Washington National Opera Updates 2010-11 Season Schedule

Washington National Opera General Director Plácido Domingo has announced the company's 2010-11 season, including productions, casting and creative teams, and performance dates for all main stage operas. Opening September 11, 2010 at the Kennedy Center Opera House, the company's 55th season encompasses 45 performances of five productions, all new to Washington: Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera, a new production of Strauss' Salome, Puccini's Madama Butterfly, the company premiere of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride, and Donizetti's Don Pasquale.

For the 2010-11 season, WNO has established a new concert series named the Plácido Domingo Celebrity Series in honor of Maestro Domingo and his accomplishments in bringing world-class artists to WNO's stage. In its inaugural season, the series will feature concerts by Juan Diego Flórez and Bryn Terfel. Both concerts in the series, which was made available first to WNO full-season subscribers in January 2010, are sold out.

Additional 2010-11 season highlights include:
• Opera in the Outfield. The company will continue its commitment to serving a broad community through its award-winning education and outreach programs, a highlight of which will be the third-annual, free Opera in the Outfield simulcast of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera. The opera will be broadcast live to Nationals Park on Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.
• Series O, a first-of-its-kind, deeply discounted subscription series for audiences 35 and under. The Friday-night series is an extension of the company's highly successful Generation O program, and offers younger subscribers the same benefits as full-season ticket holders.
• The National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors on October 22, 2010 in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Washington National Opera is the producing partner for the awards ceremony and concert. More information about the event will be available in late summer; free tickets may be reserved beginning September 20.

"The 2010-11 season features five productions, all new to Washington audiences, and each with unique elements that will excite Washington-area opera lovers," stated Maestro Domingo. "From Salvatore Licitra in Un Ballo in Maschera to Deborah Voigt's company debut in a new production of Salome by Francesca Zambello, to concerts with Juan Diego Flórez and Bryn Terfel, the season is filled to the brim with wonderful productions and talents."

"I am especially pleased to work directly on all of the Spring 2011 productions. Along with Maestro Philippe Auguin, I will conduct performances of Madama Butterfly with Ana María Martínez and Catherine Naglestad as Cio-Cio-San. Then, I have the distinct honor of conducting the incomparable Bryn Terfel in concert for his WNO debut. In May, I will sing Oreste opposite Patricia Racette in her title role debut in Iphigénie en Tauride, and I will also conduct performances of Don Pasquale with James Morris making a role debut in his first WNO appearance."

Addressing the move to a five-opera season in 2010-11, Maestro Domingo commented, "Like most large American opera companies, WNO has had to strike a balance between its artistic ambitions and the realities of these trying financial times. For WNO, this means one fewer production, but each and every one will be produced with the same level of artistic excellence that audiences have come to expect from WNO. With the 2010-11 season, WNO will offer more performances of each production, which will allow the company to realize operational efficiencies and aggressively act to bring new audiences to the Opera House. Though the move to five productions is less than ideal, WNO has now put itself in a position where it can operate in a sustainable manner. Because of the responsible changes that the company has made, we are confident that the company will flourish well into the future." (Note: WNO announced in November 2009 that it would stage five main-stage productions in the 2010-11 season as opposed to six in the 2009-2010 season.)

Maestro Domingo continued, "In planning the next season, the guiding principle in all of our productions and casting is our strong belief that artistic integrity must be the number one goal. With the 2010-11 season, WNO has achieved that goal, so with this in mind, next season may be one of our strongest yet."

Creative Highlights and Debuts:
Washington National Opera's 2010-11 season features five productions, all new to Washington, D.C. and each of which features major artists making company and role debuts. Some of opera's most sought-after talents headline the season. Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera opens the season and features a double cast led by several returning WNO artists, including acclaimed Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra as King Gustavus III, with American soprano Tamara Wilson and Swedish soprano Iréne Theorin sharing the role of Amelia. Italian conductor Daniele Callegari and Canadian director James Robinson make their WNO debuts with this production. (Note: For this production, which is repatriated to its original setting of Sweden from the traditional setting of Boston, original Swedish character names will be used).

In October 2010, WNO presents a new production of Strauss' Salome, directed by Francesca Zambello and starring American soprano Deborah Voigt. Considered the definitive Salome of her generation and "one of the great Strauss interpreters of all time" (Wall Street Journal), Voigt makes her long-awaited WNO debut in this production. Returning to WNO is Australian bass-baritone Daniel Sumegi as Jokanaan, and British tenor Richard Berkeley-Steele and German mezzo-soprano Doris Soffel make their WNO debuts as Herod and Herodias. French conductor Philippe Auguin, who made his highly praised WNO debut in the 2009-10 season with concert performances of Wagner's Götterdämmerung, returns to lead Salome.

The Spring 2011 season opens with a 14-performance run of Puccini's beloved Madama Butterfly. The highly popular production from San Francisco has been lauded as "elegantly composed" and "meticulously reconstructed" (San Francisco Chronicle). Headlining the double cast are American
sopranos Ana María Martínez and Catherine Naglestad as the lovelorn Cio-Cio-San. A Grammy award-winning artist whose career spans the opera house, films and concert halls, Martínez returns to WNO for the first time in a decade. Praised for her "ravishingly beautiful singing...a natural-born actress" (Opera News), Naglestad makes her WNO debut as well as a role debut with this production. Singing opposite Butterfly as Lieutenant Pinkerton are Russian tenor Alexey Dolgov and Brazilian tenor Thiago Arancam.

WNO General Director Plácido Domingo shares the podium with Philippe Auguin; the two maestros lead an award-winning creative team that includes director Ron Daniels and set and costume designer Michael Yeargan.

The season continues with the company premiere of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride, with American soprano Patricia Racette in the title role and Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo as Oreste, a role for which the New York Times praised his "artistry, integrity and physicality." An acclaimed singing-actress, Racette makes a role debut as the heroic Iphigénie in this rarely performed 18th-century French opera. Italian bass-baritone Simone Alberghini makes a role debut as King Thoas, and American tenor Shawn Mathey sings Pylade. William Lacey, who earned high praise in his WNO debut leading Tamerlano (2008), returns to conduct, and Emilio Sagi directs this powerful Greek myth.

Donizetti's Don Pasquale concludes the 2010-11 season, and features the WNO debut of acclaimed American bass-baritone James Morris in the title role. Among the most respected singers of his generation, lauded for his "clean-cut rapier timbre and keen intonation...quite simply astounding" (Opera Now), the stentorian bass-baritone also makes a role debut with Don Pasquale. The double cast also features Russian sopranos Ekaterina Siurina and Julia Novikova as Norina, both in their WNO debuts, and with Spanish tenor Antonio Gandia as Ernesto, a role he shares with Russian tenor Alexey Kudrya in his WNO debut. American baritone DWayne Croft returns to WNO to sing Dr. Malatesta. Leon Major directs his production from New York City Opera, and Maestro Domingo and Israel Gursky conduct.

Additional singers making company debuts include American tenor Frank Porretta as King Gustavus III (better known as Riccardo, a role he shares with Salvatore Licitra), American soprano Monica Yunus as Oscar, and American bass-baritone Kenneth Kellogg as Count Ribbing (Samuel) in Un Ballo in Maschera. American tenor Sean Panikkar debuts as Narraboth in Salome. Chinese mezzo-soprano Ning Liang makes her WNO debut as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, and American bass-baritone Keith Miller sings Bonze.

Now in its third year, the National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors is the highest award our nation bestows in opera. The 2010 recipients of the NEA Opera Honors are: soprano Martina Arroyo, general director David DiChiera, composer Philip Glass, and music director Eve Queler. The awards will be presented at a free awards ceremony and concert produced by Washington National Opera on Friday, October 22, 2010 at the Kennedy Center Opera House. More information about the free awards ceremony and concert will be available in late summer; free ticket reservations begin on September 20, 2010 at www.dc-opera.org. For more information about the NEA Opera Honors and each of the honorees, visit www.neaoperahonors.org.

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