Opera is in new Inland Northwest Opera artistic director Dan Wallace Miller’s blood

Born to a pair of “huge opera fans,” Seattle-based stage director Dan Wallace Miller’s childhood was filled with the artform in a host of ways. Following Dawn Wolski, Miller will take on the role of artistic director at Inland Northwest Opera in the coming season.

“I was dyed in the wool pretty early,” he said, remembering how his father would take him along to dress rehearsals at the Seattle Opera. “I mean, my first opera was ‘The Ring.’ “

Richard Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” – clocking in at around 16 hours if you watch all four installments – is sometimes too much for even the seasoned opera fan. But for Miller, it was a sort of first love.

“I was thrown right into the fire,” he said, joking about how that particular Seattle Opera production set the record for the largest onstage indoor fire. “They just decided to set the entire stage on fire at the end of ‘Götterdämmerung.’ You could feel the heat on your face – it was awesome.”

Never a singer himself, Miller was always drawn to directing over performing in one way or another.

“I wanted to be a conductor at one point, but it turns out you have to be a really talented musician,” he said.

So after three years of “suffering,” Miller followed a mentor’s advice and changed courses.

“It’s funny … there’s something unique about my generation of directors,” he said. In generations past, most directors would come to the field from other tracks in the business. Fledgling directors might have first been singers, performers in straight theater, stage managers or any number of other roles that might allow a transition into a directorial one.

“But I find that for my generation and a lot of my peers – there’s a bunch of us committed exclusively to opera who decided to jump directly into directing roles,” he said.

Unfortunately, when you’re starting out as a director, it’s difficult to find opportunities to hone your craft. Often, you just have to create your own. And that’s exactly what Miller did when he founded the Vespertine Opera Theater.

No longer in operation, Vespertine allowed Miller to experiment with production formats and bring theater to audiences in new settings – both of these pursuits he hopes to continue at Inland Northwest Opera.

“One thing I’m very excited about with INO is once again having the ability to program,” Miller said. As a freelance director, you can’t be as selective as you might like about the shows you’re working on.

“I’ll be able to choose works that I personally am moved or compelled by or to choose works that are going to fit very well with another director’s interpretation of what this work can be,” he said.

As artistic director, Miller will stage direct certain shows, but not all.

“It’ll be nice to have the opportunity to do that every now and then,” he said. “But I am also looking forward to bringing a whole lot of different voices into the equation.

“This way I can choose pieces that speak to me … and pieces that speak to my colleagues. It’s a way to really create a harmony of passionate interests. And hopefully, the audience can then share in that passion.”

No stranger to INO, Miller directed the 2021 production of Christoph Willibald Gluck’s “Orpheus and Eurydice,” available to stream on the opera’s website. Inland Northwest Opera is expected to announce its 2022 season this month.

“I am very eager to arrive in Spokane and really just tour every single possible place a performance can be held across the entire city,” he said. “Then as we move forward, to be able to essentially keep the mode of performance that INO has built its reputation on and start expanding on the wings.

“Spokane is a city that is growing so rapidly that it hit the front page of the New York Times – that kind of that economic growth needs to be reflected culturally, as well. And I think that INO is a beautiful position to be able to provide that.”

For more information about INO, visit inlandnwopera.com.