Turning the page

I’m writing this from the back of the Barns, listening to Joseph Li run the Sweeney Todd chorus through their lines, first on words, then on neutral syllables…shortly I’ll get the full effect, and I can’t wait! There are still tickets available for July 2 and 3, if you’re in the DMV. I have to admit, our rehearsal periods are quite short this summer, and while I’m ready to welcome Sweeney to the rehearsal room, I’m sad to bid our charming Anonymous Lover adieu! I’m grateful to those of you who were able to join us for the Wolf Trap Opera premiere on Friday. It was a special night for us – to be able to not only reopen the Filene Center to live performance after the last year, but to be able to do so with our longest artistic partners, the National Symphony Orchestra, and to do so with a Wolf Trap premiere of a charming piece by a Black composer that has been unfairly neglected? It was a special confluence of events, and one that resonated deeply for me. 

But we’re not done yet! We’ll have another short concert on Tuesday at noon as part of our Little Lunch Music series, which you can stream on our Facebook page. And at 7pm on Friday, mezzo-soprano Leia Lensing and pianist Yuri Aoki will present a recital – the centerpiece is a beautiful and rarely-performed Vivaldi cantata. You can stream that by going to wolftrap.org/opera and clicking on the Salon Series link. (And all our streaming content is free.)

And If you’re on our website this week, I’d encourage you to click on the Aria Jukebox link and vote for your favorite arias. Voting is open for the next two weeks, and you can hear the beautiful results streamed on July 10 at 7pm. 

Next week I’ll give you a behind-the-scenes update from a big week in the theater: our concert production of Sweeney Todd, and Fifty Years Together – the celebration of Wolf Trap’s 50th anniversary with WTO’s own Christine Goerke. Stay tuned!