Halloween events in Seattle feature a severed head and total highway closures

The content advisory for Seattle Opera’s production of Salome lists a severed head as a standard feature. The warning label, which rates the classic work at PG-13, also cites blood, gore, and themes including suicide, incest, and pedophilia. The opera, composed by Richard Strauss in 1905 based on an Oscar Wilde play, has a history of controversy that began with its Dresden premiere. That early performance scandalized audiences with its sensual dance and decapitation scene, leading to a ban in Vienna. When the Metropolitan Opera staged the piece in New York in 1907, it closed after a single performance.

The current Seattle production runs through Oct. 31, with a Halloween performance scheduled for the final night. The staging uses a set rented from the Irish National Opera’s 2024 production, designed by Bruno Ravella. The scenery traps the dysfunctional family in a stark chamber that resembles a submarine. The Seattle Symphony provides the musical backing for soprano Brenda Rae, who plays the title role. Tickets remain available, and the house encourages attendees to wear costumes.

The Royal Room screens The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, a 1920 silent horror film, on Oct. 31 at 5 p.m. Seattle composer Wayne Horvitz performs a live score for the German expressionist classic. The venue advises arriving by 4 p.m. to secure seating. Orquesta Northwest performs a concert of Mexican music and mariachis to celebrate Dia de Muertos at St. James Cathedral on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. Admission is free with a reservation.

The Stranger hosts a music-filled conversation titled See You at the Crossroads: Death & Hip Hop on Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at Black & Tan Hall. Journalist Charles Mudede discusses the relationship between music and death with Dr. Daudi Abe, a Northwest hip-hop expert. DJ Vitamin D provides accompaniment for the event.

Theatre Off Jackson presents Nanay, a contemporary play based on Filipino demon mythology, through Nov. 14. The Bootlegger’s Ball runs through Oct. 31 at the Reverie Ballroom. This production combines Seattle Prohibition-era true crime with a staged cabaret. Carnevolar XIV: Ascension, a new aerial and acrobatic show from Emerald City Trapeze, performs Oct. 28-31 at 21+. Alana O. Rogers Dance Company presents Fractured, a piece about the isolating effect of phones, from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7 at Base Camp Studios.

Dance Theatre of Harlem brings Firebird to The Paramount on Oct. 30-31. The choreography was created by John Taras in 1982 for Stravinsky’s 1910 ballet. Pacific Northwest Ballet will present Ghost Stories, a mixed bill of moody dances, from Nov. 6-15. WSDOT closes all northbound lanes of I-5 from I-90 to Northeast 45th Street this weekend as part of the Revive I-5 project. This closure marks the end of bridge repair work. The construction crew performed a dance during the total closure.

Roq La Rue Gallery hosts Fantasmagoria, a group exhibit of Victorian spook shows, through Oct. 31. The display features ominous swans, vampire bites, and fungi. Gallery 110 opens Spectacle of Being by Northwest artist Sarah Barnett on Nov. 5. The show runs through Nov. 28 and features paintings of medical operating theaters and the experience of anesthesia.