Washington National Opera Announces New Opera, PENNY, January 2015

"Our experience participating in the inaugural American Opera Initiative in 2012 was a very rewarding and intense learning experience, and Dara and I are honored to be working again with the wonderful staff and young artists at WNO," said composer Douglas Pew. "To be able to return with a new opportunity to further develop our dramatic voices-this time in an hour-long work-is very exciting indeed."

Following its critically acclaimed bow in Washington, A Game of Hearts was subsequently presented by Cincinnati's North American New Opera Workshop in May 2013. It was also selected to be performed at the prestigious Opera America New Works Forum, which will take place at 3 p.m. on Monday, January 13, 2014 in New York City. The performance will be streamed live for Opera America members on the Opera America website and will later be available for public viewing on YouTube.

"When I first heard A Game of Hearts, I was struck by the sophistication of the storytelling in both the music and the libretto and I am thrilled that Doug and Dara are returning for this new commission," said Michael Heaston, the director of the American Opera Initiative for WNO. "I am proud that our program is achieving its mission-to continue to foster new American talent and to provide a forum for contemporary American stories and music. I can't wait to start work on Penny."

Information about tickets to the world premiere of Penny will be announced in the coming months. The next presentation of the American Opera Initiative is the world premiere of An American Solider by composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang. Based on the true story of Pvt. Danny Chen, a Chinese-American soldier who died in Afghanistan, An American Solider will play the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater on June 13 and 14, 2014.

Washington National Opera (WNO) is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. Founded in 1956 and now an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the company boasts numerous artistic highlights, including world premieres, commissioning of new works and new productions, international tours, and performances by some of opera's most admired artists. WNO productions have been heard around the world, through broadcasts on WETA-FM, NPR, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, and PBS, as well as through audio and video recordings.

WNO recently launched the American Opera Initiative, a comprehensive new commissioning program that brings contemporary American stories to the stage while fostering and developing the talents of new American composers and librettists. WNO contributes to the future of opera through two other signature artist-development programs: the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program is a leading resident-training program for artists on the verge of international careers, and the WNO Opera Institute nurtures the ambitions of high-school-age singers and pianists from across the nation during an intensive three-week summer program.