Transfer market: Seattle Opera snaps up Barcelona boss

Seattle Opera Board has named Christina Scheppelmann as it next General Director, starting August 2019.

She succeeds Aidan Lang, who is moving to Welsh National Opera. Christina presently heads the Liceu in Barcelona.

Here’s the official version:

Born in Germany and fluent in five languages, Scheppelmann is the current artistic leader of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona’s 172-year-old company that annually produces more than 130 performances in opera, classical music concerts, and dance. Previously, Scheppelmann was the first Director General of the Royal Opera House Muscat (Oman), the first theater of its kind in the Gulf Region. Her roles have also included Director of Artistic Operations at Washington National Opera, where she created the American Opera Initiative to provide a forum for emerging composers and librettists. Before that, she served as artistic administrator at San Francisco Opera where she helped launch two major world premieres: Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking (2000) and André Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire (1995).

On a personal note, Christina Scheppelmann lived in the US for 19 years previously and is looking forward to returning to the Seattle area, where her wife, Beth, is from. Scheppelmann is also a long-time fan of Seattle Opera and has attended performances here since the ‘90s, including the Ring cycle. As a first order of business, she’s looking forward to listening: getting to know the Seattle Opera family, meeting our opera community, and learning more about the history and culture of Puget Sound (and in her spare time, kayaking and playing golf!).