Performer: David Butt Philip

Presented without staging, Seattle Opera’s concert Daphne places Strauss’ extreme vocal demands and saturated orchestral writing in sharp relief, offering a high-risk encounter with a rarely heard late opera.

Under the baton of Semyon Bychkov, the Czech Philharmonic and a sprawling supporting cast lead listeners up a stairway to heaven. 

Exceptional singing enlivens a flawed production, which takes liberties with the tone and tenor of Beethoven's sole opera.

The British tenor reflects on his time as a Jette Parker Young Artist and the swerve in direction his career has taken since.