We were delighted to welcome our first group of artists to Wolf Trap Opera this weekend. It wasn’t a moment too soon! Our winter and spring workflows are robust, but it’s quiet work. We have many colleagues and patrons who ask what we do outside the summer season, whether we’re employed year-round, and how we
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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!
Read MoreDay 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
Read MoreDay 58: Carl Tanner, Radamès
Our concert performance of Aida is just around the corner (next Friday), and we want you to get as excited as we are! The NSO and our guest artists (all former WTO young artists in the early phases of their careers) are going to bring the full power and beauty of Verdi to the Filene Center. Today,
Read MoreDay 55: Ampersand
The department referenced in my job title contains a powerful ampersand. As in “Wolf Trap Opera & Classical Programming.” What the “&” means this weekend is that between our Friday and Sunday Ghosts of Versailles performances, I had the privilege of working with the National Symphony Orchestra on a beautiful evening of Romantic music. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (once I get
Read MoreDay 12: 2015 “Roster” Magazine Is In!
If you’re a WTO donor or frequent patron, you should soon receive a copy of this year’s Roster Magazine in the mail. The digital version is now available here! Today at the Trap, it’s PSM Mike’s birthday, which is always cause for celebration. (And in this case, a perfect excuse for root beer floats in the middle of a Friday
Read MoreInterlude: Evening, Day 11
Tonight, a diversion between days 11 and 12 of our summer season. (I’m committed to posting every day this summer. Wish me luck…) If you haven’t been following this discussion on Fred Plotkin’s Operavore blog, take a moment to surf on over here: Should Vocal Recitalists Stop Providing Printed Translations of Songs? In short, Stephanie Blythe and Warren Jones recently did
Read MoreDay 9: Stumble-through!
What happens when you string together the efforts of the first ~40 hours of staging rehearsals for the first time? Some might call it a run-through, but we think that “stumble-through” is more accurate. This morning, the cast of Figaro put together Acts 1 and 2, and they lived to tell the tale. Director David Paul reminded us
Read MoreThe Revolutionary Power of Mind and Heart
A Marriage of Figaro guest post from conductor Kathy Kelly Act one, scene one: the chambermaid has just confessed to the manservant that, before they can marry, their lord and master intends to bed her. Just as they’ve worked through his angry and suspicious reaction to this news, she’s called away on an errand; they’ll have to
Read MoreTrappers Win Big at the Met
The Metropolitan Opera National Council finished up the 2015 auditions yesterday on the stage of the Met, and Wolf Trap Opera singers were well represented! Congratulations go out to bass Nicholas Brownlee, mezzo-soprano Virginie Verrez, and baritone Reginald Smith, Jr.!
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