Michael L. Mael to Step Down as Executive Director of Washington National Opera

Michael L. Mael, Executive Director of Washington National Opera (WNO) since 2011, today announced he will step down from the leadership position effective July 1, 2017.

Mael joined WNO in 2008 as Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for all financial and day-to-day operations of the company, and assumed his current role three years later. Under his leadership, WNO returned to financial stability with four consecutive balanced budgets following more than a decade of losses. He also led the effort to affiliate with the Kennedy Center in 2011, ensuring the long- term stability of the organization.

"This is a bittersweet time for me, as I look ahead to what's next in my career," said Mael. "I'm immensely proud of the work we've accomplished at WNO-from both an artistic and administrative standpoint-and could not have asked for better partners than Francesca Zambello, our board, and my colleagues both at WNO and the Center. But after nearly a decade, it's time for me to do something different. I leave with confidence that WNO's future is bright."

"It is with great sadness for me that Michael is leaving us at WNO, as we have become an artistic family," said WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello. "We began as a duo team of leadership five years ago with a pledge to work to not only build on the legacy of WNO, but to create new horizons, find different ways of programming and develop an homage to the word "national" in our title. We have had the rare experience of being truly equal partners on every decision regarding the artistic and business policies of WNO. I consider our greatest shared accomplishments to be producing The Ring, creating the American Opera Initiative, enlarging and enhancing the Young Artist program, adding programming for families during the holidays, and our performances of recent American full-scale operas. Michael leaves the company now with a solid established vision and practice and we will look to building on our work."

"Michael Mael has been an amazing Executive Director of WNO," said WNO Board Chairman Jacqueline Badger Mars. "Always calm and confident, he has dealt with the burdens of the Opera efficiently and quickly. Without his wonderful support, I could never have succeeded as chair of the Opera. He will be greatly missed."

"Michael has provided extraordinary leadership in his time at Washington National Opera, and ensured a smooth transition for the Company when it merged with the Kennedy Center in 2011," commented Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter. "A hallmark of his tenure has been an intensely patron-centered approach in both the artistic and customer experience. Always operating from a place of innovation and curiosity, he demonstrated a knack for motivating his staff and colleagues to try new things, constantly pulling back the curtain on the fascinating world of a world-class opera company. Michael is a cherished member of our senior management team and we will greatly miss the joy he brought to his work and our lives at the Kennedy Center."

During his nine-year tenure with the internationally acclaimed WNO, Mael has not only led the company to financial success during each of its five years as a Kennedy Center affiliate, but has overseen a period of artistic growth that has resulted in the creation of the American Opera Initiative, which has produced two dozen new works since its inception in 2012; the launch of Opera in the Outfield, WNO's signature event which draws audiences of 10,000 to a free simulcast of a WNO production at Nationals Park each season; and strong collaboration with Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, which has resulted in WNO's first Ring Cycles in 2016 and a new artistic direction for the company that includes a stronger focus on new, relevant work while also retaining a commitment to core repertoire.

Together, Mael and Zambello have also increased WNO's commitment to the mentorship of young artists. Through the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, the American Opera Initiative, and other programs, singers, composers, librettists, and directors receive focused and informative feedback throughout the highly collaborative process of creating opera.

Mael has also worked to create innovative audience development initiatives focusing on curated audience experiences and to expand community engagement efforts through programs featuring commissioned works by local artists. He has partnered closely with WNO's Board to develop and implement the organization's strategic plan.

Prior to joining WNO, Mael worked for nearly five years for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) as Vice President of the BSO at Strathmore, where he was responsible for launching and managing all activities related to the BSO's second home. He held multiple positions for several technology companies, including Focal Communications, PSINet, and MCI Communications. In addition, Mael has consulted for symphony orchestras and worked for over three years as Director of Government Affairs for the then-named American Symphony Orchestra League (now League of American Orchestras). He holds an MBA from Stanford University.

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 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 Plácido 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 15th 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 opera 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 last season, Washington National Opera presented 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, marked the first time the company presented The Ring in complete cycles in its history.

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