Obituary: Operatic Superman Speight Jenkins

Imagine making such an impact on a city’s cultural institution that you have had a street named after you. To be described in such consistently glowing terms that admirers have run out of superlatives.

That was Speight Jenkins.

Opera enthusiasts, and devotees of Seattle Opera in particular, have been grieving the recent loss of a titan whose memory never will be absent from the minds of people who knew and loved him. Having succeeded Seattle Opera founder Glynn Ross in 1983 as the company’s second general director, Jenkins held the position for an unprecedented 31 years, from 1983 to 2014. His unmistakable “SP8” signature in missives to friends and associates symbolized his uniqueness as a person and as one of opera’s most colorful figures and champions. The Seattle Times named Jenkins one of the 150 most influential people who have shaped the character of Seattle and King County, an honor not to be taken lightly. Being an operatic giant was his superpower.

From the moment his passing was announced, tributes poured in, not only from company members—colleagues, collaborators, coworkers—but also from opera aficionados worldwide: singers, directors, and giants of the Seattle community, among many others. Noted classical music news site Slipped Disc called him “American’s Greatest Opera Boss.”

I first met him in New York when I was a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, having familiarized myself with his hosting “Live from the Met” telecasts, and reading his New York Post articles, his smiling visage coupled with his byline. As a music journalist he was engaging, witty, and remarkable in his encyclopedic knowledge of opera. My impression upon meeting him was that of an upbeat, energetic, personable, and most of all passionate advocate for the art form to which he would remain committed for a lifetime.

Jenkins brought those singular qualities to his untiring work, transforming the Seattle company into a force to be reckoned with throughout the opera world with his innovative productions and wide community outreach. He described his company’s patrons as “the most remarkable opera audience in the world.”

“In our ephemeral music world, Speight Jenkins seemed eternal,” says stage director Linda Brovsky. “He showed all of us what opera could be in terms of excellence, collaboration, graciousness and, indeed, family. His humor and curiosity never failed nor did his passion for artists and opera.”

It must have been a huge leap of faith for Jenkins to take on an opera company on the opposite side of the continent, but he embraced his new role fully and with the utmost enthusiasm. The devotion and zeal Jenkins brought to his operatic mission of transforming Seattle Opera into a world class company was boundless. His faith in and support of singers and emerging artists went beyond nurturing their careers.

One of them, celebrated Bel Canto tenor Lawrence Brownlee, found his association with Jenkins life changing. “He saw possibilities in me that I sometimes could not see in myself, and gave me opportunity after opportunity to hone my craft and establish myself as a serious artist,” says Brownlee. “Many people have encouraged me throughout my career, but few have believed in me as faithfully and intentionally as Speight Jenkins.”

Whether in need of a doctor or exercise gear, Jenkins made sure artists’ requests were fulfilled. He mentored young directors who ultimately took prominent places in the opera world. He engaged with everyone in the house, from the orchestra pit to backstage. He scrutinized and learned the inner workings of a production with the same kind of detail that a conductor would use to analyze a musical score. And how many general directors are so deeply involved as to be found at the top of the lobby staircase before every performance, greeting patrons as they arrive?

Current company general and artistic director James Robinson describes Jenkins as a general director in the old-world style: “a true impresario who launched countless careers over the years.” Robinson emphasizes that his predecessor burst with pride over the company’s mainstage performance home, Seattle’s McCaw Hall. “He remains an inspiration to so many of us who now lead opera companies in the US.”

“It was Seattle Opera’s collaborative nature that joined Seattle Center and Pacific Northwest Ballet to renovate the Opera House into today’s McCaw Hall,” adds former Seattle Opera Executive Director Kelly Tweeddale.

“Opera’s greatest boss” also mentored and encouraged young opera composers such as Daron Hagen, who subsequently have become recognized in their field. “I am deeply indebted to Speight for his belief in ‘Amelia,’ and his faith in my work,” says Hagen. Our dialogue never ceased. He knew more about opera than anyone else I’ve ever known, and loved it with his whole heart.”

Jenkins has been lauded for many accomplishments, including programming such innovative works as Prokofiev's War and Peace and Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites, and for his leading the company into an international spotlight. But he reached a zenith in making Seattle Opera known as a Wagnerian house, producing all 10 of the 19th century German giant’s major works. Rabid Wagner fans came from the far corners of the world to witness the company’s much-lauded Ring cycle productions, the last of which was inspired in part by the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

“Speight brought Seattle Opera into the first rank of opera companies nationally and internationally,” states Seattle Opera Board of Directors Chair Emeritus John F. Nesholm. “His groundbreaking productions of Wagner’s Ring attracted audiences from every state and dozens of countries.”  

Some enthusiasts were keen enough to attend all the performances of every cycle. Having insisted upon obtaining the highest quality Wagner tubas for the Ring, Jenkins’ name has been inscribed on all 4 instruments, a symbol of his lasting Wagnerian legacy.

According to Cincinnati Opera Artistic Director Evans Mirageas, “Speight’s standards of excellence, his love for the art form and ALL its practitioners was never in doubt.” When Mirageas took on his Cincinnati post, Speight was all in to help and remained a guiding light. “For these past 21 years, whenever I had a dilemma or a challenge, I’d call Speight. He was never too busy to offer advice, counsel, encouragement.” Jenkins was a friend and mentor who touched countless artists’ lives and did so “with a selflessness and fierce dedication to excellence that all of us who came into your orbit will never forget.”

I last saw Jenkins at Seattle Opera’s “Welcome Back” post pandemic outdoor performance of Wagner’s Die Walküre at the Seattle Center. Supported on one side by a cane and the other by a caring assistant, he looked fragile, yet moved as freely as possible, with a confident smile and a bearing both friendly and noble. Once seated, he maintained that demeanor as patrons came by to pay homage one by one. The image of that dignity, that graciousness, will always remain imprinted on my mind: a princely figure with no pretension who, in the midst of a crowd of opera lovers, exuded an operatic passion that rose above adversity.

That was Speight Jenkins.

Photo credits: Yuen Lui Studios, Rick Dahms, Rozarii Lynch, Brandon Patoc, Alan Alabastro, Seattle Opera

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