Opera Review and other article - Interview 

Columbia.com 

News.Yahoo.com 

The Wall Street Journal (paywalled, pdf attached)

“[Roya Sadat’s] adroit staging, with sets by Misha Kachman, costumes by Deborah Trout, and lighting by Jen Schriever, reflects some of the complexity of Afghan society and its changes over the years, including Western, cosmopolitan attire coexisting with headscarves and burqas in an outdoor marketplace.”

Includes significant coverage of Jashin, in addition to thoughts on the opera. Make sure to listen to the audio, not just the written story.

 Financial Times (paywalled, pdf attached)

“The soprano Maureen McKay shines as Laila.”

 Seattle Afghan Opera | | wandtv.com 

Peranews,com

Brodadwayworld.com

Aopopera.com

Columbian.com

usnews.com

southseattlemeralworld

hayatlife.com

'A Thousand Splendid Suns' primed for its Seattle Opera premiere | KNKX Public Radio

Nam10

Classical Voice North America

“As Laila, former Seattle Opera Young Artist McKay sang as beautifully as Moras, whose Tariq was graced with an irresistible mix of Italianate and Latin passion. Sewailam, too, was a gift: His Hakim sounded appropriately kind and loving.”

The Daily (UW)

“I was nervous about attending the show, primarily due to the fact that I had never been to an opera performance before. I had always thought of the opera as a venue exclusive to rich, white people who grew up with theater and were culturally more appreciative of classical music. […] Nonetheless, I was excited to go to my first opera performance. I went in with an open mind, and I can report with confidence that for the most part, the show did not disappoint. […] It is a deeply moving portrayal of female friendship persevering through times of extreme adversity.”

KIRO 7: “New Afghan opera written by Seattle-born composer”

From new SO board member Deborah Horne

Oregon ArtsWatch

“The scenery is beautiful, the voices are lovely, and the Hindustani-influenced music is in a class of its own.”

OperaWire

This review, from one of our regular reviewers, raises some important questions about how opera tropes can be reproduced even in new works. Whether or not you agree with his assessment, it’s worth thinking about the various ways that audience members may interpret the work we put on stage.

Very last review

The Seattle Times (paywalled, pdf attached)

“The opera, which opened Saturday night, brought lyrical, beautiful music to a poignant tale on the McCaw Hall stage. […] Silver’s music deftly meshed traditional South Asian instruments with the orchestra and the voices on stage.”

Broadway World

“Haunting and beautiful, the story and music merge as one in this formidable show. The central truths of hope and love will echo long past the last note and curtain fall.”

Real Change (which put us on the front page!)

“I happened to be at the Seattle Opera on the pay-what-you-can night, and I felt the audience reflected how opera was always supposed to be. In my 20 years of classical music-going, this was one of the more diverse audiences I’ve seen for a venue where tickets start at a higher price point than most are comfortable with. The audience was also exhilarating. People gasped and jeered, just like audiences have been for more than four centuries. As the show went on and people became more comfortable, I found myself smiling at the beautiful experience of live opera performances. […] If you have never been to the opera, if you are interested in seeing the small stories of these women portrayed with the bigness they deserve, I recommend it.”

SGN

“It is difficult to think of a way in which this opera and this production could have been improved. We congratulate Seattle Opera for bringing this beautiful and important work into existence, and encourage readers to attend this wonderful world premiere.”

Musical America (paywalled, pdf attached)

“The score deftly fuses raga-based leitmotifs and mesmerizing drones with Silver’s individual, obviously Western voice. Her melodic gift is matched by a flair for intriguing orchestral colors and solo or chamber textures that suggest glints of light or shadow to give the musical fabric added vibrancy. Viswa Subbaraman conducted with sensitive attention to these details, eliciting moods of almost mystical tranquility in moments of reflection while going full throttle for the score’s most violent outbursts.”

Crosscut

“By the end of this deeply engrossing saga of a life-changing friendship, you’ll have a new impression of Afghanistan imprinted in your mind — thanks to fleeting scenes of a prosperous Kabul shopping district filled with women in colorful modern dress, of children playing happily — along with a lingering sense of the power of love and female courage.”

Northwest Asian Weekly

“The stagecraft and the power of the music, which combines punches of western music worthy of a Sibelius or a Stravinsky, punctuated by Hindustani motifs, make the experience a wall of unbelievable light and sound come throbbing off the stage with Mariam at the center. At many times during this opera, I was suffocating and trying not to sob.”

Post Alley

“[A Thousand Splendid Suns] is a haunting, atmospheric work full of lush evocative music rendered in technicolor orchestrations inflected with Afghanish [sic] flourishes.”

Drama in the Hood

“The story is absolutely heartbreaking yet transcendently gorgeous, a reflection upon love and family, the intersection between the two, and the struggles of women in everyday life. I found myself in tears by the end of the performance, the emotional weight of the words of the actors washing over me in waves throughout the opera. I would highly recommend attending.”

Eclectic Arts

“The intention behind everything the Seattle Opera does is highly commendable. From hiring Afghan consultants, Afghan musicians, and other Afghan artisans, the flavor that was so needed in this story was absolutely there.”

South Seattle Emerald

“I enjoyed the production. It was different from any other opera I have seen, not only due to being sung in English and set in the Middle East, but also to the sheer number of scene transitions and the skillful use of lighting to illustrate dramatic effect.”

I also wanted to share the last round of preview coverage, which included pieces in a number of Dari/Farsi-speaking outlets:

• BBC Persian

• Afghanistan International TV

• Etilaatroz

• Martin Bakari interview on "The Day with Trae" on Converge Media

• Ashraf Sewailam and Maureen McKay on "New Day Northwest"

• Sheila Silver interview on "Flotation Device" on 91.3 KBCS

 At Seattle Opera, ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ burns brightly | Crosscut 

‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ opera spotlights Afghan women

'A Thousand Splendid Suns' primed for its Seattle Opera premiere | KNKX Public Radio