Washington National Opera Opens Season with TRISTAN AND ISOLDE, 9/15

By: Jul. 25, 2013
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Washington National Opera (WNO) opens its 2013-2014 season with a production honoring the 200th birthday of one of opera's most renowned composers: Richard Wagner's Tristan and Isolde, September 15-27 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. This epic romantic drama stars Deborah Voigt as Isolde and Ian Storey and Clifton Forbis as Tristan, and will be seen in a production new to Washington directed by Neil Armfield in his WNO debut. WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin leads the WNO Orchestra in interpreting some of Wagner's most passionate and powerful music.

Tristan and Isolde is Wagner's retelling of the beloved Celtic myth about the transformative power of love. Isolde, a beautiful Irish maiden, is sailing to Cornwall to marry King Marke. But first she must avenge the death of her former lover by killing Tristan, a dashing knight and nephew of the king. When the poison she concocts for Tristan is changed by her maid into a love potion, Isolde's vengeful ire is suddenly transformed into rapturous, unbridled passion for her enemy. Even after her marriage to the king, Tristan and Isolde continue to meet under the cover of night until their affair is discovered, with tragic consequences. With its ethereal prelude, the famed "Tristan chord," and Isolde's dramatic "Liebestod", the opera is often hailed as one of the most important and influential musical works of the 19th century.

Returning to WNO following her debut as Salome in 2010, American soprano Deborah Voigt takes on the role of Isolde, which she has sung to great acclaim at the Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera, the Grand Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and the Lyric Opera of July 25, 2013Chicago. In addition to starring as Isolde, Ms. Voigt will soon begin a new role at WNO as the first Artist-in-Residence of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program.

British tenor Ian Storey returns to WNO following his successful debut as another of Wagner's heroes, Erik in The Flying Dutchman (2008). Mr. Storey has performed the role of Tristan in many of the world's leading opera houses, including opposite Waltraud Meier in an acclaimed production at Milan's La Scala directed by Patrice Chéreau and conducted by Daniel Barenboim, which was released on DVD by Virgin Classics. After singing the role of Tristan in Paris, Tokyo, Geneva, Chicago, and Seattle, noted Wagnerian tenor Clifton Forbis brings his acclaimed portrayal to Washington for his WNO debut at the September 27 performance.

American mezzo-soprano (and D.C.-area resident) Elizabeth Bishop, who has appeared in more than a dozen roles at WNO since her debut in 1997, including Fricka in Das Rheingold and Die Walküre and Waltruate and the Second Norn in Götterdämmerung in Concert, sings the role of Isolde's maid Brangäne. British bass-baritone James Rutherford, who won the inaugural Seattle Opera International Wagner Competition in 2006 and has sung the iconic Wagnerian role of Hans Sachs (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) at Wagner's Bayreuth Festival, makes his WNO debut as Tristan's servant Kurwenal. German bass Wilhelm Schwinghammer, who made his Bayreuth debut as Heinrich der Vogler in Wagner's Lohengrin last summer and reprises the role again this summer, makes his WNO and role debut as King Marke.

Several former and current members of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program take on other roles in the opera. Baritone Javier Arrey, a 2010-2013 member of the program, sings the role of the jealous knight Melot. Tenor Yuri Gorodetski, a current member of the program who represented his native Belarus in the finals of this summer's BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, sings the Young Sailor and the Shepherd. Baritone Norman Garrett, who returns for his second season with the program following his tenure this summer as a Filene Young Artist at Wolf Trap Opera Company, is the Steersman.

Australian director Neil Armfield makes his WNO debut with his production originally presented by Opera Australia. Following his engagement in Washington, Mr. Armfield returns to Australia to direct Opera Australia's first-ever production of Wagner's complete Ring cycle in Melbourne.

Tristan and Isolde opens on Sunday, September 15, 2013 at 2 p.m. and runs for five performances; other dates are September 18, 21, 24, and 27. Note that evening performances of Tristan and Isolde begin at 6 p.m. Visit WNO's website for complete production details, casting information, and artist biographies.

This production marks the first opera in WNO's commitment to showcasing the operas of Richard Wagner in advance of the company's complete staging of Wagner's epic four-part Ring cycle, directed by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, in the spring of 2016. More information on future Wagner programming and more details on WNO's "American Ring" will be announced in the coming months.

WNO's 2013-2014 season also includes a new production of Verdi's The Force of Destiny directed by Francesca Zambello, the East Coast premiere of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer's Moby-Dick, a revival of Donizetti's The Elixir of Love, and a new English-language production of Mozart's classic The Magic Flute. WNO will also present the world premiere of The Lion, The Unicorn, and Me, a holiday-themed family opera commissioned by WNO and written by acclaimed American composer Jeanine Tesori and librettist J.D. McClatchy. A second season of the American Opera Initiative will continue WNO's efforts to commission new American works with performances in November and June. A performance of The Magic Flute will be simulcast to Nationals Park in May as part of M&M'S Opera in the Outfield.

Tristan and Isolde Production Information

Music by Richard Wagner Libretto by the Composer Production by Opera Australia In German with Projected English Titles

Cast and Creative Team Conductor

* Washington National Opera Debut ± Alumnus of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program ‡ Current member of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program

Tristan and Isolde Performance and Ticket Information

Sunday, September 15 at 2 p.m. • Wednesday, September 18 at 6 p.m. Saturday, September 21 at 6 p.m. • Tuesday, September 24 at 6 p.m. Friday, September 27 at 6 p.m.

Tickets start at $25 and are available at the Kennedy Center Box Office, by calling (202) 467- 4600 or (800) 444-1324, or online at www.kennedy-center.org. Subscription packages for the 2013-2014 season are also available and can be purchased at (202) 416-8500 or at www.kennedy-center.org.

Tristan and Isolde Related Programs and Events

NEW THIS SEASON: Opera Insights before every performance

WNO presents a free pre-performance education event prior to every performance in the Opera House. These Opera Insights are led by WNO artistic staff members or other experts and will take patrons inside the composer's mind, behind the scenes of planning a production, and into the history and social context of the opera. These events will begin one hour prior to curtain and last approximately 20-25 minutes. (O-Zone lectures begin 75 minutes prior to curtain and last approximately 45 minutes.)

Opera Insights schedule for Tristan and Isolde: September 15 and 18 at 5 p.m.: Ken Weiss, WNO Music Administrator September 21 at 5 p.m: Andrew Jorgensen, WNO Director of Artistic Planning September 24 at 5 p.m: Michael Heaston, Director of the Domingo-Cafritz

Young Artist Program September 27 at 4:45 p.m.: O-Zone lecture with musicologist Saul Lilienstein

Wagner at 200: Tristan and Isolde Comes to Washington Wednesday, August 28, 6:30 p.m., Goethe-Institut, 812 Seventh Street, N.W. Join director Neil Armfield and members of the Tristan and Isolde cast and creative team for a program that celebrates Wagner's bicentenary and explores WNO's production. Learn more about how an opera production is created, how the creative team collaborates on a cohesive vision, and how singers approach one of the most challenging and beloved scores in the repertory. Visit http://www.eventbrite.com/event/7539054515/eorg for more information and to make a reservation.

Artist Q&A: Tristan and Isolde Sunday, September 15-post-performance, Kennedy Center Opera House Join WNO artistic staff for a wide-ranging discussion with the artists of the production. This event is free to patrons presenting a ticket from any performance of Tristan and Isolde.

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 radio and television 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.

WNO's education and access initiatives include year-round programs in public schools throughout the region; Generation O, a popular discount-ticket initiative for young people; and a variety of lectures and discussions for every production on the season calendar. Among the most popular of WNO's community programs is M&M'S Opera in the Outfield, which brings free, live simulcasts of opera to Nationals Park for thousands of opera fans as well as new audiences.

For more information about Washington National Opera, visit www.kennedy-center.org/wno.

Visit www.facebook.com/WashingtonNationalOpera for behind-the-scenes news, special offers, advance notice of events, and other related Kennedy Center Facebook pages. Follow @dcopera on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news, offers, and more.

Patrons 18-30 years old and active-duty members of the military are invited to join the Kennedy Center's MyTix program for special discount offers and chances to win free tickets. For more information, visit www.kennedy-center.org/mytix.



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