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Day 73: Mezzo-soprano J’nai Bridges in the Artist Spotlight

During the 2015 season, the blog will feature interviews with our Filene Young Artists. Today, we hear from mezzo-soprano J’nai Bridges, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. Which experience(s) most influenced your decision to become a professional singer? What’s the earliest point in your life that you can identify in pointing you in this direction? A very long story short,

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Day 72: Pianist Edward Kim in the Artist Spotlight

The job of a Collaborative Pianist in the opera biz is a fascinating one. Today, we feature an interview with Edward Kim, one of our two 2015 Coaching Fellows! People are often confused about exactly what a “vocal coach” is. How would you describe what you do? This question is perhaps better answered in terms

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Day 71: Pianist Peter Walsh in the Artist Spotlight

The job of a Collaborative Pianist in the opera biz is a fascinating one. Today, we feature an interview with Peter Walsh, one of our two 2015 Coaching Fellows! When did you begin playing the piano, and how did you transition into collaborative piano? I began playing the piano when I was 5 years old.  Although I

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Day 70: Studio Artists Shine

Tonight, our 16 Studio Artists owned the stage at The Barns, wowing an invited audience of Wolf Trap Members and WTO Housing Hosts with their Studio Spotlight evening of opera excerpts. We couldn’t be prouder of this extraordinary group!

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Day 69: Soprano D’Ana Lombard in the Artist Spotlight

Today, a look back at The Ghosts of Versailles, as the spotlight shines on soprano D’Ana Lombard, our Rosina! Which experience(s) most influenced your decision to become a professional singer? What’s the earliest point in your life that you can identify in pointing you in this direction? I tell this story a lot but it’s really

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Day 68: The Feelings Are Bigger

This video below is making the rounds within the WTO family, and it has already resonated strongly with our opera network across the country. Bless him, our young friend Iain manages to capture so many things that we opera lovers wish we could communicate more clearly to the “outside” world. Things about the essence and

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Day 66-67: Good Times in the Concert Hall

The Aida cast spent the last 2 days at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, in rehearsals with the National Symphony Orchestra and The Washington Chorus. Aida and Amneris celebrated by (randomly, unplanned…) donning complementary leopard print attire. What a joy to have Marjorie, Carl, Michelle and Scott back at the Trap for what will be an astonishing evening of

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Day 65: Aida at The Barns

Tonight, the Aida cast is working through the score with Maestro Daniele Callegari, aided in superb fashion by Justina Lee at the piano. (Seriously. Brava.) The voices permeate the timbers of the English Barn, and a good amount of Verdi is seeping out into the parking lot! What an enormously exciting concert this will be. You really have to

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Day 64: Blier in the House

The Cast of 2014 "A Houseful of Song"

There’s Rodgers & Hammerstein (and Rodgers & Hart… and more) coming from down the hall, and that can only mean one thing. Steve is here. 6 of our singers get to make music with him for the next 2 weeks, and on August 1 & 2 a few hundred lucky audience members will be the happy

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Days 60-63: Catching Up

Instead of being chagrined that I fell off the daily blogging train, I should be proud that I almost made it to day 60, right? Let’s catch you up: Since Thursday, there have been an impromptu gospel concert… … closing night of the most ambitious opera we’ve ever done at The Barns… … and an inspiring

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