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Washington National Opera: Holiday Family Opera: The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me
Friday, December 14, 2018 - Sunday, December 16, 2018 TicketsWashington National Opera: Taking Up Serpents, a New Hour-Long Opera, part of the American Opera Initiative Festival
Friday, January 11, 2019 - Sunday, January 13, 2019 TicketsWashington National Opera: Three New 20-Minute Operas, part of the American Opera Initiative Festival
Saturday, January 12, 2019 TicketsGet Exclusive Events
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WNO Blog
Two AOI commissions selected for NY Times “The Best Classical Music of 2018”
Published: Dec 6, 2018
WNO Choristers Dress for Success
Published: Nov 14, 2018
Seeking humanity in War by Tomer Zvulun
Published: Nov 5, 2018
Alexander McKissick | Meet the Artists
Published: Oct 29, 2018
Kenneth Kellogg | Meet the Artists
Published: Oct 29, 2018
Meet the Artists
Washington National Opera Artistic Director Francesca Zambello
Acclaimed American opera director Francesca Zambello, formerly Washington National Opera's Artistic Advisor, is WNO's new Artistic Director.
Featured Video
The Story of The Ring: The Rhinegold
Portrait Series: Francesca Zambello
New & Noteworthy
Francesca Zambello Contract Extended and Evan Rogister Named WNO Principal Conductor
WNO has renewed the engagement of Francesca Zambello as Artistic Director for three years, following a unanimous vote by the WNO Board of Trustees to extend her contract. Also announced is the appointment of American conductor Evan Rogister as Principal Conductor through the 2021–2022 season. Rogister made his WNO debut in 2014 conducting Moby Dick and has returned to lead productions of Carmen (2015) and Aida (2017). He will begin his work as Principal Conductor this season by hearing auditions for new players and attending rehearsals and performances. He will also conduct Washington National Opera’s 2019 gala concert and two WNO productions during the 2019–2020 season.
Francesca Zambello Contract Extended and Evan Rogister Named WNO Principal Conductor: Learn MoreAmerican Opera Initiative Festival Returns with World Premieres
WNO presents the seventh season of its acclaimed American Opera Initiative with four world premieres in the Terrace Theater, Jan. 11–13. A commissioning program that originates and develops new works, AOI provides rare opportunities for emerging composers and librettists to partner and write for the opera stage. The festival includes Taking Up Serpents, a new hour-long work by composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Jerre Dye, on Jan. 11 and 13. New pairings of composers and librettists—Matt Boehler and Laura Barati, Molly Joyce and James Kennedy, Nick Benavides and Marella Martin Koch—offer three 20-minute opera on Jan. 12.
American Opera Initiative Festival Returns with World Premieres: Learn MoreBetween 18 & 40 and Love Opera? Join BravO!
Washington National Opera's BravO is DC's premier young professional arts-lover program for those between the ages of 18 and 40! The program is free to join and offers discounted tickets, social events, backstage tours, pre-performance talks, and more.
Between 18 & 40 and Love Opera? Join BravO!: Learn MoreKennedy Center News Now Online
Kennedy Center News is now available to read online! The January-February issue features the return of Washington National Opera's American Opera Initiative with the world premiere of the hour-long opera Taking Up Serpents by Kamala Sankaram and Jerre Dye, as well as the premieres of three new 20-minute operas 75 Miles (Matt Boehler, composer; Laura Barati, librettist), Relapse (Molly Joyce, composer; James Kennedy, librettist), and Pepito (Nick Benavides, composer; Marella Martin Koch, librettist); a guided rehearsal of WNO's upcoming production of Eugene Onegin; plus Renée Fleming in an all-Schubert program with the National Symphony Orchestra; and much more!
Kennedy Center News Now Online: Learn More