Seattle Opera - A Thousand Splendid Suns Reviews

Barbara from Los Ángeles

BEAUTIFUL

Beautiful and sad story comes to life in this brilliant new opera. Especially loved te music.

Elyse Salend from Los Angeles

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SONS

I loved the opera the music was beautiful and the lyrics made the story come alive it is a powerful story that is very relevant today regardless of one’s culture or life. The set design took me to another world and I was totally present. I read the book and I heard the author speak after the opera and he was very pleased with the production and the performance.

SB from Seattle, Washington

A SPLENDID, SUMPTUOUS “1000 SPLENDID SUNS” OPERA

The bestselling novel is brought to life with soaring music, exquisite voices, stunning sets, and deep emotion. A magical performance!

Khadija from San Francisco

MOVING & EMOTIONAL OPERA

Excellent, accurate adaptation of a complex novel. Lots to assimilate as it spans 35+ years, but the emotional stakes would not be felt without it. Accessible music & words. Beautiful arias and duets. An important story told through sweeping and smart stagecraft. Kudos to Seattle Opera to have the courage to shepherd this new opera.

Joanna from Duvall Washington

PAINFULLY SAD BUT BEAUTIFULLY SUNG

The opera stayed close to the book plot. I read it years back and knew it would be powerful, moving and disturbing. Wonderful voices and a beautiful score. The only negative was at times it was hard to hear the singers the orchestra over powered them. I enjoyed the displays in the lobby about the history of how women are treated in Afghanistan.

Paul Marron from Seattle, Washington

TOO MUCH STORY NOT ENOUGH OPERA

Bringing an affecting story like 1000 Splendid Suns to opera requires paring the story elements and highlighting the operatic parts. Here by use of a seemingly ever turning turntable there was too much story and not enough opera. Let these singers sing. Instead we got another turn of the turntable. The music was hauntingly beautiful especially with the use of the flute and drum and was, critically, keyed directly to the action on stage ( akin to a movie score -- again too much story ) but the libretto was often inane and super scripts late. This work is too important an addition to modern opera not to continue to work on it. Opera is losing its younger audience and given the empty seats at Sunday's matinee its older one as well. An opera uniting a tragic contemporary story with ' traditional ' operatic music ( i.e.,melodic, richly chromatic -- not atonal, etc. ) could act to attract a new generation to one of the most sublime experiences in entertainment.

Boo from Seattle, Washington

OK

The music did not fit the stage story. Bad music composition

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