Maryland Lyric Opera Gives a Free Performance at Washington National Cathedral's Flower Mart This Weekend

As part of its ongoing community programming, Maryland Lyric Opera (MDLO) will offer a free performance Friday, May 5 at the Washington National Cathedral as part of the All Hallows Guild Flower Mart to benefit the gardens and grounds of the Cathedral. Soprano Melissa Mino, mezzo-soprano Amanda Fink, tenor Kevin KJ Webb and baritone Javier Arrey and pianist Husan Park will perform selections from La Bohème, Carmen, Don Giovanni, Lakmé, La Traviata, and Rigoletto. The Washington National Cathedral is located at 3101 Wisconsin Avenue, NW and is accessible by any No. 30 Metrobus; for those traveling by car, limited parking ($10 fee) will be available at the Cathedral's underground parking garage.

Through its robust education and community outreach programs, including free performances like this one, MDLO seeks to share the beauty of opera with the broadest possible audience, from newcomers to longtime fans.

Maryland Lyric Opera is a regional opera company created "for musicians, by musicians." Founded by accomplished pianist and local philanthropist Brad Clark, MDLO combines a diverse performance schedule of fully staged grand opera, concert opera with the MDLO Orchestra center stage, and intimate recitals featuring acclaimed soloists.

MDLO employs a full orchestra and a full chorus for its productions. Since our reorganization and relaunch in 2018, we have produced three fully staged operas at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park: Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Massenet's Thaïs, and Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. At The Music Center at Strathmore, we have presented concert performances of Puccini's rarely performed La Fanciulla del West and his final opera Turandot, Verdi's epic Don Carlo, as well as double bills of one-act operas. Our 2022-23 Season of Verdi won rave reviews for our concert productions of Macbeth, Un Ballo in Maschera, Falstaff and Otello.

Recent concerts have included individual programs celebrating Mozart, Puccini, and Verdi, as well as a memorable performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 12, K. 414 by the legendary pianist and pedagogue Leon Fleisher in his final stage performance, as well as a special memorial concert that celebrated Fleisher's enduring legacy.

We are committed to bringing young audiences to the world of opera-thanks to the generosity of our donors and patrons. Our "Feel the Opera Initiative" has already enlivened the curriculum at area schools, including Georgetown Preparatory School (grades 9-12), Our Lady of Lourdes (grades K-8), Luxmanor Elementary School (grades K-5), and Covenant Life School (grades K-12). We have upcoming events with a number of Montgomery County, Maryland-area public and private schools. In addition, students may purchase MDLO performance tickets for $10 with a student ID. Looking towards the future, we will continue to initiate and grow outreach programs that embrace our community, and to bring music to youth and adults throughout the region.

MDLO's growing family of supporters is metropolitan Washington DC's vibrant, diverse, and international community. While we live in a modern and dynamic world, our aim is for our audiences to pause and experience harmony and beauty through classic operas.