A Sonic Celebration Of Charlie Parker

The line between a genius and the demons they battle is often blurred when it comes to creative icons like Charlie Parker. Explore the life and times of the great jazz giant during Seattle Opera's hotly anticipated production of Swiss saxophonist and composer Daniel Schnyder's Yardbird, an operatic collision of passion, poetry and classical-jazz fusion that has received rave reviews since its debut in 2015.

Blending complex modern jazz idioms, classical bel canto vocals and distinctly modernist influences with Parker's most memorable musical moments, the opera opens with the composer struggling to finish his final masterwork. Looking back to his stormy past, he remembers New York City, his accomplishments and struggles in a series of flashbacks punctuated by a 24-piece orchestra well versed in the intricacies of bebop.