Now that was something. I’m not given to superlatives. I’m a fan of quietly shepherding and shaping something until it speaks for itself in the most eloquent way possible. Whether it’s my own kids (who are two of the best people on the planet) or the artists we work so hard to support (who do
Read MorePosts Tagged: 40th anniversary
Surprises
Events like this – put together in 36 hours or less, with lots of moving parts – are full of electricity and excitement. But there are the inevitable surprises. (Like the earthquake that disrupted rehearsal this afternoon for an hour…) One of this week’s surprises was an artist cancellation. We just learned that mezzo-soprano Stephanie
Read MoreTrapping Wolves, Part 2
Alan Held, cicadas, a Memorex Moment, and the hot summer of 1987. Read all about it here.
Read MoreTrapping Wolves, Part 1
Bass-baritone Alan Held is just across the river in D.C., rehearsing for Washington National Opera’s Tosca, and he’ll be here next week for our anniversary concert. Surf on over to his blog for today’s post Trapping Wolves – Part 1. In it he talks about his audition for Wolf Trap, in which he sang “Abendlich
Read MoreBy the Numbers: WTOC’s 40th Anniversary Concert
14 Alumni of the WTOC, returning to donate their performances to benefit the Company 17 Different years of the Company’s history represented by these singers 9 Members of the 2011 summer Filene Young Artist roster returning to sing with the alumni 58 Major opera companies worldwide represented in the collective biography of these singers 22
Read MoreHomecoming: Stephanie Blythe
Stephanie spent two summers at the Trap, and her roles included Fidalma in Il matromonio segreto, Marchesa Melibea in Il viaggio a Reims, Dame Quickly in Falstaff (far left), Tisbe in Cenerentola (typical WTOC luxury casting…) and Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare. I had the privilege of being on music staff during Stephanie’s Wolf Trap summers,
Read MoreHomecoming: Matt Boehler
Fortunately, it doesn’t feel as if Matt ever really left us! He’s of the most recent “vintage” on our alumni concert, and he returned just a few months ago to create a memorable Adolfo in the premiere of Wolf Trap’s newest commissioned opera, The Inspector. Matt’s WTOC roles included Sweeney Todd, Leporello in Don Giovanni,
Read MoreA Different Look at the Future of Opera
In addition to the alumni singers and conductor on the August 24 anniversary show, we have the pleasure of welcoming back some prominent opera administrators and managers who got their start at Wolf Trap. These six colleagues will introduce segments of the program and offer their own brief reminiscences of the WTOC. Scott Altman was
Read MoreHomecoming: Lawrence Brownlee
Larry ultimately only spent one summer with the WTOC, but we almost got to two… Larry had a crazy patchwork summer in 2001, singing Herr Vogelsang in Mozart’s Impresario, Tenore in Donizetti’s Viva la mamma (at left), Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Don Curzio (!) in Le nozze di Figaro. That fall, he
Read MoreHomecoming: Tracy Dahl
Tracy was at Wolf Trap my second summer here, and I remembered being awed by her even back then. Her name has come up a lot this summer, as we just produced The Tales of Hoffmann, and Tracy was the Olympia in the Company’s only previous Hoffmann. And she did it on roller skates (at
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