SEMIRAMIDE and LA FAVORITE Set for Washington Concert Opera's 2015-16 Season

Washington Concert Opera is proud to announce its 2015-2016 Season. This season WCO returns to bel canto with Gioachino Rossini's SEMIRAMIDE (November 22, 2015), and Gaetano Donizetti's LA FAVORITE (March 4, 2016). True to Washington Concert Opera's mission, both are rarely performed opera masterpieces.

Washington Concert Opera will debut SEMIRAMIDE November 22, 2015 at 6pm at Lisner Auditorium of George Washington University. This two-act opera features dazzling virtuostic arias, spectacular chorus and orchestral writing, and is Rossini's most monumental work. The libretto, penned by Gaetano Rossi, is based on Voltaire's tragedy, Semiramis. It is a lush tale of murder, power and revenge, bringing ancient Babylon to life. Queen SEMIRAMIDE pays the price of her deceitful crimes with the heartbreak from an impossible love. It will be sung in Italian with English supertitles.

The rarely performed, bel canto opera will be performed in the Baroque tradition and is known for its dramatic scenes, large orchestras and show-stopping arias. Coloratura soprano, Jessica Pratt, will make her much-anticipated WCO debut as Queen SEMIRAMIDE, a role for which she is gaining international recognition and will be performing at Opera Municipal de Marseille before she takes WCO's stage. American Mezzo-Soprano Vivica Genaux will return to the WCO stage in the trouser role of Arsace. She previously performed with the company as the title role in La Cenerentola in 2010 and Falliero in Rossini's Bianca e Falliero. Having completed 200 Rossini performances, she is considered one of the "preeminent interpreters of bel canto". Tenor Taylor Stayton will play Idreno, bass-baritone Wayne Tigges, Assur, and bass-baritone Evan Hughes will sing for the part of ­­­­Oroe. Artistic Director and Conductor, Maestro Antony Walker, takes the stage for his 14th season with WCO.

For tickets, visit concertopera.secure.force.com/ticket.

THE CAST:

Jessica Pratt (Queen SEMIRAMIDE), soprano, will be joining WCO for the first time following recent performances in Florence, Turin, Melbourne, Venice and Caramoor Music Festival. Pratt was born in England, raised in Australia and currently resides in Italy. Hailed by the New York Times as a soprano of "gleaming sound, free and easy high notes, agile coloratura runs and lyrical grace," Pratt is considered one of today's foremost interpreters of some of bel canto's most challenging repertoire. She is the winner of numerous international vocal competitions including the Australian Singing Competition, the Vienna State Opera Award, and the Rome Opera Award. In May 2013 she was awarded the prestigious international prize for coloratura sopranos "La Siola d'Oro - Lina Pagliughi."

Vivica Genaux (Arsace) is a mezzo-soprano who will be making her third appearance with WCO. Genaux is an Alaskan native who graduated from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and now lives in Italy. She is praised as one of her generation's preeminent interpreters of bel canto, having appeared in over 200 performances of his work. In April 2014, Radio France and France Musique honored Genaux with a daylong celebration of her artistry. She has appeared on French television's Les victoires de la musique and Musique au coeur 5 etoiles, performed in houses such as The Metropolitan Opera and Wiener Staatsoper and has been nominated for a Grammy for her album of Vivaldi arias on the Virgin Classics label. She also had a cameo appearance in the 2007 film Fracture staring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling.

Taylor Stayton (Idreno) is an American tenor from Ohio with degrees from Ohio State University and the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Opera Today has described Stayton to be "on the short list of Rossini all-stars." He has starred as Percy (Anna Bolena) and Elvino (La sonnambula) at The Metropolitan Opera, Don Ramiro (La Cenerentola) at the Glyndebourne Festival and Tybalt (Roméo et Juliette) with Opera Philadelphia, to name a few. He has won several prestigious vocal competitions, including First Prize in the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation International Voice Competition, First Prize in the Gerda Lissner Foundation International Voice Competition and Third Place in the Loren B. Zachary Voice Competition.

Wayne Tigges (Assur) is a bass-baritone from Dubuque, Iowa. A graduate of the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, Tigges has been involved in seven world premieres and played over 60 roles at some of the most famous opera houses in the world. He has been lauded by the Chicago Sun Times for his, "rich, dark and beautiful legato." His flexible voice allows him to perform a wide range of repertoire from Handel to Wagner to the latest 21st century operatic roles.

Evan Hughes (Oroe) is a bass-baritone who has been internationally recognized by the New York Times for his "appealing clarity and emotional heft." A recent alumnus of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Hughes attended Curtis Institute of Music and was a National Semi-Finalist in the 2010 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He has performed all over the world, from The Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall to Denmark, Italy and Berlin.

Artistic Director and Conductor - Since making his professional conducting debut in Australia, Antony Walker, Artistic Director and Conductor of WCO, Music Director of Pittsburgh Opera, and Artistic Director of Pinchgut Opera in Sydney, Australia, has conducted over 200 operas, large and smaller scale choral/orchestral works, and symphonic and chamber works with companies in Europe, the United States and Australia. He has also recorded numerous works ranging from Monteverdi to Mahler in CD and DVD formats on the ABC Classics label. This season Maestro Walker will return to the Metropolitan Opera in New York and has recently completed acclaimed operatic engagements in Perth, Australia and San Francisco.

Washington Concert Opera is a professional concert opera company offering internationally acclaimed singers, professional orchestra and chorus in concert versions of rarely heard, full-length operatic works. Founded in 1986, WCO has presented more than 40 operas, featuring world-class singers who regularly appear on the most renowned opera house stages. WCO strives to provide audiences with a unique musical experience and has repeatedly and consistently been acclaimed in the local, national, and international press as one of the finest in the field.