Washington Concert Opera to Perform MAOMETTO II, I PURITANI and More in 2020/21 Season

Washington Concert Opera and Maestro Antony Walker have announced their 2020-21 lineup. With the hope that it will be safe to gather once again later this year, WCO plans to begin their new season on November 22, 2020 with the performance of Gioachino Rossini's Maometto II. The second half of the season will take place on May 23rd, 2021 with Vincenzo Bellini's I Puritani. Both performances will start at 6pm and will take place at Lisner Auditorium on the campus of George Washington University.

One of Rossini's most fascinating and complex operas, Maometto II takes place during the fall of the Venetian colony of Negroponte to the Turks in 1476. The daughter of the Venetian governor suffers a conflict between duty and love when forced to make a choice between her intended fiancé and the man she has fallen for, later discovered to be Maometto himself, Ottoman Sultan and conqueror of Constantinople, in disguise. The performance features four WCO debut performances from Luca Pisaroni (Maometto II), Leah Crocetto (Anna Erisso), Elizabeth DeShong (Calbo) and Bruce Sledge (Paolo Erisso).

Bellini's final work, I Puritani, is a Bel Canto masterpiece featuring many of his most beloved melodies. Set against the backdrop of 1640s England, during the English Civil War, I Puritani depicts the love between a Royalist cavalier and a Puritan woman driven to madness. The production will feature a WCO debut from Brenda Rae (Elvira) and a return to the WCO stage by René Barbera (Lord Arturo Talbo). Both recently sung the same roles in Europe to great acclaim.

In addition, WCO plans to reschedule its performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Simon Boccanegra (formerly cancelled due to COVID-19) on Sunday, September 13, 2020 at 6pm at Lisner Auditorium. Casting announcements to follow.