WNO to Present AN EVENING WITH STEPHEN COSTELLO AND AILYN PEREZ, 9/10

Washington National Opera (WNO) presents An Evening with Stephen Costello and Ailyn Perez, featuring the celebrated husband-and-wife stars of last season's production of The Elixir of Love, Wednesday, September 10, 2014 in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Accompanied on piano by Danielle Orlando, Costello and Perez will perform songs, arias, and duets from popular works by Verdi, Puccini, Hahn, Tosti, Falla, Heggie, and more.

Costello and Perez, dubbed "the Jay-Z and Beyonce?" of opera (The Times, UK) released their debut recording Love Duets on Warner Classics earlier this year to great critical acclaim. In addition to the WNO recital, they will perform selections from the recording at London's Barbican Centre with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and will also appear this season at The Dallas Opera, San Diego Opera, and Opera Philadelphia, where they launch the company's 40th anniversary season with a special gala performance.

American tenor Stephen Costello made his WNO debut as Greenhorn in Moby-Dick (2014). The 2014-2015 season sees Costello return to San Francisco Opera to create the male lead in Francesca Zambello's world premiere production of Two Women, a new opera by Marco Tutinog. He revisits the role of Alfredo in La traviata at both the Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, where he also joins Susan Graham in Susan Stroman's new take on The Merry Widow. In addition to winning the 2009 Richard Tucker Award, Costello took First Prize in the 2006 George London Foundation Awards Competition, First Prize and Audience Prize in the Giargiari Bel Canto Competition, and First Prize in the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Competition.

American soprano Ailyn Perez made her WNO debut as Adina in The Elixir of Love (2014). She is increasingly in demand at the world's leading opera houses, with the role of Violetta in La traviata one of her signature calling cards. She won both the 15th annual Pla?cido Domingo Award and the 2012 Richard Tucker Award, thereby becoming the only Hispanic recipient in the award's 35-year history. After singing Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni with James Conlon and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at this summer's Ravinia Festival, she makes her house and role debuts next season as Desdemona in Verdi's Otello at Houston Grand Opera and as Micae?la in Bizet's Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera.

Danielle Orlando is an acclaimed accompanist to many international opera singers, a vocal coach, and an artistic consultant to several prestigious musical organizations. She is the principal opera coach at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she first joined the faculty in 1986. She is also a master coach for the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. This season she is also a guest vocal coach with WNO's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program.

Washington National Opera's 2014-2015 season opens on September 20, 2014 with the company premiere of Daniel Catan's Spanish-language opera Florencia in the Amazon in a production by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello. The season also includes 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.

ABOUT WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA - 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 13th 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. Last season's simulcast drew more than 10,000 spectators to the ballpark. 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.

All tickets to An Evening with Stephen Costello and Ailyn Perez are $60 and are available online, in person at the Kennedy Center Box Office, and by calling (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324. For more information about Washington National Opera, visit www.kennedy-center.org/wno.

Visit www.facebook.com/WashingtonNationalOpera for behind-the-scenes news, special offers, and advance notice of events. Follow @dcopera on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news, offers, and more.

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