Wolf Trap Features Ballet West And More
By: Gabrielle Sierra Aug. 17, 2011
Wolf Trap Features the Esteemed Ballet West; the Operatic Superstar Event of the Summer with Opera's Greatest Hits from Wolf Trap Opera's Alumni Stars; Kings of Motown The Temptations and The Four Tops; Folk and Country Stars John Prine and Mary Chapin Carpenter; and GRAMMY Winners Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers w/ the Punch Brothers
Ballet West
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 at 8:30 p.m.
$40 in-house, $4 lawn
Ranking among America's top professional ballet companies, the revered Ballet West performs at Wolf Trap for the first time in nearly 20 years, presenting a program from choreographers George Balanchine, Jiri Kylián, and Washington, D.C. native Susan Shields. Since the company's establishment in Salt Lake City in 1963, Ballet West boasts elegant artists and a dynamic style that have been seen worldwide. Current Artistic Director Adam Sklute has further strengthened the company's classical legacy with an eclectic and ever expanding repertoire. Ballet West presents the very best in American classical ballet in this program featuring Balanchine's The Four Temperaments, Kylián's Sinfonietta, and Shields's Grand Synthesis.
Learn from this renowned dance troupe! Observe or participate in a ballet Master Class with performers from Ballet West on August 23 from 10:30 to noon. Register now!
Opera's Greatest Hits
From Wolf Trap Opera's Alumni Stars
Stephen Lord, conductor
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 8 p.m.
Tickets range $20-55
In honor of Wolf Trap's 40th anniversary, more than a dozen internationally active singers and alumni of the Wolf Trap Opera Company will come together at the Filene Center for an evening of Opera's Greatest Hits. In the summer's biggest operatic superstar event, a 70-piece orchestra will join the singers to perform signature arias and ensembles by Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, Donizetti, Rossini, and more. Performers include Stephanie Blythe, Matt Boehler, Lawrence Brownlee, Tracy Dahl, Mary Dunleavy, Richard Paul Fink, Oren Gradus, Denyce Graves, Alan Held, Robert Orth, Eric Owens, Emily Pulley, Carl Tanner, and James Valenti.
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 8 p.m.
$38 in-house, $22 lawn
Motown powerhouses The Temptations and The Four Tops return to Wolf Trap for a night of the R&B hits that transformed the groups into musical legacies. The Temptations formed in 1961 under the direction of artist/producer Smokey Robinson and charted a remarkable 16 Top 10 hits in their first decade, including the No. 1 singles "My Girl," "I Can't Get Next to You" and "Just My Imagination." The group went on to win four GRAMMY Awards, including Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance in 2000.
Fellow Motown hit makers The Four Tops became superstars in 1964 with "Baby I Need Your Loving" and released several Billboard hits including the No. 1 songs "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" and "Reach Out (I'll Be There)." In 1983 the R&B sensations began touring together extensively, and they came together in the new millennium to release the joint 42-track album At Their Very Best. Nearly five decades later, The Temptations and The Four Tops are still entertaining audiences with their legendary hits.
with Special Guest: Richard Thompson
Friday, August 26, 2011 at 8 p.m.
$42 in-house, $25 lawn
GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter John Prine returns to Wolf Trap on the heels of his latest release, In Person & On Stage (2010). Emerging from the Chicago folk music scene in the 1960s, Prine released his eponymous debut album in 1971 to critical acclaim. Though the musician did not achieve widespread commercial success, Prine became well-respected within the music industry for his work with bluegrass, country, and folk, and he continued releasing albums throughout the '70s and '80s. In 1991 he won his first GRAMMY for The Missing Years, featuring appearances by Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Bonnie Raitt, which was also his most commercially successful album to date. Prine won another GRAMMY in 2005 for Fair & Square and he continues performing his rootsy (and often witty) folk music on stages across the country.
Since starting his music career at the age of 18 as a cofounder of the English folk-rock band Fairport Convention in 1967, Richard Thompson has won widespread acclaim for his magnificent guitar skills and extraordinary songwriting abilities. A year after marrying singer Linda Peters in 1972, the two began recording together and went on to release five albums, including the breakthrough album Shoot Out the Lights in 1982. The couple split the following year, but Thompson embarked on what would become a successful solo career that has lasted into the new millennium. In 2003 Rolling Stone gave him the number 19 spot on their list of the Top 100 Guitarists of All Time, and his 2010 live album, Dream Attic, received a GRAMMY nomination.
Mary Chapin Carpenter
with Special Guest: Loudon Wainwright III
Saturday, August 27, 2011 at 8 p.m.
$42 in-house, $25 lawn
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Local contemporary folk and country artist Mary Chapin Carpenter returns for a night of GRAMMY-winning hits, marking her 20th performance at Wolf Trap. Carpenter began playing the Washington, D.C. folk scene in the early '80s and released her debut album, Hometown Girl, in 1987. She quickly earned a dedicated cult following, along with the Top Ten singles "Never Had It So Good" and "Quittin' Time" and the award for Top New Female Vocalist of the Year from the Academy of Country Music in 1990. Two years later, Come On Come On steered her folk style in the direction of country-rock and honky tonk, giving Carpenter her first No. 1 hit with "He Thinks He'll Keep Her." The singer/songwriter has continued to release albums since, including The Age of Miracles in 2010. The five-time GRAMMY winner still knows how to create outstanding music that the New York Times calls "an unclassifiable hybrid of pop, rock, folk, and country."
Loudon Wainwright III brings his catalog of witty folk music to the Filene Center. After starting his career as a musician in the late 1960s, Wainwright became known for his candid, heartfelt style of songwriting and quickly became a concert favorite. His 1972 single "Dead Skunk" reached the Billboard Top 20 and he has released an impressive 23 albums throughout his four decade recording career. In 2010 Wainwright's talents were formally recognized when he won his first GRAMMY for Best Traditional Folk Album with High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project, featuring his children (Martha, Rufus, and Lucy) and mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile. A career retrospective was issued in 2011 with the five-disc box set 40 Odd Years.
Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers
with Special Guest Punch Brothers
Sunday, August 28, 2011 at 8 p.m.
$42 in-house, $25 lawn
Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers
Known for his contributions to a variety of musical projects, most prominently his work with the Grateful Dead and other efforts spanning rock, bluegrass, country, and jazz, Bruce Hornsby and his band, The Noisemakers, arrive at Wolf Trap. The singer, pianist, and accordionist began his professional career in 1986 with Bruce Hornsby and T
he Range, the same year they won a GRAMMY for Best New Artist. The group's debut album, The Way It Is (1986), featured three Top 20 hits, including the No. 1 title track. After performing as the keyboardist for the Grateful Dead from 1990-1992 and releasing a solo album that went gold, Hornsby returned to group collaborations and formed Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers. Their impressive live performances are featured in the 2011 album Bride of the Noisemakers.
Punch Brothers
Five talented string musicians came together in 2006 to form Punch Brothers, a unique and dynamic group poised to reinvigorate the newgrass revolution, fronted by Chris Thile formerly of Nickel Creek. Their song "The Eleventh Reel" garnered them a GRAMMY nomination in 2006, and The Washington Post has called the group "some of the best string-band pickers of the new generation." Featuring an unpredictable mix of songs, including traditional bluegrass, folk tunes, arrangements of Bach and Mozart, and covers of artists such as The Beatles and The Strokes, a performance from Punch Brothers is a thrilling treat to experience.
Tickets can be purchased by calling 1(877)WOLFTRAP or online at www.wolftrap.org. For more information, call Wolf Trap at (703) 255-1900.
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