Anna Moffo was the big draw for the August 1980 Die Fledermaus at the Filene Center. Nat Merrill directed, Franz Allers conducted, and Adele was sung by Erie Mills. Press wasn’t particularly favorable, focusing mostly on the adaptation used – called the “Rosalinda version”, with additional music by Korngold. Iconic Washington Post critic Paul Hume
Read MorePosts Categorized: WTOC History
WTOTP 1980: Falstaff
Celebrated baritone Donald Gramm returned to Wolf Trap in 1980 to lead a cast of young artists in Falstaff. Didn’t find much in the files, but there were a few lovely photos.
Read MoreWTOTP 1980: Der Vampyr
Marschner’s Der Vampyr marked Sarah Caldwell’s return to the Wolf Trap Company, and expectations were certainly high. It was scheduled for a highly-anticipated, ambitious, most unusual 12:00 midnight performance in mid-July. The production files are full of various reports on the phase of the moon and its rising/setting in summer 1980. There were to be
Read MoreWolf Trap Opera Training Program 1979: Overview
1979 was a year of transition for Wolf Trap Opera. It must’ve been a huge relief to see the company rebound after the 1978 hiatus. But it seems to have come back in two incarnations: the Wolf Trap Opera Company was the producing organization for performances at the Filene Center (Kiss Me, Kate and The
Read MoreWTOTP 1979: Gianni Schicchi & Fortunio’s Song
A surprise awaited me in the archaeological dig of Wolf Trap Opera Company 1979. I had no idea that the WTOC ever did Schicchi and I had never included it on the company’s repertoire list. But here ’tis, in a production in the Wolf Trap Opera Grove (!) in 1979. The other one-act offered as
Read MoreWTOC 1979: The Taming of the Shrew
A wonderful pairing with July’s production of Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate, Giannini’s version of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew took the Filene Center stage in August 1979. John DeMain conducted, Peter Mark Schifter directed, and guest artists included Anna Moffo and Spiro Malas.
Read MoreObservations from the Way-Back Machine
A month ago I started working my way through the WTOC’s 40-year history. (The 1970’s tag will show you the list of posts so far.) I was in search of a way to showcase this most unusual company that is in equal parts laboratory and real world – a place where it’s acknowledged that everyone
Read MoreWTOC 1979: Kiss Me Kate
My file on this show is pretty small, although it’s one of the 70’s-era productions that I’ve known about for a long time. The great soprano Evelyn Lear and the late great bass-baritone Thomas Stewart were (and Evelyn continues to be) friends and fans of the WTOC. They starred in this Kiss Me Kate in
Read MoreWTOC 1978: Duchess of Malfi
As we get ready for this spring’s premiere of The Inspector, it’s fascinating to look back at Wolf Trap’s first opera premiere – at the Filene Center in 1978. The file on this show is about three inches thick, largely with press clippings. It was quite the story, both onstage and off. It seems that
Read MoreWTOC 1978: The Gondoliers
This Gondoliers marked the third time that the Filene Center was graced by the presence of baritone Donald Gramm. Recent alumni of the WTOC training program (which was formally on hiatus in 1978) filled out the cast. Mr. Gramm returned for several more performances over the next few years, both with the WTOC on with
Read More