06/02/2026
We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of former Seattle Opera General Director, Speight Jenkins.
Speight began his tenure in 1983, transforming Seattle Opera into one of the leading US opera companies during his 31 years as General Director, until 2014.
A passionate, precise, and persistent leader, Speight was an icon in the Pacific Northwest and held in the highest esteem across the opera industry. Under his watch, Seattle Opera grew into one of the largest and most respected opera companies in the United States, recognized worldwide for its ambitious programming, its nurturing environment for young artists, and its vital presentations of Wagner’s four-opera epic, Der Ring des Nibelungen.
“As we mourn the loss of Seattle Opera’s former General Director, we also celebrate the extraordinary impacts he made on the world of opera and the greater arts scene in the Pacific Northwest,” says General & Artistic Director, James Robinson. “Speight was a force, a true impresario who launched countless careers over the years... [he] was exacting, demanding, and utterly committed to excellence. He remains an inspiration to so many of us who now lead opera companies in the US.”
A staunch believer that even the grandest operas should be for the people, he helped usher in a new era of audience accessibility with practices we now consider standard, like translated supertitles (making Seattle Opera one of the first US companies to use this technology) and post-show talkbacks.
In 2006, he was named one of the 25 “most powerful” names in American Opera by Opera News, and upon his retirement the city and county proclaimed August 9, 2014, Speight Jenkins Day, naming a street in his honor.
We extend our most heartfelt condolences to his family and all those who knew him. In the coming days we'll be collecting and sharing memories from the many people he impacted in the opera world. If you have stories or photos you'd like to contribute, leave a comment or send them via DM/email.
Read the full announcement with tributes from artists and colleagues at seattleopera.org/speightjenkins
Photo 1 by Rick Dahms.
