With every seat at Seattle Opera's internationally renowned production of Richard Wagner's four-opera "Der Ring des Nibelungen" spoken for months before opening night, just what is a Wagnerhead without a ticket to do?
If you're an optimist, you'll put yourself on the waiting list - at last count more than 140 long - for tickets that may be returned to Seattle Opera.
If you have the stamina of a Valkyrie, you'll vie for one of the precious few standing-room-only spots - "Götterdämmerung," the fourth opera in Wagner's "Ring" cycle, runs five hours and 15 minutes.
If those options fail, tune to FM 98.1 on your radio. KING-FM, Seattle's classical music station, will air delayed broadcasts of Seattle Opera's complete 2005 "Ring," recorded live at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall (see sidebar). And you can bone up on the "Ring" and Wagner with KING-FM programming.
The live-broadcast relationship between the Seattle Opera and KING-FM, both headquartered in Queen Anne, goes back a ways. Bob Goldfarb, KING-FM's program director, said the station began live broadcasting in 1982 with the Seattle Chamber Music Society's summer festival. Seattle Opera joined the lineup in the mid-1980s.
Until a few years ago, KING-FM did the recording work. "KING-FM had staff who would go to the performances and record them, but it was not financially sustainable," Goldfarb said.
Now the job is performed in a special broadcasting booth built into McCaw Hall and operated by technicians contracted by Seattle Opera, according to Kelly Tweeddale, the opera's administrative director. "It has gotten pretty predictable and easy with the technology built in," Tweeddale said.
KING-FM's connection with Seattle Opera and other Northwest arts organizations goes beyond live broadcasts. Each day, the station provides information about the local arts through interviews with performers and other artists, commentary by announcers and newspaper columnists, and event announcements.
"We try to be a place people can turn to when they want to know what's going on with the arts," Goldfarb said. "Per capita, Seattle has what must be one of the most active cultural scenes in the country."
Goldfarb, who was hired as KING-FM's program director in November 2003, believed that adding variety would appeal to a younger generation of listeners and dramatically increase the station's audience. The changes initially generated controversy among longtime listeners, but audience numbers surged and the raves about the adjustments far exceeded the rants.
Funding is another way the station supports the arts locally. Although KING-FM is one of only 11 commercial classical music stations in the country, all of its profits go to the arts. KING-FM is owned by Beethoven, a nonprofit entity that divvies up the station's profits among the Seattle Opera, Seattle Symphony and ArtsFund, which contributes to Puget Sound arts groups.
Tweeddale pointed out that KING-FM's contribution to the Seattle Opera through Beethoven is crucial, even though it was only 1 percent of last year's budget: "That seems small, but it's the same as having a very generous major donor, which are far and few between."
With KING-FM's abundant programming to spotlight the "Ring," Goldfarb has come full circle. He has never forgotten the power of seeing the "Ring" twice, once in English and once in German, while he was working on-air for KING-FM in 1977.
"The idea, these many years later, of being back in Seattle at the time of the 'Ring' is an inspiration to share this glorious experience with our listeners."
Freelance writer Maggie Larrick lives in the Seattle area and is the former editor of the News.[[In-content Ad]]
