Washington National Opera Presents the World Premiere of AN AMERICAN SOLDIER, 6/13-14

Washington National Opera (WNO) presents the world premiere of An American Soldier, June 13-14, 2014 in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. An American Soldier features music by composer Huang Ruo and a libretto by David Henry Hwang. This new work, to be performed in English, is the second hourlong opera created under the auspices of the American Opera Initiative, WNO's commissioning program for contemporary American opera. An American Soldier is directed by David Paul and a chamber orchestra is conducted by Steven Jarvi; both are alumni of WNO's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program.

On October 3, 2011, Chinese-American Army Pvt. Danny Chen was found dead in a guard tower at his base in Kandahar province, Afghanistan. The real circumstances behind his death, though, illustrate a darker undercurrent to life in the military. Based on a true story, and drawing from the ensuing courts-martial of Chen's fellow soldiers, An American Soldier explores what happens when the very people who are supposed to protect you in a combat zone become your enemy.

The cast is led by tenor Andrew Stenson, a member of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, as Danny Chen. Mezzo-soprano Guang Yang, winner of the 1997 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, also stars as Mother Chen. Baritone Trevor Scheunemann, a former Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist and winner of WNO's 2007 Artist of the Year Award, sings the role of Sgt. Aaron Marcum, and current Domingo- Cafritz Young Artist Soloman Howard sings the roles of the Judge Advocate and Pvt. Manny Timbers Merritt. The cast also includes baritone Andrew McLaughlin, bass Michael Ventura, and tenor Jonathan Blalock in multiple roles. An American Soldier features set design by Paul Taylor, costume design by Lynly A. Saunders, and lighting design by A.J. Guban.

Composer Huang Ruo is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School. Following the world premiere of An American Soldier, the Santa Fe Opera will present the North American premiere of Ruo's Chinese-language opera Dr. Sun Yat-sen, a collaboration with librettist Candace Mui-ngam Chong that had its world premiere in Hong Kong in 2011. Librettist David Henry Hwang is a Tony Award®-winning playwright (M. Butterfly, 1988) and has written opera librettos for works by Philip Glass, Bright Sheng, Osvaldo Golijov, Unsuk Chin, and Howard Shore. Full biographies are below.

WNO's recently announced 2014-2015 season includes the company premiere of Daniel Cata?n's Spanish-language Florencia in the Amazon, a brand-new production of Puccini's classic La bohe?me, the company premiere of Rachel Portman's family opera The Little Prince, an English-language production of Poulenc's 20th-century drama Dialogues of the Carmelites, a revival of Wagner's epic The Flying Dutchman, and an acclaimed new-to-Washington staging of Rossini's Cinderella. A third season of the American Opera Initiative, including the world premiere of Penny by two alumni of the program, continues WNO's efforts to commission new works and expand the American repertory. Highlights from the 2014-2015 season will be performed by the WNO Orchestra and special guests at a free preview concert on Wednesday, May 14, 2014 at 6 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Opera House.

TICKET INFORMATION

An American Soldier will be performed in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater on Friday,
June 13 at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday, June 14 at 2 p.m. A Q&A with the cast and creative team follows each performance. Tickets are $30 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

BIOGRAPHIES

The work of Huang Ruo (composer) draws equal inspiration from Chinese folk, Western avant- garde, rock, and jazz to create a seamless, organic integration using a compositional technique he calls "dimensionalism." His writing spans from orchestra, chamber music, opera, theater, and modern dance, to sound installation, multi-media, experimental improvisation, folk rock, and film. The Santa Fe Opera will present the North American premiere of his Chinese-language opera Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 2014. His upcoming commissions include a chamber opera for the Houston Grand Opera, an installation opera for Spoleto Festival USA, a vocal drama for the Ars Nova Copenhagen and Danish Dance Theatre, an orchestra work for the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra which will be premiered at the Concertgebouw, and a new symphony for the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan. Ensembles who have premiered and performed his music include the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Asko Ensemble, Nieuw Ensemble, Quatuor Diotima, and Dutch Vocal Laboratory, and under conductors such as Wolfgang Sawallisch, James Conlon, Dennis Russell Davies, Ed Spanjaard, Xian Zhang, and Ilan Volkov. He has collaborated with New York City Ballet's principal dancer Damian Woetzel and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, as well as kinetic painter Norman Perryman. He was awarded First Prize by the prestigious Luxembourg International Composition Prize. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in composition from the Juilliard School. His composition teachers have included Randolph Coleman and Samuel Adler. He is currently a member of the composition faculty at SUNY Purchase. He is the artistic director and conductor of Future In REverse (FIRE) and was selected as a Young Leader Fellow by the National Committee on United States-China Relations

The work of David Henry Hwang (librettist) includes the plays M. Butterfly, Chinglish, Yellow Face, Golden Child, The Dance and the Railroad, and FOB, as well as the Broadway musicals Aida (co-author), Flower Drum Song (2002 revival), and Tarzan. As America's most-produced living opera librettist, he has written four pieces with composer Philip Glass, including The Voyage (Metropolitan Opera, 1992), as well as Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar (two 2007 Grammy Awards), Bright Sheng's The Silver River (1997), Unsuk Chin's Alice in Wonderland (2007 "World Premiere of the Year" by Opernwelt magazine), and Howard Shore's The Fly (2008). Hwang is a Tony Award® winner and three-time nominee, a three-time Obie Award winner, and a two-time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He received the 2011 PEN/Laura Pels Award, the 2012 William Inge Award, and 2012 Steinberg "Mimi" Award, and is currently the Residency One Playwright at NYC's Signature Theatre, which is producing a season of his plays, including the world premiere of his newest work Kung Fu in February 2014. He serves as President of Young Playwrights Inc, and sits on the boards of the Lark Play Development Center, The American Theatre Wing, and The Actors Fund. He lives in Brooklyn, New

York with his wife, actress Kathryn Layng, and their two children.

ABOUT WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA

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.

In 2012, WNO launched the American Opera Initiative, a comprehensive 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.

FUNDING CREDITS:
David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of WNO.

General Dynamics is the proud sponsor of WNO's 2013-2014 Season.

Generous support for the American Opera Initiative is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The production of An American Soldier received funding from OPERA America's Opera Fund. The Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program is made possible through the generous support of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.

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

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Patrons 30 and under 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.
MyTix is part of the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.