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Peter Sellars: The Interdependence of Worlds

Meany Center’s Artistic Partner initiative embodies the transformative power of the performing arts, supporting innovation and creativity through bold collaborations and community engagement. By centering the perspectives of visionary artists — on and off the stage—we cultivate a dynamic arts landscape that amplifies distinct curatorial voices, strengthens campus and community connections, and welcomes new audiences.

This season, Meany Center is honored to welcome the legendary director Peter Sellars as our Artistic Partner. A major figure in contemporary theater and opera, Sellars is celebrated for his groundbreaking and provocative interpretations of classic works, which challenge conventions and engage deeply with urgent societal issues such as race, poverty and environmental responsibility. His collaborations with composers like John Adams have redefined the possibilities of opera, creating globally resonant works that use art as a powerful force for social change.

As Artistic Partner, Sellars will bring his unparalleled creative perspective to Meany Center, engaging with students, faculty and broader Seattle communities. The centerpiece of his residency will be Music for New Bodies, a bold new chamber opera composed by Matthew Aucoin and directed by Sellars himself. This extraordinary work explores humanity’s complex relationship with the planet, delving into themes of environmental stewardship, scientific progress and the ethical dilemmas surrounding our quest to transcend human limitations. Through this collaboration, we are committed to sparking meaningful dialogue and inspiring new ways of thinking about art’s role in shaping our shared future.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am about to go into rehearsal for an astonishing project that will be coming to the Meany Center.  What am I thinking about, and what am I hoping for?

The interdependence and interpenetration of worlds.

The challenge and pleasure of being together.

Shared spaces, shared experiences, shared resources, shared access.

Can we help each other to be more honest and more loving?

Create and sustain structures of equality and patterns of reciprocity.

The eloquence of the just.

How the invisible moves.

The groove.

Hidden beauty.

Secret histories.

Life inside the contradictions.

Imagine the alternatives.

Organize the alternatives.

Be a bridge.

Understand the humor.

Understand the hurt.

Where is the love?

Walk with ancestors.

Run with the unborn.

Listen to plants.

Listen to the weather.

Listen to the inner weather.

Listen to people.

Listen to music.

Hear the unspoken.

Hear inner voices.

Hear your inner voices.

Hear what you don't want to hear.

Ask the questions.

Not knowing the answers.

Acknowledge your mistakes.

Address your regrets.

Do the healing work.

See with the third eye.

Look through obstacles.

Honor your intuitions.

The near is far.

The far is near.

Be generous.

Find courage together.

Don't surrender to anger.

Feel what you are feeling.

Feel it more deeply.

Open the dream space.

We are here.

Everything I do involves working with others, and across many years I have had the pleasure of working with exceptional artists from many disciplines, cultures, geographies and spiritual orientations who bear many gifts from many worlds, and who create new communities of sound, action and light.

And for some years I have been telling myself that I would love to spend more time in Seattle. Now, thanks to the Meany Center and Michelle Witt, this dream will become reality. I am so grateful.

— Peter Sellars