A Return to the Stage
Last season, Peter returned to the stage as Mr. Maraczek in She Loves Me at Opera Saratoga as well as The Duke in Long Beach Opera’s production of Library of Maps: An Opera in Many Parts.
2025
She Loves me
Mr. Maraczek
Music by Jerry Bock
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Book by Joe Masteroff
Opera Saratoga
Conductor: Adam Turner
Director: John Matsumoto Giampietro
“The emotional heart of the show, Mr. Maraczek, is played by legend Peter Kazaras.”
Peter as Mr. Maraczek
Photo Credit: NUA Photography Co.
Library of Maps:
An Opera in Many Parts
The Duke
Pauline Oliveros
Poetry by Moira Roth
Long Beach Opera
Director: James Darrah
Music Director: Christopher Rountree
Photo Credit: Long Beach Opera
A Look Back…
Peter received worldwide acclaim as an operatic tenor, performing at the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, and Weiner Staatsoper, to name a few.
1983
A Quiet Place
François
Leonard Bernstein
Libretto by Stephen Wadsworth
Houston Grand Opera
World Premiere
Conductor: John DeMain
Director: Peter Mark Schifter
“… anything in life is hard to achieve.”
Bernstein in rehearsal at HGO
Peter with Sheri Greenawald as Dede
Photo credit: HGO Backstage Pass
1986
Eugene Onegin
Lensky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Seattle Opera
Director: Andrei Serban
Conductor: Henry Holt
A focal point of every review for Eugene Onegin is the tenor's Act 2 aria, "Kuda, kuda vï udalilis" (Lensky's lament before the duel). Kazaras' performance was highly commended for its lyricism, vocal control, and deep poetic melancholy. His portrayal solidified his reputation as a premier lyric tenor capable of balancing delicate vocal phrasing with intense dramatic stakes.
Peter with Alexandra Hughes as Olga
With Archie Drake as Zaretsky) & Dale Duesing as Onegin)
Photo Credit: Chris Bennion
1987
Faust
Faust
Charles Gounod
Libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré
Seattle Opera
Conductor: Hermann Michael
Director: Francesca Zambello
Photo Credit: Matthew McKay
Die Zauberflöte
Tamino
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder
Seattle Opera
Production: Maurice Sendak
Conductor: Gerard Schwarz
Peter with Kaaren Erickson as Pamina
With Sally Wolf as Queen of the Night
With Kaaren Erickson as Pamina
Photo Credit: Matthew McKay
1989
New Year
Pelegrin
Michael Tippett
Houston Grand Opera
World Premiere
Director: Peter Hall
Conductor: John DeMain
“A brashly eclectic, rhythmically complex, feistily youthful opera.”
Photo Credit: HGO Archives
Der Fliegende Holländer
Erik
Richard Wagner
Seattle Opera
Director: Stephen Wadsworth
Conductor: Gerard Schwarz
Photo Credit: Ron Scherl
1990
Salome
Narraboth
Richard Strauss
Libretto by William H. Hoffman
The Metropolitan Opera
Conductor: James Conlon
Stage Director: Nikolaus Lehnhoff
“Kazaras’s earnest portrayal of the tragic, lovesick Captain of the Guard provided a grounded, vulnerable contrast to the heavier, serpentine coldness delivered by Helga Dernesch (Herodias) and Richard Cassilly (Herod).”
War and Peace
Pierre Bezukhov
Sergei Prokofiev
Libretto by Sergei Prokofiev & Mira Mendelson
Based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy
Seattle Opera
Goodwill Games Arts Festival
Director: Francesca Zambello
Conductor: Mark Ermler
“Peter Kazaras as the perfect gentleman Pierre … was persuasive.”
Photo Credit: Ron Scherl
1991
The Ghosts of Versailles
Almaviva
John Corgliano
Libretto by William H. Hoffman
The Metropolitan Opera
World Premiere
Conductor: James Levine
Stage Director: Colin Graham
Die Zauberflöte
Tamino
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder
The Metropolitan Opera
Director: Götz Friedrich
Conductor: James Lavine
“The picture of a Mozart tenor, with a handsome stage presence, an intelligent sense of his role and of Mozart’s music, and a German diction that even in the spoken parts is admirably clear and communicative.”
1993
Billy Budd
Captain Vere
Benjamin Britten
Libretto by E. M. Forster & Eric Crozier
Opera Theater of
St. Louis
Director: Colin Graham
Conductor: Robert Spano
“...it was Peter Kazaras’ finely observed Vere, whose stoic exterior belied the raging conflicts within, who gave this “Billy Budd” its core of emotional truth.”
1995
Das Rheingold
Loge
Richard Wagner
Seattle Opera
Director: François Rochaix
Conductor: Hermann Michael
“Kazaras was praised for providing vocal and dramatic stability to the production’s intricate 19th-century industrial-age concept.”
Peter with Monte Pederson as Wotan
Photo Credit: Gary Smith
The Queen of Spades
Tchekalinsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky
Based on the short story of the same name by Alexander Pushkin.
The Metropolitan Opera
Director: Elijah Moshinsky
Conductor: Valery Gergiev
“Among the supporting military officers who orbit Gherman’s obsessive gambling, Peter Kazaras as Chekalinsky brings a distinct vocal characterization and a sharp, calculating stage presence to the ensembles.”
“Peter Kazaras gives the character of Chekalinsky a welcome dramatic bite and highly commendable Russian diction that pierces through Valery Gergiev’s intense orchestral volume.”
1996
The Bartered Bride
Circus Barker
Bedřich Smetana
Libretto by Karel Sabina
The Metropolitan Opera
Director: John Dexter
Conductor: James Levine
“Kazaras delivered the Circus Barker’s rapid-fire, carnival-style pitch with the exact “mercurial energy” and clear English diction.”
1997
Billy Budd
Captain Vere
Benjamin Britten
Libretto by E. M. Forster & Eric Crozier
The Metropolitan Opera
Director: John Dexter
Conductor: Steuart Bedford
Dallas Opera
Director: Francesca Zambello
Conductor: Graeme Jenkins
Photo Credit:
2000/01
Das Rheingold
Loge
Richard Wagner
Seattle Opera
Director: Stephen Wadsworth
Conductor: Armin Jordan / Franz Vote
“Probably no Ring has ever had a cast uniformly up to Wagner’s harrowing vocal and acting demands. The role of the trickster fire-god Loge suits Peter Kazaras to a saturnine T.”
“Peter Kazaras’s Loge had all the aristocratic hauteur Wotan is denied… his singing was as insinuating and subtle as his acting.”
2001
Billy Budd
Captain Vere
Benjamin Britten
Libretto by E. M. Forster & Eric Crozier
Seattle Opera
Director: Francesca Zambello
Conductor: Robert Spano
“Kazaras was unforgettable as the tormented Captain Vere in Billy Budd.”
Photo Credit: Gary Smith
Thérèse Raquin
Grivet
Tobias Picker
Libretto by Gene Scheer
The Dallas Opera
World Premiere
Director: Francesca Zambello
Conductor: Graeme Jenkins
Peter with Gabor Andrasy, Sara Fulgoni, Sheryl Woods and Diana Soviero (Photo by Ken Howard)
Peter Kazaras, Gabor Andrasy, Sara Fulgoni, Gordon Gietz and Richard Bernstein (Photo by George Landis)
2002
Salome
Herodes
Richard Strauss
Seattle Opera
Director: Sharon Ott
Conductor: Gerard Schwarz
Peter with Joyce Castle as Herodias
Peter with Nina Warren as Salome
Peter with Joyce Castle as Herodias and Nina Warren as Salome
Photo Credit: Gary Smith
2005
Das Rheingold
Loge
Richard Wagner
Seattle Opera
Director: Stephen Wadsworth
Conductor: Spano
Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean later reviewed Kazaras's overall legacy in the role, noting that his performances across the decade showcased a signature blend of "wit, warmth, and talent" that made him a mainstay of the company's Wagnerian tradition.
Peter with Greer Grimsly as Wotan
Photo Credit: Rozarii Lynch
2012
Turandot
Emperor Altoum
Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Giuseppe Adami & Renato Simoni
Seattle Opera
Director & Choreographer: Renaud Doucet
Conductor: Asher Fisch
Peter with Lori Phillips as Turandot
Photo Credit: Alan Alabastro
2013
La fille du régiment
Duchess of Krakenthorp
Gaetano Donizetti
Libretto by Jean-François Bayard and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges
Seattle Opera
Conductor: Yves Abel
Director: Emilio Sagi
“Peter Kazaras is a scene-stealer as the snooty Duchess.”
“His impeccable comedic delivery brought down the house.”
Peter with Karl Reyes as Hortensius and Brendan Toner as The Duke
The Duchess of Krakenthorp
Peter with Joyce Castle as the Marquise de Berkenfield
Photo Credit: Elise Bakketun