Washington Concert Opera Announces 2019/2020 Season

Washington Concert Opera (WCO) announces its 2019-2020 lineup, a season that champions rare works and celebrates award-winning voices. The season will start in November with Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet. Then in April they will present Giuseppe Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, a truly stunning work that has not been heard in D.C. since 1998. In addition to these GWU Lisner Auditorium performances, the season will feature a third annual Opera Outside series at Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park.

On Sunday November 24 at 6:00pm, WCO will present Ambroise Thomas' Hamlet, based on a French stage adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet by Alexandre Dumas and Paul Meurice. Ambroise Thomas' ravishingly beautiful score features Ophelia's famous mad scene, one of many striking moments in this vivid drama. It is a tragic tale of love, deception and the high power of art. This year's Richard Tucker Award-Winner, soprano Lisette Oropesa will return to WCO in the role of Ophelia, with two other acclaimed artists making their WCO debuts: South African baritone Jacques Imbrailo as Hamlet, and mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti as Gertrude. Another WCO favorite, tenor Jonas Hacker, will perform the role of Laertes.

Closing the season on Sunday April 5 at 6:00pm is Giuseppe Verdi's rarely performed Simon Boccanegra. This somber story named for a real life 14th century Doge of Genoa contains some of Verdi's most beautiful music. Simon Boccanegra is full of subtle, well-balanced contrasts: it is a mixture of a powerful, political drama and a personal drama; and its structure shifts from the traditional aria-based scenes to through composed scenes and acts. It is a hybrid, resulting from an over two-decade time lag between its two versions, but one that is exquisitely seamless and features a demanding title role that rivals Macbeth or Rigoletto. Four celebrated opera stars return to WCO for this performance including baritone Lester Lynch in the title role, soprano Marina Costa-Jackson as Maria (Amelia), tenor Charles Castronovo as Adorno, and baritone Musa Ngqungwana as Paolo.

WCO's popular third annual Opera Outside series at Meridian Hill-Malcolm X Park will return September 28 at 11am. Opera Outside is free to the public and led by the company's Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master, David Hanlon. More details, including casting, will be announced in the coming months.

Both subscription and single tickets are on sale now at www.concertopera.org/events.

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