Seattle Opera The facade of Marion Oliver McCaw Hall at Seattle Center , seen from Kreielsheimer Promenade , with the Space Needle in the background The Seattle Opera is an opera company located in Seattle , Washington . Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross the company’s season runs from August to late May with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each , often with double casts in major roles to allow for successive evening presentations . The company is directed by Speight Jenkins and , since August 2003 , it has presented operas in the Marion Oliver McCaw Hall , built on the site of the old Seattle Opera House at the Seattle Center . Richard Wagner at the Seattle Opera The company is noted for its performances of the works of Richard Wagner , including the Ring cycle . In 1975 , it was the first American company to perform the cycle in its entirety over the space of a week since the Metropolitan Opera did it in 1939 . First Ring Cycles , 1975 to 1983 Beginning with a production of Die Walküre one year , and following successively each year with Siegfried and , finally , Götterdämmerung , Ross announced in 1975 that Das Rheingold would precede the others to make up the first consecutive Ring Cycle over six days in July . In spite of the modernization of the opera productions which Ross found at the Bayreuth Festival , Seattle’s were to be traditional productions and appeal to the lovers of the traditional . Two back-to-back cycles of the Ring , one each in German and English , were presented annually between 1975 and 1983 . Andrew Porter ’s English adaptation which was prepared for the English National Opera and which was priced below the German language cycle , introduced many new listeners to Wagner . Originally directed by George London with designer John Naccarato , later presentations were directed by Lincoln Clark between 1976 and 1983 , and by the tenor , Ragnar Ulfung in 1984 . Henry Holt conducted all the cycles . The performances were well attended and received good press . By 1982 , the cycle was drawing opera lovers from all over the United States , as well as many other countries of the world , and Seattle appeared to be a serious rival to Bayreuth . By 2001 audiences for the most successful Ring cycle to date came from 49 states and 19 countries , and was a sell out many months before opening . For the 2005 Cycle , Jane Eaglen returned to sing Brünnhilde ; the director was Stephen Wadsworth , the set designer was Thomas Lynch and Robert Spano conducted . All performances of the Ring Cycle are now given in German . Speight Jenkins and Wagner Jenkins was appointed general director in 1983 . He believed in the future of the company’s Ring Cycle and was eager to create a new Ring production . In addition , he stated a goal of producing all ten of the major Wagner works in Seattle and , beginning with Tannhäuser , Jenkins ' goal was achieved over the following nineteen years with an August 2003 production of Parsifal . See also List of important opera companies External link Seattle Opera official website homepage Categories : Opera companies | Seattle , Washington | Companies based in Seattle , Washington 