Whidbey Islander sings in ‘Porgy and Bess’ at the Seattle Opera

Samantha O’Brochta, of Freeland, thought she was dreaming when the Seattle Opera called her back.

“A friend of mine posted the audition on Facebook,” O’Brochta said.

That’s how she found out the major company was holding auditions for the chorus of “Porgy and Bess,” George and Ira Gershwin’s famous portrait of life and love on the fictitious Catfish Row in 1920s South Carolina.

“I thought, even if I didn’t get it, I still wanted to try out,” O’Brochta said.

After the November audition, the young singer was called back a month later. When she was cast, she was flabbergasted because her forte is musical theater, and she is not much of an opera singer, she said.

“I didn’t believe it at first,” she said, “because I hadn’t heard anything for about three months. But then they sent me the music and I guessed it wasn’t a dream then.”