Washington National Opera Unveils Activities for National Opera Week 11/13-22

Washington National Opera has unveiled its complete schedule of activities for National Opera Week, the nationwide celebration sponsored by OPERA America and the National Endowment for the Arts. The events and activities, many of which are free and open to the public, will commence on Friday, November 13, and include performances at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as educational activities in schools and libraries throughout the District.

"National Opera Week is a wonderful opportunity to spotlight the many different ways that WNO serves the city of Washington, D.C.," stated WNO General Director Plácido Domingo. "Opera is so much more than the grand productions performed on stage. Yes, it is entertainment and a beautiful synthesis of many art forms; but at WNO, opera is also an enrichment tool for our community and an educational medium for our young people. From free performances by the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists, to in-school performances, to free tickets our mainstage production of Ariadne auf Naxos, WNO will offer a diversity of educational and outreach programs for people to experience the joy of opera."

WNO's National Opera Week activities feature free performances and educational activities, including:

· Ariadne auf Naxos-In partnership with the League of Washington Theatres' "Night of Free Theatre" program, WNO will welcome 100 first-time opera-goers to the Opera House for the closing-night performance of Ariadne auf Naxos. November 13 at 7:30 p.m.; Kennedy Center Opera House. Note: All tickets have been distributed.

· Hola Opera! An Introduction to Opera-Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists Jésus Hernandez and José Ortega will present a bilingual "Introduction to Opera" program in D.C. schools and libraries. Using opera arias and Mexican folk songs, the two tenors will share their inspiring stories of emigrating from Mexico, meeting Plácido Domingo and realizing their dreams of becoming professional opera singers. Various dates and locations; see attached calendar.

· Open Orchestra Read: The Marriage of Figaro-The WNO Orchestra and the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists will perform arias from Mozart's beloved opera The Marriage of Figaro. Led by Young Artist conductor Michael Rossi with narration by Ken Weiss, the Orchestra Read takes audiences behind-the-scenes to witness the music-making process. November 14 at 6 p.m., Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage.

· So You Want to Be a Singer? An Opera Career Talk- WNO's Director of Artistic Operations, Christina Scheppelmann, and Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Brandy Hawkins (mezzo-soprano), discuss how to build a career in opera, and the many different career options available in opera and arts administration. The presentation includes a question and answer session. November 16 at 6 p.m., American University's Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family RecitAl Hall.

Additionally, Washington National Opera's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists will perform at a private luncheon at the Supreme Court in celebration of the NEA Opera Awards honorees, and WNO's Education and Community programs will offer a family-friendly, interactive introduction to the opera Hansel and Gretel at a D.C. public library.

Organized by OPERA America with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, National Opera Week was created to bring the inventiveness and excitement of opera to a broader national audience. National Opera Week will reach from coast to coast, with more than 90 opera companies from 32 states offering a range of free and public programming designed to demonstrate the allure and accessibility of the art form.

National Opera Week officially launches with the presentation of the 2009 NEA Opera Honors to Marilyn Horne, John Adams, Frank Corsaro, Lotfi Mansouri and Julius Rudel on November 14 at the Harman Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. For more information about the NEA Opera Honors, visit www.arts.gov/honors/opera. For more information about nationwide programming for National Opera Week, visit http://www.operaamerica.org/content/education/now.aspx.

 

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