates of Penzance (‘25)
Seattle Opera Debut
Hometown: San Antonio, TX

Engagements: Tamino, The Magic Flute (Metropolitan Opera); Pane/La Natura, La Calisto (Fesitval d’Aix en Provence); Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni (Santa Fe Opera); Lysander, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival); Dr. Richardson, Breaking the Waves (Houston Grand Opera); Septimus, Theodora (Theater an der Wien)

Last updated: January 2025

David Portillo

Frederic

Seattle Opera Debut

Vanessa Becerra

Mabel

Soprano

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Mabel, The Pirates of Penzance (‘25)
Seattle Opera Debut
Hometown: Fort Worth, TX

Engagements: Nuria, Ainadamar (LA Opera); Maria Celeste/Eos, Galileo Galilei (Opera Theatre of St. Louis); Norina, Don Pasquale (Opera Omaha); Adina, The Elixir of Love (Minnesota Opera); Zerlina, Don Giovanni (Arizona Opera); Violetta, La traviata (Berkshire Opera Festival)

Last updated: January 2025

Vanessa Becerra

Mabel

Seattle Opera Debut

Katharine Goeldner

Ruth

Mezzo-soprano

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Ruth, The Pirates of Penzance (‘25)
Seattle Opera Debut
Hometown: Sigourney, IA

Engagements: Annina, Der Rosenkavalier (Metropolitan Opera); Delilah, Samson and Delilah (Opera Colorado); Geneviève, Pelléas et Mélisande (Dallas Opera); Larina, Eugene Onegin (Opera Santa Fe); Brigitta, Die Tote Stadt (Teatro del Capitolio de Toulouse); Marcellina, The Marriage of Figaro (Lyric Opera of Chicago)

Last updated: January 2025

Katharine Goeldner

Ruth

Seattle Opera Debut

Nathan Stark

Sergeant of Police

Bass-baritone

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Sergeant of Police, Pirates of Penzance (’25)
Seattle Opera Debut
Hometown: Turlock, CA

Engagements: Enobarbus (cover), Antony and Cleopatra, Angelotti (cover), Tosca (Metropolitan Opera); Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro (Opera Modesto); Bartolo, The Barber of Seville (Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Helena Symphony); Church Councilman, Breaking the Waves (Detroit Opera)

Last updated: January 2025

Nathan Stark

Sergeant of Police

Seattle Opera Debut

Ilya Silchukou

Samuel

Baritone
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Sciarrone, Tosca
At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Moralès, Carmen

Hometown: Minkus, Belarus
Seattle Opera Debut
Engagements: Jager, Rusalka (Teatro alla Scala); Prince Yeletzky, Queen of Spades (Sofia Opera); Dandini, La Cenerentola (Sofia Opera, Opéra National de Montpellier); Simeon, L’Enfant Prodigue (Tacoma Opera); Belcore, L’elisir d’amore (Théâtre du Capitole)

Last Updated: May 2024

Ilya Silchukou

Samuel

Tess Altiveros

Edith

Soprano
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Ascagne, Les Troyens in Concert; Papagena, The Magic Flute
At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Edith, The Pirates of Penzance

Hometown: Seattle, WA
Seattle Opera Debut: Clorinda, The Combat (’17)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Nana/Market #1/Wajma, A Thousand Splendid Suns (’23); Giannetta, The Elixir of Love (’21, ‘22); Female Soldier, The Falling & The Rising (’19); E, O+E (’18)
Engagements: Soloist, Missa Solemnis (Boulder Philharmonic); Soloist, Cinco Poemas de Vinicius de Moraes (Greenville Symphony); Mimì, La bohème (Intermountain Opera); Susanna, Le nozze di Figaro (Opera Idaho); Soldier, The Falling & The Rising (Des Moines Metro Opera, Arizona Opera, Intermountain Opera, Opera Memphis)

Last Updated: October 2024

Tess Altiveros

Edith

Creative Team

Seán Curran

Stage Director & Choreographer

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Stage Director & Choreographer, The Pirates of Penzance (‘25)
Seattle Opera Debut
Hometown: New York, NY

Engagements: Choreographer, Lili Elbe (Santa Fe Opera); Choreographer & Director, PATH (Seán Curran Company); Choreographer & Director, The Pirates of Penzance (Glimmerglass Opera); Choreographer, Julius Caesar, Choreographer & Director, Harvey Milk (Opera Theatre of St. Louis); Choreographer, Io and Léandre et Héro (Opera Lafayette)

Last updated: January 2025

Seán Curran

Stage Director & Choreographer

Seattle Opera Debut

Robert Wierzel

Lighting Designer

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Lighting Designer, The Pirates of Penzance (‘25)

Hometown: Branford, CT
Seattle Opera Debut: Turn of the Screw ('94)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Jubilee (‘24); Blue (‘22); Don Giovanni (‘21); Eugene Onegin (‘20); Semele (‘15); Ariadne auf Naxos (‘15); La bohème (‘13), Lucia di Lammermoor (‘10); Aida (‘08)

Engagements: Still/Here (Brooklyn Academy of Music); Blue, The Marriage of Figaro (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Siegfried (The Atlanta Opera); The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Washington National Opera); Leopoldstadt (The Huntington & Shakespeare Theatre Company); Rigoletto (LA Opera)

Last Updated: June 2024

Robert Wierzel

Lighting Designer

Ashlee Naegle

Wigs, Hair, and Makeup Designer

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

Ashlee Naegle

Wigs, Hair, and Makeup Designer

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

Staging Staff

Jonathan Moore

Production Stage Manager

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

Jonathan Moore

Production Stage Manager

Quinn Chase

Assistant Stage Manager

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

Hometown: Coventry, RI
Seattle Opera Debut: Il trovatore ('19)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Jubilee (‘24); Pagliacci (‘24); X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X ('24); Das Rheingold ('23); A Thousand Splendid Suns ('23)
Engagements: Blithe Spirit, Sanctuary City, Selling Kabul, Teenage Dick (Seattle Repertory Theatre); A Christmas Carol (ACT Contemporary Theatre); Everything is Illuminated (Book-It Repertory Theatre)

Last Updated: January 2025

Quinn Chase

Assistant Stage Manager

Jamie Kranz

Assistant Stage Manager

Assistant Stage Manager
At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: The Pirates of Penzance (‘25); Carmen (‘26)

Hometown: Mason City, IA
Seattle Opera Debut: The Marriage of Figaro ('22)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Pagliacci (‘24); Das Rheingold (‘23); The Elixir of Love (‘22)
Engagements: After Midnight, Bye Bye Birdie, Waitress (5th Avenue Theatre); Legally Blonde (Village Theatre); Blithe Spirit (Seattle Rep); POTUS (ACT Contemporary Theatre)