Opera singer Stephen Wall—also known as the Ballard Opera Man—is retiring from the Seattle Opera after 43 years.
Wall became the Ballard Opera Man during the pandemic shutdowns when he started singing in front of his home near the corner of 9th Ave NW and NW 60th St in April 2020.
The concerts started almost by accident: Wall was taking a break from teaching singing lessons on Zoom, went outside to play his string bass, and noticed a few people had stopped to listen. Wall then started to sing, inspired by a video of an Italian man he’d seen performing “Nessun dorma” from his balcony during quarantine.
Wall kept the performances going every weekday evening at 5 p.m., and eventually started live-streaming on his Facebook page when the ban on live entertainment went back into effect.
Wall kept up with the Ballard performances until September 2021, when he returned to his job with the Seattle Opera. In all, Wall performed 100 lawn concerts over 18 months. In that time, he made t-shirts and CDs to raise money for the Ballard Food Bank and drew as many as 200 people at a time to the sidewalks outside his Ballard home.
And now, after 43 years and 117 productions, Wall is stepping away from the Seattle Opera. His final act will be in the opera Tosca at McCaw Hall. Wall told The Seattle Times that he plans to continue teaching after retiring from the chorus.
Photo: Ballard Opera Man Facebook page
Recent Comments