Washington National Opera to Open 2016 with Apartheid-Era Opera LOST IN THE STARS

Washington National Opera (WNO) continues its 60th anniversary season with the company premiere of Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson's LOST IN THE STARS, February 12-20 in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater.

The opera is based on Alan Paton's literary classic CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY, perhaps the most famous and important novel in South Africa's history. This production was originally seen at South Africa's Cape Town Opera and heralds the return of singer Eric Owens to the WNO stage following his electric turn in last season's The Flying Dutchman.

LOST IN THE STARS is conducted by John DeMain, who led the WNO Orchestra for Show Boat in 2013, and is staged by director Tazewell Thompson, who directed WNO's highly acclaimed world premiere production of Appomattox earlier this season.

In this gripping musical tragedy set in apartheid-era South Africa, two-time Grammy winner Eric Owens portrays Stephen Kumalo, a black minister who travels from his small village to Johannesburg to check on his troubled son Absalom. But when Absalom accidentally kills the son of a white neighbor, the reverend is suddenly faced with a crisis of faith. Amidst growing racial tensions, he must fight to keep his family together, lead his alarmed congregation, and reconcile his own shaken notions of mercy and hope.

LOST IN THE STARS is just the second work by legendary composer Kurt Weill that WNO has presented in its 60-year history. Four performances of Weill's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, with a libretto by Bertolt Brecht, kicked off WNO's 1972-1973 season in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Weill's final work for the stage, LOST IN THE STARS fuses influences from Broadway, gospel, African spirituals, jazz, and blues to give passionate voice to his powerful, uncompromising social indictment of apartheid-era South Africa.

The opera's 38-member cast is led by the formidable bass-baritone Eric Owens, one of the most in-demand American opera stars of our day, who sang this role to great acclaim at The Glimmerglass Festival in 2012. While in Washington for this production, Owens shows another side of his vocal prowess when he performs a program of jazz standards in the Terrace Theater on Wednesday, January 27.

Also returning to WNO are Wynn Harmon, last seen at WNO as Captain Andy in Show Boat (2013), as James Jarvis, the white neighbor of Stephen Kumalo; and tenor Sean Panikkar, who has appeared in WNO's Salome (2010) and Nabucco (2012), as The Leader. Panikkar is also known as a member of Forte, an operatic tenor group that first found crossover success on NBC's America's Got Talent.

The cast also features soprano Lauren Michelle, who was the American representative in the 2015 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. She sings the role of Absalom's lover Irina in her WNO debut. Other artists making their WNO debuts include Manu Kumasi as Absalom Kumalo, Cheryl Freedman as Linda, Kevin McAllister as John Kumalo, Caleb McLaughlin and Jeremy Villas sharing the role of Alex, and Dawn Ursula as Grace Kumalo. The cast also includes Jessica Ball, Aleksey Bogdanov, Tyler Bowman, Jane Bunting, Alexandra Christoforakis, Leah Hawkins, Jocelyn Hunt, Courtney Kalbacker, Jarrod Lee, Sean-Maurice Lynch, Michael Mainwaring, Ian McEuen, VaShawn Savoy McIlwain, Caitlyn McLaughlin, Ines Nassara, Musa Ngqungwana, Jobari Parker-Namdar, Aaron Reeder, Alizon Reggioli, Ameerah Sabreen, Paul Scanlan, Thomas Simpson, Rexford Tester, Duyen Washington, Jade Wheeler, Lisa Williamson, and Rachel Zampelli.

Conductor John DeMain, who is well known for conducting the world premieres of Leonard Bernstein's A Quiet Place in 1983 and John Adams's Nixon in China in 1987, leads the WNO Orchestra in interpreting Weill's inventive score. DeMain conducted WNO's Show Boat in 2013 and is also a mentor in WNO's American Opera Initiative, its comprehensive commissioning program for emerging composers and librettists. This eloquent and heartfelt production, first seen at South Africa's Cape Town Opera in 2011, is directed by American theater and opera director Tazewell Thompson, who earlier this season directed WNO's Appomattox. LOST IN THE STARS features set and costume design by South African designer Michael Mitchell in his WNO debut and lighting design by Robert Wierzel.

LOST IN THE STARS opens on Friday, February 12, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. in the Eisenhower Theater and runs for nine performances, including February 13, 14m, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20m, and 20e. Visit WNO's website for complete production details and casting information.

Washington National Opera's 2015-2016 season concludes with its first complete presentation of Wagner's extraordinary four-part Ring Cycle, with a world-class cast under the direction of Francesca Zambello and featuring the WNO Orchestra conducted by WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin, April 30 to May 22, 2016. WNO's 2016-2017 season will be announced in the coming months.

LOST IN THE STARS schedule: Friday, February 12 at 7:30 p.m. • Saturday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, February 14 at 1:30 p.m. • Tuesday, February 16 at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 17 at 7:30 p.m. • Thursday, February 18 at 7:30 p.m. p.m. Friday, February 19 at 7:30 p.m. • Saturday, February 20 at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, February 20 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets start at $69 and are available online, in person at the Kennedy Center Box Office, and by calling (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324.

LOST IN THE STARS Related Programs and Events:

Master Class with LOST IN THE STARS Conductor John DeMain and Director Tazewell Thompson
Thursday, January 21 at 7:00 p.m., Kennedy Center Terrace Gallery

Witness how great performers are made, hear the opera's voices of tomorrow, and observe the creative process. Emerging artists hone their craft under the guidance of Lost in the Stars conductor John DeMain and director Tazewell Thompson. Tickets are $12.

An Evening of Jazz Standards with Eric Owens featuring the Music of Eckstine and Hartman
Wednesday, January 27 at 7:00 p.m., Kennedy Center Terrace Theater

Taking a break from rehearsals of Lost in the Stars, bass-baritone Eric Owens takes the Terrace Theater stage for an evening of jazz standards made famous by two legendary singers: Billy Eckstine and Johnny Hartman. Performing with Mr. Owens is the Ted Rosenthal Trio, featuring music director Ted Rosenthal on the piano, Quincy Davis on drums, and Noriko Ueda on bass. Tickets are $49.

Works & Process: LOST IN THE STARS
Sunday, January 31 at 7:30 p.m., Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello moderates a discussion with director Tazewell Thompson and members of the cast as part of the Guggenheim's acclaimed series offering an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the creation of important works. Excerpts from the opera will be performed by cast members. Tickets are $40, $35 for museum members and Friends of Works & Process.

Musical Preview: LOST IN THE STARS
Tuesday, February 9 at 6:00 p.m., Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

Enjoy a free preview of musical highlights from Lost in the Stars, featuring members of WNO's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program and other artists from the production.

Opera Insights before every performance

WNO presents a free pre-performance education event prior to every performance of Lost in the Stars. These events will begin one hour prior to curtain in the Eisenhower Theater and last approximately 20-25 minutes. (The O-Zone lecture with musicologist Saul Lilienstein on Thursday, February 18 begins 75 minutes prior to curtain and lasts approximately 45 minutes.) A complete list of discussion leaders will be posted to WNO's website.

Artist Q&A: LOST IN THE STARS
Sunday, February 14-post-performance, Eisenhower Theater

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 Lost in the Stars.

Washington National Opera (WNO) is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, the company presents a diverse season of grand opera -- including both classics from the repertory and more contemporary pieces -- plus an annual holiday family opera, several newly commissioned American works, and a variety of special concerts and events. The WNO Orchestra is led by Music Director Philippe Auguin. Founded in 1956 and an affiliate of the Kennedy Center since 2011, WNO has a storied legacy of world premieres, new productions, international tours, live recordings and radio broadcasts, and innovative education and community-engagement programs. Throughout its history WNO has been led by titans in the opera field, including the legendary Pla?cido Domingo, who headed the company from 1996 to 2011.

WNO contributes to the future of opera through two signature artist-development programs. The Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, now in its 14th season, has become one of the nation's most competitive and comprehensive professional training programs for young singers and collaborative pianists. Alumni of the program have won major competitions and gone on to successful careers at major operas houses in the U.S. and abroad. The WNO Opera Institute nurtures the ambitions of high-school-age singers from across the nation during an intensive three- week summer program held at American University in Washington.

Among the company's most successful recent programs is the 2012 launch of the American Opera Initiative, a comprehensive commissioning program that works to expand the American operatic repertory, to give WNO's young artists the chance to collaborate with living composers and librettists on new works, and to make American opera more relevant to 21st-century audiences. The most popular of WNO's community-engagement programs is M&M'S Opera in the Outfield, during which an opera is broadcast live from the Kennedy Center Opera House stage to the high- definition scoreboard at Nationals Park. The company's other education programs include the Kids Create Opera program at local elementary schools, Look-In performances for students in grades 4- 8, and the Student Dress Rehearsal Program for middle and high school students. The company also offers free Opera Insights programs before every performance in the Opera House.

To celebrate the company's 60th anniversary, Washington National Opera will present three complete cycles of Wagner's Ring in spring 2016. These performances, featuring an acclaimed production by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and conducted by Music Director Philippe Auguin, will be the first time the company has presented The Ring in complete cycles in its history.