McCaw Hall

An elegant modern venue, filled with class and a distinctly Seattle brand of sophistication, perfect for an opera like the one I recently attended here, The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. On the exterior, it is a distinctly modern building, with a slightly uncanny design that blurs the boundaries between inside and outside, especially at night. While the architecture is a bit cold for my tastes, it is a distinctly refined and expensive building, very befitting the World's Fair grounds. There is a magic to walking here on a clear night and seeing the towering, hopeful form of the Space Needle outlined in the background by the graceful silver light of the moon. In the interior, the acoustics are quite remarkable and befitting a classy, elevated atmosphere on which an opera house relies, with velvety reds and lavish stage curtains and touches of dark green in the audience seating. It admittedly does not have the almost cathedral like grandeur of some of the great opera houses in Europe or even in the older city is of America, but the intentions are clearly founded in the storied tradition of this kind of space, and there is a degree of reverence and devotion that exudes from the inside of this hall. Seattle as a city needs more world-class cultural venues like this one. It feels enveloping to attendees, the opera feeling like the entire world. There are certainly things to nitpick when compared to, say, the Met in New York, but the purpose of a space like this is to create a dreamlike state for indulging in sumptuous, elevated spectacle, and McCaw Hall certainly delivers.

Nice facility. The staff was friendly and helpful. We had an enjoyable evening. Not being from Seattle, we weren't completely sure about where we were to park, but we parked near the Museum of Pop Culture. Easy walk from there.

We traveled across two states to come here to see an opperetta. The pirates of Penzance. The venue was immaculately clean. Well set up. I truly appreciated the elevator... Inside seating is quite sparse. Keep that in mind if you show up very early as the theater doors will be closed with staff at every door to assist you on every level and they are incredibly friendly and incredibly helpful. They made sure to mention that it was a full house or almost one and then popped in to suggest. Maybe we pre-ordered drinks or whatever for the intermission so we wouldn't have to wait in line. We were in balcony seating, not upper but balcony very far in the back below the upper balcony and it was perfect seating with more than The average legroom for a theater. The acoustics were awesome. It was one of the best experiences that I've had in many years

Absolutely ridiculous pricing for concessions. 1 double white wine, double jack/soda, and 2 cookies is $106, with the gall of requesting a tip on top. That’s more than a pair of comedy show tickets. Getting fatigued by this no transparent pricing nonsense. Venue has comfortable seating (no place to hold drinks other than your hand) and acoustics are good. Just watch out for the drinks.

I have attended the opera here twice so far and see a few visits in my future with the new season. Seating is always abundant and they assist with many mobility impaired attendees. Concessions can be pricey but I don't usually come for the food and drinks. Always a good venue for enjoying the musical arts.