The Kennedy Center, Aida-Figaro, October 2025

The Marriage of Figaro

Welcome Letter

Dear Friends,

In theater, from the moment the curtain goes up, audience members must begin assimilating information through the varied perspectives of individual characters in the drama. We may be moved by the first character we meet, then find ourselves empathizing with that character’s sworn enemy. In this way, opera reminds us of the complexity of the human condition, and it challenges us to understand the situations and emotions of people unlike ourselves.

The operatic event relies on a broad spectrum of human experience— those on the stage, those working backstage, in the pit, in the offices, and of course, those who gather in the audience to make meaning from the different perspectives presented on the stage. For this reason, we think of opera as a uniquely democratic art form. We welcome you to a season that explores a panoply of emotions, ideas, and viewpoints.

This fall, we are proud to open with two classic operas that showcase our entire company: orchestra, chorus, soloists, dancers, and production teams. Each of these timeless classics offers you much of what defines WNO.

In our opening grand opera, Aida, we meet a triangle of characters caught between duty and desire. Although the story unfolds against the epic backdrop of war, it functions almost like a chamber piece, with its intimate close-up of embattled hearts. We paired this with The Marriage of Figaro, a dramatic comedy that deals with class, family, and love, and ultimately, emphasizing forgiveness. (By the way, Aida is one of ’Cesca’s favorite operas, while The Marriage of Figaro is one of Tim’s.)

And there is so much more to experience during the rest of the season. In December, The Little Prince continues our holiday opera tradition, one that is near and dear to our hearts. Aristotle said that imitation is the most enjoyable way to learn, so it’s important to us that this annual offering includes young people onstage, performing alongside the rising stars of the Cafritz Young Artists.

In 2026, we celebrate two major milestones the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the 70th anniversary of the WNO. We recognize these achievements with American artists and American works, beginning with the 13th season of the American Opera Initiative. Our groundbreaking commissioning and development program for emerging composers and librettists culminates each season in the world premieres of three short operas. Next, we present Treemonisha, the only opera by the king of ragtime, Scott Joplin, directed by the brilliant Denyce Graves. We then present an opera rooted in American history, The Crucible, Robert Ward's Pulitzer Prize-winning opera based on Arthus Miller's dramatic interpretation of the Salem witch trials. Both have memorable and tuneful scores and amazing casts.

Finally, we conclude the season with West Side Story, which presents the beloved work in a way only WNO can—with a full orchestra, a cast of opera singers, powerful dancers, and musical theater performers. This is a unique opportunity to experience Leonard Bernstein’s score, the original choreography of Jerome Robbins, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and book by Arthur Laurents.

You, our audience, are central to our artistry. We cannot engage as creators without an audience as an active part of the process. You are central to what we do, and our cultural heritage is our mutual property. We hope that the differences among us will be harmonious as we look at each of these operas with excitement and curiosity—opportunities to learn. The Kennedy Center is woven into our lives in so many ways. We welcome you and are grateful to have you with us.

We have a great season ahead, and we hope that you join us for everything. And please make sure to invite your friends. At WNO we welcome everyone and believe in the bipartisan credo of the Kennedy Center. Thank you for being a part of our family.

Sincerely,

Timothy O’Leary General Director of WNO

Francesca Zambello Artistic Director of WNO

OCTOBER 24–NOVEMBER 2, 2025 | OPERA HOUSE

AIDA

MUSIC BY GUISEPPE VERDI LIBRETTO BY ANTONIO GHISLANZONI

In Italian with English subtitles

This performance is approximately three hours, including a 25-minute intermission.

Aida is a co-production of Washington National Opera, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, and Minnesota Opera.

Scenery for this production was constructed at Bay Productions and is jointly owned by Washington National Opera, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, and Minnesota Opera.

Costumes for this production were constructed at the San Francisco Opera Costume Studio and are jointly owned by Washington National Opera, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, and Minnesota Opera.

In gratitude for an exceptional, substantial, and transformative contribution from the Dallas Morse Coors Foundation, Washington National Opera dedicates this production of Aida to the foundation’s benefactor, Dallas Morse Coors, in recognition of his philanthropic legacy and passion for the classical canon.

THANK YOU TO OUR SEASON SPONSORS

WNO Season Sponsor

Official Airline of the WNO

Jacqueline Badger Mars

Dallas Morse Coors

Chevron

Prince Charitable Trusts

Cast and Creative

AIDA

MUSIC BY GUISEPPE VERDI

LIBRETTO BY ANTONIO GHISLANZONI

OCTOBER 24–26, 29, 30 & NOVEMBER 1, 2025

AIDA | JENNIFER ROWLEY * (10/24, 26, 29, 11/1)

AMBER R. MONROE † (10/25, 30, 11/2)

AMNERIS | RAEHANN BRYCE-DAVIS (10/24, 26, 29, 11/1)

AGNIESKA REHLIS * (10/25, 30, 11/2)

RADAMÈS | ADAM SMITH (10/24, 26, 29, 11/1)

ROBERT WATSON (10/25, 30, 11/2)

AMONASRO | SHENYANG

RAMFIS | MORRIS ROBINSON

THE KING | KEVIN SHORT

SOLO DANCERS | DWAYNE BROWN, JENELLE FIGGINS

PRIESTESS | LAUREN CARROLL

MESSENGER | NICHOLAS HUFF

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA ORCHESTRA

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA CHORUS

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA CORPS OF DANCERS

CONDUCTOR | KWAMÉ RYAN

DIRECTOR | FRANCESCA ZAMBELLO

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR | KATRINA BACHUS *

ARTISTIC DESIGN | RETNA

SET DESIGNER | MICHAEL YEARGAN

COSTUME DESIGNER | ANITA YAVICH

REVIVAL LIGHTING DESIGNER | PETER W. MITCHELL

ORIGINAL LIGHTING DESIGNER | MARK M c CULLOUGH

CHOREOGRAPHER | JESSICA LANG

FIGHT MASTER | CASEY KALEBA

INTIMACY COORDINATOR | LORRAINE RESSEGGER-SLONE

COVER CONDUCTORS | MICHELLE DI RUSSO, KEN WEISS

CHORUS MASTER | STEVEN GATHMAN

ASSISTANT CONDUCTORS | MICHAEL BAITZER, JOY SCHREIER, KEN WEISS

DICTION COACH | KEN WEISS

* WNO MAINSTAGE DEBUT

† ALUMNUS OF THE CAFRITZ YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAM

Synopsis

ACT I

Radamès, an army officer, hopes to be chosen to lead his country to victory. If he can win the war, he believes he will be allowed to marry Aida, who is a captive from their enemy. Princess Amneris, who loves Radamès, notices that he has feelings for Aida, which incites her jealousy. The King arrives with his army and ministers. A messenger brings news of an imminent invasion. Radamès is announced as the chosen commander. The crowd expresses hope for his victorious return. Aida, too, is caught up in the battle cry, but then she berates herself for having called for the defeat of her own people. Divided between loyalty to her country and her love for Radamès, she asks the gods for strength.

ACT II

Radamès* and his troops have won the war. Amneris, still tormented by doubt and jealousy, resolves to question Aida. She manages to trick Aida into revealing her love for Radamès; furious, Amneris tells Aida to give up all hope of being with him. The people celebrate the return of the victorious army. Radamès asks that the prisoners of war be brought in; among them, Aida recognizes her father, Amonasro. Hiding his identity as the king of his nation, he pleads for the lives of his people. Radamès asks that the prisoners be freed. The high priest Ramfis, warning of the consequences, succeeds in having Aida and her father retained as hostages. Amneris’s father, the King, rewards Radamès with her hand in marriage.

INTERMISSION

ACT III

Preparing for her wedding to Radamès, Amneris retires to the temple to worship with Ramfis. Outside the temple, Aida waits in hiding for Radamès. She longs for the happiness she knew as a child in her homeland. Her father finds her and raises her hopes for a happy life at the side of her beloved in their homeland. Hoping to exploit Aida’s love for Radamès, Amonasro demands that she find out from Radamès the route his armies will take. Amonasro conceals himself nearby, where he can overhear the plan. Radamès affirms his love for Aida and hopes another victory will allow him to win her once and for all. Aida instead encourages him to flee the country with her. As they start to leave, Aida asks which route his troops will take. Radamès answers her, whereupon Amonasro appears and Radamès realizes he has revealed an important military secret. He then sees he has been overheard by Ramfis and Amneris as they leave the temple, Radamès surrenders to the High Priest, ready to accept the consequences of treason.

ACT IV

Torn between love and jealousy, Amneris hopes to save Radamès from the priests and win him for herself. She urges him to defend himself, but he rejects her. The priests assemble and allow Radamès a chance to present his defense, but he remains silent. They sentence him to be buried alive. Amneris pleads with the priests to revoke the sentence, and when they ignore her, she curses them. Sealed inside a tomb, Radamès discovers Aida, who had hidden there. While the priests chant their hymns, the two lovers die, united at last. Above their tomb, Amneris prays for peace.

Background

Composed by Italian master Giuseppe Verdi, with a libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, Aida premiered on December 24, 1871, in Cairo, Egypt, as part of celebrations for the city’s new Khedivial Opera House, the first in Africa. (Aida was intended to open the house, although due to delays in production and transportation, that honor went to a production of Verdi’s Rigoletto on November 1.) It proved a near instant hit, with premieres at the world’s major opera houses throughout the 1870s, including in the U.S. at New York’s Academy of Music in 1873. Aida went on to become a cornerstone of the operatic canon, known for its passionate music and the visual spectacle of many productions. It was first performed at Washington National Opera in the 1989–90 season; this production, directed by Francesca Zambello, had its WNO premiere in the 2017–18 season.

The story of Aida is thought to have been drawn from a scenario proposed by French archeologist August Mariette, who used his expertise to advise on costumes and sets for the Cairo premiere. Although the story and setting of Aida also reflects a fascination with Egyptology that had gripped Europe since the Napoleonic Wars, with the exploration of archaeological sites and the decoding of the Rosetta Stone in 1822. By the latter half of the 19th century, elements of Egyptian style had infiltrated popular culture, architecture and design, and tourists were flocking to cruise the Nile and visit the Pyramids.

Verdi, who had already enjoyed three decades of success in opera, added new musical elements to the mix. Unlike earlier Italian operas, Aida has very few musical moments that stop the action. Instead, each chorus, duet, or aria flows into the next, so the drama keeps pushing forward to its exciting conclusion.

The opera tells the tale of Ethiopian princess Aida, who has been captured and enslaved by the Egyptians. In service to the fiery Princess Amneris, Aida has hidden her identity when she falls in love with Egyptian army leader Radamès. When war breaks out between the Egyptian pharaoh and Aida’s father, King Amonasro, Aida finds herself torn between family honor and forbidden love.

Aida is set in Egypt’s Old Kingdom (c. 2700–2200 BCE), although it is not pegged to a specific time within what is known as the Age of the Pyramids. This WNO staging has been updated to a contemporary, yet timeless, visual look in sets and costuming.

Director’s Note

Aida: A Chamber Opera by

Giuseppe Verdi?

As an opera lover, Aida is part of the fabric of my being. I first experienced it with huge forces, but as I have come to work on it many times as a director, I have realized it is a chamber piece with a huge triumphal scene at its center, set against the backdrop of a powerful story about love and war. War is central to this piece, but it could be any two countries that exert power over each other relentlessly. Verdi set the opera in a distant time and place, but the heartbreak of war is never far away from us now. It is easy to dehumanize others with generic words like “foreigners.” By setting the work in a more abstracted location, I intend to make a strong connection between our current vocabulary and this ancient story.

As a director, I know you need some spectacle, but what is crucial to me in this opera is to dig into the intimate scenes where the conflict of the four main characters drives the drama forward: Aida, the foreign enslaved woman in captivity; her father, Amonasro, the king of a neighboring country and a prisoner of war; Amneris, daughter of the King of Egypt; and Radamès, Egyptian warrior. All are caught in a love triangle and a bitter war between two neighboring countries. They each face a battle between their duty and their desires.

The most famous scene of the opera, the triumphal scene following a victorious battle, is where we think of the hordes and the elephants, but what is more powerful is to focus on the four individual dramas. There are very few moments when the characters of Aida sing solo pieces, but when they do, we feel a struggle inside each of their introspective moments. With so few arias, we are constantly experiencing the grand emotions of love and war through duets and trios. The story brilliantly sets the individuals and their passions against the context of a society out of their control. I call this the “duty versus desire” problem, something most people are always confronting. Here, though, the stakes are very high.

When we went to work on the designs, we chose to collaborate with visual artist Marquis Lewis (a.k.a. RETNA). His work is inspired by calligraphy and hieroglyphics, using bold colors and shapes to evoke a mythic past with a contemporary edge. RETNA created a series of structural works, paintings, and images, which the set designer Michael Yeargan turned into the theatrical spaces. With costume designer Anita Yavich, we tried to complement the power of RETNA’s work with a rich color palette and costumes that felt like another time and yet in other ways seemed timeless, very recent. I also wanted to bring more movement and dance into our version to suggest the language of war and religious ritual.

As I write this in the middle of the rehearsal process, I am still convinced Aida is a chamber opera. The protagonists and their complex and heart-rending personal traumas set against the background of war and religious absolutism make for a passionate Verdi score and drama. This opera lives in a world of emotions, of individuals faced with love, duty, jealousy, and hatred, individuals caught up in emotions they cannot master, and that lead ultimately to a tragic end. The final scene is akin to Wagner’s “Liebestod,” joining Aida and Radamès in an ethereal death, the almost unbearably high cost of individuals trapped in a theater of war.

—Francesca Zambello

Aida’s Art Design: Ancient and Urban

The artist known as RETNA (born Marquis Lewis) catapulted from graffiti on the streets of his native Los Angeles to international fame through a signature calligraphic style that blends elements of ancient scripts and Egyptian hieroglyphics. His work has also been seen in collaborations with Louis Vuitton, Nike, and Justin Bieber. Here, RETNA reflects on how he came to create designs for this production of Aida, which premiered at WNO in the 2017–2018 season.

I was in Miami one afternoon with a longtime art dealer of mine, Marsea Goldberg. She had just gotten off the phone with Francesca Zambello. Marsea was very excited and told me that the artistic director of the Washington National Opera had expressed interest in meeting with me about a possible collaboration for the opera Aida

All of a sudden, the images of ancient Egypt coming to life onstage enveloped my mind. My past influences that I had seen in books, museums, and in my mind started to unravel visually. The honor and bewilderment that I felt knowing that my symbols had communicated the past and that I was now being asked to participate in Aida were just beyond me.

We ventured to Washington, D.C., to meet this ambassador of the arts, Francesca Zambello. I had no experience with opera, but I recalled moments in my childhood when I starred in a few plays and my excitement grew as I realized I was never far off my mark. Having my artwork, much of which is based on the structure of Egyptian hieroglyphics, used for Aida turned my entire concept of my career full circle, marking a milestone in my career and artistic and spiritual development.

Meet the Artists

JENNIFER ROWLEY

SOPRANO | AIDA

WNO History: WNO debut

Past: Cyrano de Bergerac (Roxanne), Tosca (Tosca), Adriana Lecouvreur (Adriana), Il trovatore (Leonora), La bohème (Musetta), Metropolitan Opera; Simon Boccanegra (Amelia Grimaldi), Opernhaus Zürich; Aida (Aida), Teatro del Liceu, Teatro Colón; Il trovatore (Leonora), Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Staatsoper Berlin, Opera National de Paris, Opera de Rouen; Tosca (Tosca), Les Huguenots (Valentine), Semperoper Dresden; Manon Lescaut (Manon), Teatro Verdi Salerno; Un ballo in maschera (Amelia), National Theatre Prague; La bohème (Musetta), Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

AMBER R. MONROE

SOPRANO | AIDA

WNO History: Porgy & Bess (Serena), 2024–2025; The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson (Isabelle), La bohème (Mimi), Il trovatore (Ines), 2022–2023; Cartography (Progeny, Pretty Girl), 2021–2022

Past: Aida (High Priestess, Aida cover), Dayton Opera, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Die Tote Stadt (Lucienne), Boston Symphony Orchestra; Rusalka (Second Wood Sprite), Santa Fe Opera; Castor and Patience (Clarissa, Patience), Cincinnati Opera; Don Giovanni (Donna Elvira), Opera Columbus; The Marriage of Figaro (Contessa), Kentucky Opera; Pagliacci (Nedda), Glimmerglass Festival, El Paso Opera, Pensacola Opera; The Hours (Kitty, Vanessa), Cincinnati Opera, Opera Fusion; Porgy & Bess (Clara), Opera Western Reserve; Intimate Apparel (Esther), Arizona Opera

RAEHANN BRYCE-DAVIS

MEZZO-SOPRANO | AMNERIS

WNO History: Il trovatore (Azucena), 2022–2023

Past: Il trovatore (Azucena), Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Staatstheater Nürnberg; Khovanshchina (Marfa), Grand Théâtre de Genève; Boris Godunov (Marina), Il Trittico (La Zia Principessa), Dutch National Opera; Samson et Dalila (Dalila), New Orleans Opera; Rusalka (Ježibaba), Santa Fe Opera; Ten Days in a Madhouse (Lizzie), Opera Philadelphia; Aida (Amneris), Royal Danish Opera, Oper im Steinbruch; X: The Life and Times of Malcom X (Ella), The Rake’s Progress (Baba the Turk), Metropolitan Opera; Roberto Devereux (Sara), Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice (Big Stone), Los Angeles Opera

Meet the Artists

AGNIESKA REHLIS

MEZZO-SOPRANO | AMNERIS

WNO History: WNO debut

Past: Aida (Amneris), Frankfurt Opera, Verona Arena; La Gioconda (La Cieca), Salzburg Easter Festival; Tristan und Isolde (Brangäne), Un ballo in maschera (Ulrica), Götterdämmerung (Waltraute), Boris Godunov (Xenia's Nurse), The Fiery Angel (Fortune Teller), Il trovatore (Azucena), Nabucco (Fenena), The Haunted Castle (Cześnikowa); winner, 2022 Gloria Artis Prize

ADAM SMITH TENOR | RADAMÈS

WNO History: Romeo and Juliet (Romeo), 2023–2024

Past: Cavalleria rusticana (Turiddu), Lyric Opera of Kansas City; Rusalka (The Prince), Les Arts Valencia; Tosca (Cavaradossi), Staatsoper Hamburg, English National Opera; Madama Butterfly (Pinkerton), San Diego Opera, Cincinnati Opera; La bohème (Rodolfo), Il Trittico (Luigi/Rinuccio), La Monnaie; Les Contes d’Hoffmann (title role), Opéra national de Bordeaux, Greek National Opera; Fidelio (Florestan), Glyndebourne Festival; Der fliegende Holländer (Erik), Teatro Comunale di Bologna; Káťa Kabanová (Boris), Opera national de Lyon

ROBERT WATSON

TENOR | RADAMÈS

WNO History: Tosca (Cavaradossi), 2018–2019

Past: Wozzeck (Tambourmajor), Opéra de Lyon, Des Moines Metro Opera; Parsifal (Parsifal), Aalto Theater, Essen, Germany; Madama Butterfly (Pinkerton), Vancouver Opera, Staatsoper Hamburg, Palm Beach Opera; Jenůfa (Števa Buryja), Teatro dell’ Opera di Roma; Les contes d’Hoffmann (title role), Don Carlo (title role), Jenůfa (Laca), Fidelio (Florestan), Nabucco (Ismaele), Deutsche Opera Berlin; Die Walküre (Siegmund), Staatsoper Berlin; Rusalka (The Prince), Santa Fe Opera, Stadttheater Klagenfurt; Don Carlo (title role), Dallas Opera; Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Moser), Lulu (Painter/ African Prince), Metropolitan Opera

SHENYANG

BASS-BARITONE | AMONASRO

WNO History: La Cenerentola (Alidoro), 2014–2015

Past: Fidelio (Don Pizarro), Los Angeles Philharmonic, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich; Salome (Jochanaan), Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra; Götterdämmerung (Gunther), Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra; Parsifal (Klingsor), La Monnaie; Lohengrin (Heerrufer), Opéra national de Paris; Tristan und Isolde (Kurwenal), Glyndebourne Festival; Das Rheingold (Wotan), Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra; winner, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, 2007

Meet the Artists

MORRIS ROBINSON

BASS | RAMFIS

WNO History: Grounded (Commander), 2023–2024; Aida (Ramfis), 2017–2018; Show Boat (Joe), 2012–2013; Turandot (Timur), 2008–2009; Don Giovanni (Commendatore), 2007–2008

Past: Fidelio, The Magic Flute (Sarastro), Il trovatore (Ferrando), Aida (King), Nabucco, Tannhäuser, Les Troyens, Salome, Metropolitan Opera; Nabucco (Zaccaria), Los Angeles Opera and Opera Philadelphia; Turandot (Timur), Los Angeles Opera; Il trovatore (Ferrando), Houston Grand Opera; Tristan und Isolde (König Marke), Seattle Opera, Cincinnati Opera; artistic advisor, Cincinnati Opera

KEVIN SHORT

BASS-BARITONE | THE KING

WNO History: Porgy & Bess (Porgy), 2005–2006; The Magic Flute (Speaker), 2019–2020; Carmen (Zuniga), 2021–2022

Past: Porgy & Bess (Porgy), Metropolitan Opera, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester Hamburg; Un ballo in maschera (Sam), Fire Shut Up in My Bones (Uncle Paul), La traviata (Doctor Grenvil), Elektra (Pfleger), Metropolitan Opera; Liverpool Oratorio (Headmaster/Preacher/Mr. Dingleas), Cincinnati Opera; Goodbye, Mr. Chips (Rivers/Ralston), recording and film; Don Giovanni (title role), Joburg Theatre, Johannesburg; Der fliegende Holländer (title role), The Magic Flute (Sarastro), The Rake’s Progress (Nick Shadow); Faust (Mephistopheles); Don Carlos (Philippe II); Nabucco (Zaccaria); Rigoletto (Sparafucile); La Fanciulla del West (Jack Rance)

Meet the Creative Team

KWAMÉ

RYAN

CONDUCTOR

WNO History: Porgy & Bess, 2024–2025

Past: Currently, Music Director of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. Guest conducts at Radio Orchestras of Stuttgart and Bavaria, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Staatsoper Saarbrücken, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Opera de la Bastille, Opera de Lyon, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Houston, Boston Lyric Opera, English National Opera, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Scottish Symphony, the London Philharmonia, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and La Monnaie

Meet the Creative Team

RETNA

FRANCESCA ZAMBELLO DIRECTOR

WNO History: As artistic director of Washington National Opera since 2012, Francesca Zambello has directed more than 30 WNO operas; in the spring of 2016, she directed WNO’s first-ever complete cycle of The Ring of the Nibelung

Past: Artistic and General Director, Emerita of The Glimmerglass Festival in Central New York; she has directed at major opera houses and festivals all over the world.

KATRINA BACHUS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

WNO History: WNO debut

Past: Dead Man Walking, San Francisco Opera, associate director; associate and assistant stage director at U.S. opera companies including the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago

ARTISTIC DESIGN

WNO History: Aida, 2017–2018

Past: Los Angeles-based RETNA (Marquis Lewis) is a globally acclaimed contemporary artist celebrated for his unique script-like visual language that bridges ancient calligraphy and modern graffiti. Known for his monumental murals, RETNA paintings have become prominent in both gallery and urban art scenes and in collaborations with Louis Vuitton, Nike, Justn Bieber and others.

MICHAEL YEARGAN

SCENIC DESIGNER

WNO History: Aida, 2017–2018, plus numerous productions since 1994, including The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me, The Ring Cycle, Carmen, Werther, Madama Butterfly, A Streetcar Named Desire, Vanessa, La bohème, Susannah, and La finta giardianera

Past: Lincoln Center Theater credits include Tony and Drama Desk awards for South Pacific, The Light in the Piazza, and Edward Albee's Seascape; Tony nominations for My Fair Lady, Oslo, The King and I (also Outer Critics’ Circle Award nomination), Golden Boy, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Awake and Sing! (also Drama Desk Award); Blood and Gifts, Cymbeline. Broadway credits include: The Ritz, Bad Habits, A Lesson From Aloes, The Road to Mecca (Roundabout Theatre Company), The Bridges of Madison County and Fiddler on the Roof. Additional credits include Off-Broadway, regional and London productions (including Porgy and Bess at English National Opera), ten productions at the Metropolitan Opera, and work at major opera companies throughout the United States, Europe and Australia.

Meet the Creative Team

ANITA YAVICH

COSTUME DESIGNER

WNO History: Fidelio, 2024–2025; Aida, 2017–2018; Salome, 2010–2011; Das Rheingold, 2005–2006; Die Walküre, 2003–2004

Past: Recent designs include Floyd Collins and Yellow Face on Broadway, Taylor Mac’s Prosperous Fools at Theatre for a New Audience, and Galileo at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Opera credits include The Monkey King, San Francisco Opera; The Ring Cycle, Opera Australia; Cyrano de Bergerac, La Scala, Metropolitan Opera, and Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Les Troyens, Metropolitan Opera; The Rape of Lucretia, Houston Grand Opera; Ainadamar, Tanglewood; Steve Reich’s Three Tales, Vienna Festival and international tour; Der Fliegende Holländer, The Silver River, Facing Goya, and Madama Butterfly, Spoleto Festival USA. She has received Lucille Lortel, Obie, Drama Desk, and Ovation awards.

PETER W. MITCHELL

REVIVAL LIGHTING DESIGNER

WNO History: Aida, 2017–2018

Past: Aida, Lyric Opera Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera; West Side Story, Houston Grand Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival; Porgy & Bess, Cincinnati Opera, Fort Worth Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival; Odyssey, Scalia/Ginsburg, Trouble in Tahiti, Wilde Tales, Robin Hood, The Glimmerglass Festival; Odyssey, Metropolitan Museum of Art

MARK McCULLOUGH

ORIGINAL LIGHTING DESIGNER

WNO History: Lighting design for more than 30 productions, most recently including Porgy & Bess, 2024-2025; The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me, 2023–2024, 2013–2014; Elektra, 2022–2023; Così fan tutte, Written in Stone, 2021–2022

Past: Lighting design for productions at the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro Real in Madrid, Royal Opera House, Opera national du Rhin, Opera North, The Dallas Opera, Opera de Montreal, The Glimmerglass Festival, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, New York City Opera, and Seattle Opera

JESSICA LANG

CHOREOGRAPHER

WNO History: Turandot, 2023–2024; Aida, 2017–2018

Past: Stabat Mater, Glimmerglass Festival, Lincoln Center White Light Festival; Aida, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, LA Opera; Her Notes, Garden Blue, ZigZag, Let Me Sing Forevermore, American Ballet Theatre; founder of Jessica Lang Dance company

HELEN ABERGER

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

WNO History: WNO debut

Past: Aberger is a director, assistant director, and intimacy choreographer. Assistant directing credits include Così fan tutte, Carmen, Don Giovanni, The Barber of Seville, Siegfried, Virginia Opera; Idomeneo, Opera Neo. Directing credits include A Loving Community, Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World, Virginia Opera; Proving Up, Maryland Opera Studio/University of Maryland; The Zoo, Trial By Jury, H.M.S. Pinafore, Princess Ida, The Mikado, Victorian Lyric Opera Company

Meet the Creative Team

DUSTIN Z WEST

STAGE MANAGER

WNO History: Fidelio, Porgy and Bess, 2024–2025; Grounded, Songbird (assistant stage manager), Turandot, 2023–2024; Elektra, The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson (assistant director), 2022–2023. Past: Sunday in the Park with George, Elizabeth Cree, La bohème, The Sound of Music, The Barber of Seville, Scalia/Ginsburg at The Glimmerglass Festival, where West is currently production stage manager; Dialogues des Carmélites, The Turn of the Screw, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Juilliard; West Side Story, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari; Fidelio, Heartbeat Opera; Portrait and a Dream, Contemporaneous; The Ghosts of Versailles, Royal Opera de Versailles; REV. 23, Prototype; JoAnne Akalaitis’ Bad News!, NYU Skirball; Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps, Baryshinikov Arts Center/ Da Camera; Jules Verne: From Earth to the Moon, Brooklyn Academy of Music

Production Staff

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS .... LAUREL MCINTYRE, BETHANY WINDHAM, ADRIAN SPETH

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT .................................................................................. ELLORA VENKAT

ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNERS ............................................... PAUL CALLAHAN, EMILY PAN

SURTITLE COORDINATOR AND OPERATOR ...................................................... ISABEL MARTIN

HAIR AND MAKE-UP HEAD .................................................................................

ADELE THORPE

WARDROBE SUPERVISOR ............................................................................................. AMY CARR

WARDROBE SUPERVISOR ASSISTANT SABADO LAM

Washington National Opera Chorus

Spencer Adamson §

Gustavo Ahualli

Alex Alburqueque §

Amy Allen §

Anthony Anderson

Jennifer Royall Anderson §

David Artz §

Anthony P. Ballard

Michael Bicoy §

J Austin Bitner §

Emily Buttram

Eduardo Castro §

Suzanne S. Chadwick §

Jihanna Charlton-Davis §

Joseph Chee

Alexandra Christoforakis §

Alexandra Coburn

Elisa Cordova

Keith Craig §

Alice Dillon §

Aurelio Dominguez §

Douglas S. Dykstra §

Kehembe V. Eichelberger §

Angeli Jemilda Ferrette §

Lance Fisher

Daniel Fleming

Christopher Fotis

Harvey D. Fort §

Gene Galvin

Denise Gulley §

Justin Harrison

Nicholas Houhoulis §

Alizon Hull §

Leah Inger §

Annadaire Ingram §

Jennifer Jellings

Wayne Jennings §

William Jones §

Alina Kirshon-Goldman

Young Joo Lee §

Jennifer Mathews §

Danielle McKay

Neema Meena

Noah Mond

David B. Morris §

Seong Won Nam §

Tjaden O'Dowd Cox

Andrew Sauvageau §

Daniel Sherwood

Pamela Simonson Parker §

Sean Pflueger §

Vito Pietanza §

Patricia Portillo §

Erin Ridge

Reyna Sawtell

Julie Silva

Bharati Soman

Alia Waheed §

Louisa Waycott

Amira Young § Washington National Opera Chorus members with 10 or more seasons of service

Washington National Opera Supernumeraries

Michael Changwe

Raul Heredia

Andrew Huff

Larry Hull

Reiniero “Rey” Rivera

Stephen Sollenberger

Mickey Trimarchi

Darrell Whipple

Washington National Opera Corps of Dancers

Dony’ae Bush

Maverick Lemons

Olivier Medus

Youth Dancers

Lily Eckardt

Madelyn Forst

Damien Hudson

Taemon Hudson

Chivas Merchant-Buckman

Antonio Montalvo

Nicholas Sipes

Liam Jezek

Kolette Kooc

Jerrell Morgan

Emily Venkataraman

Mackenzie Walker

Colette Yang

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA ORCHESTRA

ROBERT SPANO, MUSIC DIRECTOR

VIOLIN I

Oleg Rylatko, Concertmaster

Eric Lee, Associate Concertmaster

Ko Sugiyama, Assistant Concertmaster

Zino Bogachek + Ran Huo

Michelle Kim

Karen Lowry-Tucker

Susan Midkiff

Kelly Cho*

Cristina Constantinescu*

Anne Donaldson*

Sonya Hayes*

Jennifer Himes*

VIOLIN II

Kayla Moffett, Principal

Najin Kim, Assistant Principal

Richard Chang + Xi Chen

Martha Kaufman

Timothy Macek

Victoria Noyes

Rhea Chung*

VIOLA

Allyson Goodman, Principal

Johanna Nowik, Assistant Principal

Philippe Chao+

Leon Neal

Elizabeth Pulju-Owen

Uri Wassertzug

Ashley Vandiver*

CELLO

Amy Frost Baumgarten, Principal

Danielle Cho, Assistant Principal

Ignacio Alcover + Alastair Eng

Kristen Wojcik

Igor Zubkovsky

BASS

Robert D'Imperio, Principal

Frank Carnovale, Assistant Principal

Alec Hiller*

Edgardo Malaga*

FLUTE

Adria Sternstein Foster, Principal

Stephani Stang-Ferry, Assistant Principal

Sandra del Cid-Davies

PICCOLO

Sandra del Cid-Davies

OBOE

Igor Leschishin, Principal

Emily Tsai, Assistant Principal

David Garcia*

ENGLISH HORN

Jessica Warren*

CLARINET

David Jones, Principal

Sara Han, Assistant Principal

Ashley Booher^

BASS CLARINET

Ashley Booher^

Kathy Mulcahy*

BASSOON

Joseph Grimmer, Principal

Christopher Jewell, Assistant Principal

Samuel Blair

CONTRABASSOON

Samuel Blair

HORN

Geoffrey Pilkington Principal ^

Christy Klenke, Assistant Principal

Wei-Ping Chou

Peter de Boor

Evan Geiger

Chandra Cervantes*

Shona Goldberg-Leopold*

TRUMPET

Tim White, Principal Christopher Tranchitella, Assistant Principal

Michael Rossi

TROMBONE

Lee Rogers, Principal

Andrew Zaharis, Assistant Principal

BASS TROMBONE

Randy Hawes*

TUBA

Seth Cook, Principal

TIMPANI

Jonathan Rance, Principal

Greg Akagi, Assistant Principal

PERCUSSION

John Spirtas, Principal Greg Akagi

HARP

Susan Robinson, Principal

ONSTAGE TRUMPET

Philippe Brunet* Kelley Corbett* Brandon Eubank* Kevin Gebo*

HARPSICHORD

Michael Baitzer*

LIBRARIAN

Shelley R. Friedman

ORCHESTRA STAFF

Molly Jackson, Orchestra Personnel Manager

+ Begins alphabetical listing of musicians who participate in a system of revolving chairs within the string section * Guest musician ^ On leave

Washington National Opera Orchestra musicians are represented by Metropolitan DC Federation of Musicians, AFM Local 161-710.

NOVEMBER 14–22, 2025 | OPERA HOUSE

THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO

MUSIC BY WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART LIBRETTO BY LORENZO DA PONTE

In Italian with projected English titles

This performance is approximately three hours and 15 minutes, with one 25-minute intermission.

THANK YOU TO OUR SEASON SPONSORS

WNO Season Sponsor

Official Airline of the WNO Season

Jacqueline Badger Mars Dallas Morse Coors

The Dr. M. Lee Pearce Foundation, Inc. Chevron Prince Charitable Trusts

Cast and Creative

THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO

MUSIC BY WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

LIBRETTO BY LORENZO DA PONTE

NOVEMBER 14-16, 18, 20, & 22, 2025

COUNTESS ALMAVIVA | ROSA FEOLA (11/14, 16, 18, 20, 22)

ANNELIESE KLENETSKY ^ (11/15)

SUSANNA | YARITZA VÉLIZ * (11/14, 16, 18, 20, 22)

VIVIANA GOODWIN ^ (11/15)

CHERUBINO | JOHN HOLIDAY (11/14, 16, 18, 20, 22)

VERONICA SIEBERT ^* (11/15)

COUNT ALMAVIVA | WILL LIVERMAN (11/14, 16, 18, 20, 22)

THANDOLWETHU MAMBA ^* (11/15)

FIGARO | LE BU (11/14, 16, 18, 20, 22)

ROBERT FRAZIER ^*(11/15)

BARBARINA | LAUREN CARROLL

MARCELLINA | ELIZABETH BISHOP (11/14,16, 18, 20, 22)

MICHELLE MARIPOSA ^ (11/15)

DON BASILIO | RODELL ROSEL * (11/14,16, 18, 20, 22)

NICHOLAS HUFF ^ (11/15)

DON CURZIO | HAKEEM HENDERSON ^*

DR. BARTOLO | SIR WILLARD WHITE * (11/14, 16, 18, 20, 22)

ATTICUS REGO ^* (11/15)

ANTONIO | KEVIN THOMPSON (11/14, 16, 18, 20, 22)

CHANDLER BENN ^* (11/15)

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA ORCHESTRA

WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA CHORUS

CONDUCTOR | ROBERT SPANO DIRECTOR | PETER KAZARAS

SET DESIGNER | BENOIT DUGARDYN

COSTUME DESIGNER | MYUNG HEE CHO

LIGHTING DESIGNER | A.J. GUBAN

ORIGINAL LIGHTING DESIGNER | MARK M c CULLOUGH

CHOREOGRAPHER | KARMA CAMP

INTIMACY COORDINATOR | LORRAINE RESSEGGER-SLONE

COVER CONDUCTOR | KEN WEISS

CHORUS MASTER | STEVEN GATHMAN

ASSISTANT CONDUCTORS | MICHAEL BAITZER, DEVEN SHAH

DICTION COACH | KEN WEISS

* WNO MAINSTAGE DEBUT

^ MEMBER OF THE CAFRITZ YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAM

† ALUMNUS OF THE CAFRITZ YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAM

Synopsis

Part I

Count Almaviva’s servants, Figaro and Susanna, prepare for their wedding. Figaro finds their new quarters—between the Count and Countess’ rooms—convenient, but Susanna fears that the Count will continue to make advances toward her. Meanwhile, Bartolo plots against Figaro for having helped the Count win the hand of his former ward, now the Countess, whom he had hoped to marry. He is abetted by his housekeeper Marcellina, who hopes to force Figaro to marry her in acquittal of a loan he cannot repay.

When the Count discovers that the pageboy Cherubino has overheard him flirting with Susanna, he postpones Figaro’s wedding and assigns Cherubino to a distant military post.

The Countess has decided to help Figaro and Susanna, hoping also to win back her wayward husband’s affections. Figaro outlines a plot to embarrass his master by arranging a tryst in the garden between Susanna and the Count, except Cherubino will take Susanna’s place. When Susanna leaves to alter the dress Cherubino will wear, the Count’s voice is heard outside the door. As Cherubino hides in the closet, the Countess nervously admits her husband. Hearing a noise from the closet, the Count demands to know who is inside. When the Count angrily leaves to fetch a crowbar to force the closet door open, Susanna helps Cherubino escape through the window and takes his place in the closet.

As the young people beg the Count to allow the wedding to proceed, Marcellina, Bartolo and Basilio burst in and appeal to the Count to adjudicate Marcellina’s lawsuit against Figaro. The encounter ends in a stalemate and confusion.

INTERMISSION

Part II

Without alerting Figaro, Susanna and the Countess devise a variation on his plot against his master. Susanna promises the Count a rendezvous, but the Countess, disguised in her maid’s clothes, will meet him there.

Don Curzio, a counselor-at-law, has decided the lawsuit in Marcellina’s favor. The proceedings also reveal Figaro is the son of a past romance between Bartolo and Marcellina. Susanna, Figaro, and their new in-laws happily prepare for a double wedding. The Countess dictates Susanna’s letter to the Count, naming the place where they are to meet, and Susanna soon slips her note to the Count.

That evening in the garden, Barbarina innocently informs Figaro of the rendezvous between the Count and “Susanna.” Figaro delivers a diatribe against the perfidy of women.

Thinking, as does the watchful Figaro, that the Countess is Susanna, the Count passionately courts his own wife, urging her to meet him later in the arbor. As Figaro prepares to punish the guilty pair, Susanna, dressed as the Countess, reappears. Figaro quickly sees through her disguise, and the two make peace. Figaro then pretends to woo the “Countess” in order to provoke the Count. Witnessing this, the Count is deaf to pleas for mercy until the real Countess appears, revealing her identity and the Count’s mistake. The Count begs forgiveness, the Countess grants it, and all rejoice.

Background

In 1785, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed what is often called the perfect opera. According to the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte (1749-1838), it was he who convinced Emperor Joseph II that Mozart should be allowed to compose an Italian opera based on the scandalous second play in Pierre-Augustin Beaumarchais’ Figaro trilogy.

It is more likely, however, that the sensation surrounding the play’s recent ban in France and Vienna (censors deemed its comic depictions of class conflicts, with servants outwitting their masters, unsuitable for public consumption), along with the incredible success of Paisiello’s opera The Barber of Seville (1783), based on the third play in the Figaro trilogy, intrigued Mozart, leading him to Beaumarchais’ work and a concept for the opera. Whatever the origin, after compromises were made regarding offensive political and sexual material from the original play, Joseph II permitted the opera’s creation. Mozart composed The Marriage of Figaro in six weeks, and its Vienna premiere was met with positive, if not ecstatic, acclaim. On the strength of Figaro, Mozart and Da Ponte were commissioned to compose Don Giovanni (1787) and Così fan tutte (1790), resulting in a trilogy of operas that guaranteed Mozart’s reputation as the most significant opera composer of the 18th century.

Figaro is commonly recognized as the first comic opera to infuse the opera buffa form with true emotional poignancy. With an eloquence and economy of musical gesture, Mozart transformed the stereotypes of opera buffa and commedia dell’arte into a work full of complex and realistic characters. Figaro was the first comic opera to sincerely humanize the farcical elements, allowing audiences to relate to the characters on stage. It is this sense of honest connection which has made Figaro the most frequently performed opera in the world.

Director’s Note

The Marriage of Figaro takes its inspiration from the play by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, written in 1778, but not performed publicly until 1784 because of concerns by King Louis XVI and his censors. Its overt criticism of the class system was too revolutionary! An instant hit, it came to the attention of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who had the idea to turn the scandalous French play into an opera. His collaborator Lorenzo Da Ponte fashioned the brilliant libretto in a mere six weeks, toning down some of the criticism of the nobility in order to please Emperor Joseph II.

Beaumarchais was obsessed with timepieces, and the notion of time lies at the very heart of this piece—the subtitle of the play is The Crazy Day. It all takes place in less than 24 hours, a day in which Figaro and Susanna are focused on one goal—to be married while avoiding any pitfalls along the way. But everyone else in the household is determined to throw boulders in their path. Chief among are: Count Almaviva, who wants to bed Susanna before (or after?) she is wed; Doctor Bartolo and Marcellina, who insist that unless Figaro pays off a debt he owes to Marcellina he must marry her, as he promised years ago in a contract that she still carries clutched to her person; the slacker Cherubino, a charmer who torments everyone with his horniness and relishes just getting in the way; the busybody gossip music teacher Don Basilio, who so enjoys everyone else’s misfortune; and last but not least, Countess Almaviva, who is trying to reclaim the love of her husband, to whom she has only been married for three years! So much drama in one household, and so very human.

Figaro and Susanna must navigate their way through these various minefields while still executing their household duties as lady’s maid to the Countess and valet to the Count. Although we think of them at first as merely comic characters, we come to realize that because of their love for each other, along with their innate cleverness and tenacity, they are truly heroic. Once they are eventually married, in Part II, we understand that the real brains behind this operation is, of course, Susanna herself. She has one extremely important job to accomplish now that she is finally married to her beloved Figaro—she must teach him to trust her and to keep his head on straight instead of acting impulsively.

By the end of the day we understand that while all of the characters have changed, they will probably all eventually revert to their old ways. Yet along the way, they have revealed how very fallible and human they, and we, all are. Is it not, after all, the possibility of forgiveness, as expressed so lovingly by the Countess, that makes it possible for all of us to continue to love?

—Peter Kazaras

Welcoming the Music Director

With this production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Robert Spano formally steps into the role of WNO Music Director, after conducting a new production of Beethoven’s Fidelio and a special Wagner program, Gods & Mortals, in the 2024–25 season as Music Director Designate.

That Spano is already at home at WNO is evident, thanks largely to longstanding creative endeavors with Artistic Director Francesco Zambello. The two met three decades ago, as emerging artists at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and first collaborated on an awardwinning production of Britten’s Billy Budd at Covent Garden in 1995. They have since worked together on productions ranging from the WNO world premiere of Written in Stone, an ambitious 2022 work consisting of four stories told in music by four different creative teams, to a 2023 Aspen Music Festival and School production of Mozart’s Idomeneo, which found Spano conducting on stage, barefoot—at his own suggestion. With the action set in Crete, and a T-shirt-clad orchestra on stage with the singers, why not? “It added wonderful visual harmony to the overall stage picture, and it showed how much he cared about the theatrical totality of everything,” Zambello remembers.

Opera has been foremost in Spano’s mind throughout his career, which includes a 20-year tenure as music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, music directorship of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra since 2022, conducting spots with the world’s major opera companies and orchestras, and four Grammy Awards. Two of those Grammys resulted from the recording of Osvaldo Golijov’s opera Ainadamar. Spano conducted the world premiere at Tanglewood in 2003. An ensuing collaboration with Kelley O’Connor, who was featured in that production, led to the release this past August of Songs of Orpheus. It includes the song cycle, Sonnets of Orpheus, which he composed for the mezzo-soprano.

A chance to focus on opera drew Spano to WNO. “Conductors get labeled symphonic conductor or opera conductor. But I’ve been very lucky in my life. I’ve always managed to keep operatic engagements as part of my calendar every season,” he says. The collaboration with singers is “a special kind of joy,” he says, as is the attention paid to visuals. “There’s so much richness to the full spectrum of what happens in an opera. And then just as a musician, I am fascinated with how dramatic time works in relation to musical time.”

Education and mentorship have been other constants in Spano’s career. He has served as music director of the Aspen Festival and School since 2011, overseeing events and educational programs for more than 600 students and young performers. At WNO, he is part of the mentorship committee for American Opera Initiative, which supports the next generation of composers and librettists by bringing together three teams each year for the creation of one-act operas. Spano will conduct the world premieres of this year’s resulting AOI works on January 24. He’ll round out his first season as conductor for a new production of Robert Ward’s The Crucible, March 19–29.

First, though, comes Figaro. “No doubt The Marriage of Figaro remains one of the world’s most beloved operas because of its encompassing humanity,” says Spano. “It embraces the spectrum of our experience: our foibles, pettiness, and even zaniness as well as our tenderness, our passions, and above all our capacity to forgive.”

Meet the Artists

ROSA FEOLA

SOPRANO | COUNTESS ALMAVIVA

WNO History: Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), 2023–2024

Past: Il Viaggio a Reims (Corinna), L’elisir d’amore (Adina), Rigoletto (Gilda), Don Pasquale (Norina), The Marriage of Figaro (Susanna), La Sonnambula (Amina), performing at houses including La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Opernhaus Zürich, Bayerische Staatsoper, Ravenna Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Teatro Regio Torino, Salzburg Festival and Deutsche Oper Berlin

ANNELIESE KLENETSKY

SOPRANO | COUNTESS

ALMAVIVA

WNO History: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, American Opera Initiative (Connie in Tati), Macbeth (Lady-in-Waiting), Gods & Mortals, 2024–2025

Past: Alcina (Alcina), Yale Opera; Cold Mountain (Ada), Music Academy of the West; La traviata (Violetta, cover), Der Rosenkavalier (Dressmaker, cover), Santa Fe Opera; Turn of the Screw (Governess); Clori, Tirsi e Fileno (Clori); L’enfant et les sortilèges (La Bergère); district winner of The Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition, finalist of the Butler International Competition

YARITZA VÉLIZ

SOPRANO

| SUSANNA

WNO History: WNO debut

Past: La traviata (Violetta), Norwegian National Opera, National Theatre Prague; Don Giovanni (Donna Elvira), Opéra de Rouen; I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Giulietta), Opéra national de Lorraine, L’elisir d’amore (Adina), Santa Fe Opera; La bohème (Mimì), Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and the Glyndebourne Festival; Rodelina (title role), Aspen Music Festival

VIVIANA GOODWIN

SOPRANO | SUSANNA

WNO History: Porgy & Bess (Clara), American Rhapsody, American Opera Initiative (Maysoon in Tati), Macbeth (Crowned Child), Gods & Mortals, Jungle Book (Hyena), 2024–2025

Past: Orphée et Eurydice (Eurydice), The Rake’s Progress (Anne Truelove), Don Giovanni (Donna Elvira), Die tote Stadt (Marietta), La bohème (Musetta)

Meet the Artists

JOHN HOLIDAY

COUNTERTENOR | CHERUBINO

WNO History: 2017 Marian Anderson Vocal Award

Past: Akhnaten (title role), Komische Oper Berlin; Mitridate, re di Ponto (Farnace), Boston Lyric Opera; Le Grand Macabre (Prince Go-Go), Dido and Aeneas, Atlanta Opera; The Manchurian Candidate (Andrew Hanley), Minnesota Opera; Les pêcheurs de perles (Zurga), Austin Opera; The Little Prince (The Pilot), Tulsa Opera; Jenůfa (Foreman at the Mill), Santa Fe Opera; The Reverend (Sorceress/Spirit), Bayerische Staatsoper; The Hours (Man Under Arch/Hotel Clerk), Metropolitan Opera; We Shall Not Be Moved (world premiere), Opera Philadelphia, Dutch National Opera; Xerxes (title role), The Glimmerglass Festival; Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Cesare), Wolf Trap Opera

VERONICA SIEBERT

MEZZO-SOPRANO | CHERUBINO

WNO History: WNO debut

Past: Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Mustardseed, Hermia cover), Opera Theatre of St. Louis; The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (Rosa Saks), Indiana University (world premiere); National Opera Association Carolyn Bailey Argento Fellowship; Ravinia Steans Institute Fellow; Gerdine Young Artist, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, where she received the Barbara and Stanley Richman Career Development Award.

WILL LIVERMAN

BARITONE | COUNT ALMAVIVA

WNO History: Marian Anderson Award, 2020–2021

Past: X, The Life and Times of Malcom X (title role), Fire Shut Up in My Bones (Charles), The Magic Flute (Papageno), Marnie (Malcolm Fleet), Akhnaten (Horemhab), Metropolitan Opera; La bohème (Marcello), Lyric Opera of Chicago; Peter Grimes (Ned Keene), Dutch National Opera: Pelléas et Mélisande (title role), LA Opera; The Marriage of Figaro (Figaro), Houston, Seattle, Virginia, Kentucky, Madison, and Utah Operas; The Love of Three Oranges (Pantalone), Opera Philadelphia; Le Comte Ory (Raimbaud) Seattle Opera

THANDOLWETHU MAMBA

BARITONE | COUNT ALMAVIVA

WNO History: WNO Debut

Past: X: The Life and Times of Malcom X (Afrofuturistic Ensemble), Metropolitan Opera; La Fanciulla del West (Sonora), North Carolina Opera; The Marriage of Figaro (Figaro), Gianni Schicchi (Gianni), La traviata (Baron Duophol), Carmen (Dancaïro), performances with Opera Orlando, Opera Wilmington, Frost Opera Theater, Si parla, si canta, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and Florida Grand Opera

Meet the Artists

LE BU

BASS-BARITONE | FIGARO

WNO History: Turandot (Mandarin), 2023–2024

Past: Don Carlo (Flemish Deputy), The Magic Flute (Second Guard), Tosca (Angelotti), Salome (First Nazarene), Metropolitan Opera; Rigoletto (Monterone), Santa Fe Opera; The Marriage of Figaro (Bartolo), Aspen Opera Theater; La bohème (Colline), Silent Night (French General), Wolf Trap Opera; First Prize, Operalia 2024; Grand Finals Winner, Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, 2022

ROBERT FRAZIER

BASS-BARITONE

| FIGARO

WNO History: WNO Debut

Past: The Marriage of Figaro (Figaro); Così fan tutte (Don Alfonso, Guglielmo); The Magic Flute (Sarastro, Sprecher); Cendrillon (Pandolfe); Dialogues des Carmélites (Marquis de la Force); John Carroll’s Troubleshooting (Rory): Leigha Amick’s Rhiannon’s Condemnation (Iorwert); Salome (Cappadocian), American Apollo (Jimmy O'Donnelly/Mr. Carhart), Des Moines Opera

ELIZABETH BISHOP

MEZZO-SOPRANO | MARCELLINA

WNO History: Die Walküre (Siegline), Tristan und Isolde (Brangäne), Götterdämerung (Second Norn), Falstaff (Meg Page), Hamlet (Gertrude), Don Carlo (Eboli), Madama Butterfly (Suzuki), Otello (Emilia), The Dangerous Liaisons (Marquise de Merteuil), among others

Past: Recent performances include The Marriage of Figaro (Marcellina), Metropolitan Opera; Salome (Herodias), Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Cendrillon (Madame de la Haltière), Lyric Opera of Chicago; Die Tote Stadt (Brigitta), Opera Colorado.

MICHELLE MARIPOSA

MEZZO-SOPRANO | MARCELLINA

WNO History: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, American Opera Initiative (Poly 2 in Mud Girl), Jungle Book (Raksha), Gods & Mortals, 2024–2025

Past: The Nose (Ensemble, Countess, Podtochina cover), Chicago Opera Theater; winner 2025 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, winner of the Lynne Cooper Harvey Foundation Award in the Musicians Club of Women 2024 Vocal Competition, winner of the Sullivan Award from the Sullivan Foundation

Meet the Artists

RODELL ROSEL

TENOR | DON BASILIO

WNO History: WNO debut

Past: Der Rosenkavalier (Valzacchi), Metropolitan Opera; The Letter (Ong Chi Seng), Santa Fe Opera; Great Scott (Anthony Candolino), Dallas Opera; The Magic Flute (Monostatos), Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Los Angeles Opera, Metropolitan Opera; Turandot (Calaf), Opera Southwest; Pagliacci (Beppe), Austin Lyric Opera; Das Rheingold (Loge), Calgary Opera; Grand Prize Winner, Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition

NICHOLAS HUFF

TENOR | DON BASILIO

WNO History: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, American Opera Initiative (Zach in Cry, Wolf), Jungle Book (Shere Khan), Macbeth (Malcolm), 2024-2025

Past: Don Giovanni (Don Ottavio), The Turn of the Screw (Peter Quint), A Streetcar Named Desire (Mitch), Florida Grand Opera; If I Were You (Fabian Hart), Merola Opera; The Magic Flute (Tamino), Opera Fort Collins; L’elisir d’amore (Nemorino), Miami Lyric Opera

HAKEEM HENDERSON

TENOR | DON CURZIO

WNO History: WNO debut

Past: Treemonisha (Cephus), The Marriage of Figaro (Don Curzio), The Cask of Amontillado (Fortunato), Into the Woods (Rapunzel’s Prince), Bernstein’s MASS (Street Chorus), West Side Story (Big Deal) at 2019 Edinburgh International Festival

SIR WILLIARD WHITE

BASS-BARITONE | DR. BARTOLO

WNO History: WNO Debut

Past: One of the best-loved and most versatile opera stars of the last 40 years, White's illustrious career has taken him to the world’s most prestigious opera houses and concert halls. Recent highlights include Pelléas et Mélisande (Arkel), Dallas Opera; Porgy & Bess (Porgy), Bluebeard’s Castle (Bluebeard), Hungarian State Opera; The Marriage of Figaro (Bartolo), Bayerische Staatsoper; Curlew River (Abbott), Aldeburgh Festival; Justice (Priest, world premiere) and Médée (Créon), Grand Théâtre de Genève; Aida (The King), Royal Danish Opera. White was awarded the CBE in 1995 and was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2004.

Meet the Artists

ATTICUS REGO

BASS | DR. BARTOLO

WNO History: WNO debut

Past: The Marriage of Figaro (Bartolo), Agrippina (Claudio), Sweeney Todd (Judge Turpin, cover), Carmen (Zuniga, cover), The Marriage of Figaro (Bartolo, cover), performances with Chautauqua Opera Company, Wolf Trap Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago Chorus, Cincinnati Opera Chorus

KEVIN THOMPSON

BASS | ANTONIO

WNO History: Elektra, 2022–2023

Past: Don Giovanni (Commendatore), Opera Colorado; Romeo and Juliet (Duke of Verona), Dallas Opera; The Abduction from the Seraglio (Osmin), Opera Grand Rapids; The Little Prince (King/Baobab/Hunter), Utah Opera; Turandot (Timur), Fargo-Moorhead Opera; Rigoletto (Sparafucile), Utah Opera; Aida (The King), Fort Worth Opera

CHANDLER BENN

BASS | ANTONIO

WNO History: WNO debut

Past: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (Joe Kavalier), world premiere co-production, Metropolitan Opera and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music; title roles, Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro; The Merry Widow (Danilo Danilovich)

About the Cafritz Young Artists

Select performances of The Marriage of Figaro feature alumni of the Cafritz Young Artists Program. This WNO initiative offers coaching, career guidance, and performance opportunities for singers and pianists/ coaches on the verge of international careers, and each season Cafritz Young Artists are also spotlighted in mainstage productions.

Cafritz Young Artists graduates have gone on to successful careers including performances with the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, LA Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Santa Fe Opera, Carnegie Hall, Bayreuth Festival, Glyndebourne Festival, Vienna State Opera, and Berlin State Opera. Cafritz Young Artist Michelle Mariposa, mezzo-soprano, was a Grand Finals winner of the 2025 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition.

For more on the Cafritz Young Artists, visit the WNO website at kennedy-center.org.

Meet the Creative Team

ROBERT SPANO

CONDUCTOR, WNO MUSIC DIRECTOR

WNO History: Fidelio, Gods & Mortals, 2024–2025, Written in Stone, 2021–2022

Past: Robert Spano, conductor, pianist, composer, and teacher, is known worldwide for the intensity of his artistry and distinctive communicative abilities, creating a sense of inclusion and warmth among musicians and audiences that is unique among American orchestras. He has been music director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra since 2022. As music director of the Aspen Music Festival and School since 2011, he oversees the programming of more than 300 events and educational programs for 630 students and young performers. After 20 seasons as music director with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, he now serves as music director laureate.

PETER KAZARAS DIRECTOR

WNO History: La bohème, 2022–2023; 2014–2015; The Marriage of Figaro, 2016–2017; The Barber of Seville, 2017–2018; Samson and Delilah, 2019–2020 Past: Inaugural director, Opera UCLA (2004–24); inaugural Susan G. and Mitchel D. Covel, M.D., chair at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music (2016–21); artistic director, Seattle Opera Young Artists Program (2006–13). As tenor, performances at the Metropolitan Opera (premiere, The Ghosts of Versailles), Teatro alla Scala, Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Houston Grand Opera (premieres, A Quiet Place, New Year), among others. Recently, as director: The Marriage of Figaro, An American Dream (world premiere), Seattle Opera; The Thieving Magpie, An American Tragedy, The Glimmerglass Festival; La bohème, Der Ring des Polykrates, The Dallas Opera

DAVID RADAMÉS TORO

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

WNO History: Macbeth, 2024–2025; The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me, 2023–2024; Elektra, 2022–2023; Come Home: A Celebration of Return, 2021; Otello, 2019–2020 Past: As director: Zorro, Arizona Opera, Opera San Jose; Falstaff, Portland Opera; Opera Outdoors, Opera Omaha; Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, Austin Opera, Minnesota Opera; The Marriage of Figaro, TriCities Opera. As associate director: Das Rheingold, Calgary Opera. As assistant director: The Shining, Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

Meet the Creative Team

BENOIT DUGARDYN

SET DESIGNER

WNO History: Anna Bolena, 2012–2013

Past: Born in Brugge‚ Belgium‚ Dugardyn‚ who died in 2018‚ graduated as an architect from the University of Leuven, followed by periods as deputy technical director at La Monnaie and technical director at the Vlaamse Opera. His projects included Lucia di Lammermoor, Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, his final design; La traviata, Magdeburg Opernhaus; Roberto Devereux‚ Maria Stuarda, Anna Bolena, Canadian Opera Company; Carmen, Faust, Santa Fe Opera; Der Rosenkavalier, Bolshoi; Il trovatore, Houston Grand Opera; Otello, Salome, Portland Opera; Die Fledermaus, Grand Théâtre de Genève; and a double bill of Iolanta and Francesca da Rimini, Theater an der Wien; all with director Stephen Lawless.

MYUNG HEE CHO

COSTUME DESIGNER

WNO History: The Marriage of Figaro, 2016–2017

Past: Broadway: For Colored Girls… Off-Broadway: N/A, Lincoln Center Theater; Henry III, As You Like It, Lackawanna Blues, Language of Their Own, 36 Views, Yellow Face, The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival; Wit, Union Square Theatre. Regional: In the Body of the World, Trans Scripts, American Repertory Theatre; Emotional Creature, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Second Stage Theater, McCarter Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Geffen Playhouse, A.C.T.; The Thieving Magpie, The Glimmerglass Festival; Trojan Women, Brooklyn of Music. International credits include the Edinburgh International Festival, Holland Festival; The Magic Flute, Canadian Opera Company.

MARK McCULLOUGH

ORIGINAL LIGHTING DESIGNER

WNO History: Lighting design for more than 30 productions, most recently including Porgy & Bess, 2024-2025; The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me, 2023–2024, 2013–2014; Elektra, 2022–2023; Così fan tutte, Written in Stone, 2021–2022

Past: Lighting design for productions at the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro Real in Madrid, Royal Opera House, Opera national du Rhin, Opera North, The Dallas Opera, Opera de Montreal, The Glimmerglass Festival, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, New York City Opera, and Seattle Opera

A.J. GUBAN

LIGHTING DESIGNER

WNO History: More than 70 productions, including Porgy & Bess, Gods & Mortals, Macbeth, 2024–2025; La bohème, 2022–2023; Il trovatore, The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson, 2022–2023; Come Home: A Celebration of Return, 2021–2022; Taking Up Serpents, 2019–2020; Proving Up, 2018–2019; The Dictator’s Wife, 2017–2018; WNO Galas 2017–2021; American Opera Initiative, 2016–2025, Better Gods, Don Giovanni, 2016–2017; Penny, 2015–2016

Past: Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs, National Symphony Orchestra; Kennedy Center 50th Anniversary Concert on PBS; The Turn of the Screw, Opera Cleveland; Silvain, Opera Lafayette; A Tale of Two Cities, Synetic Theater; Champion, Opéra de Montréal, New Orleans Opera; La traviata Atlanta Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Seattle Opera; West Side Story, Teatro di Cagliari

Meet the Creative Team

KARMA CAMP

CHOREOGRAPHER

WNO History: Numerous productions since the world premiere of Goya, 1986–1987, directed by Gian Carlo Menotti (associate choreographer, dancer), including Carmen, Lillas Pastia, The Magic Flute, Vanessa, Un ballo in maschera (dancer), and a Cafritz Young Artists Program performance of Menotti’s The Consul at the Supreme Court, 2019–2020

Past: Kennedy Center Honors, Tribute to Justino Diaz: Candide, Baltimore Opera; Street Scene, Wolf Trap Opera Company; Viva Puccini, Virginia Opera Company; The Light In the Piazza, Opera Montreal; master teacher, McGill University Opera Program, Interlochen, L’Atelier Lyrique at Opera Montreal

DIANE LIN

STAGE MANAGER

WNO History: Over 60 productions since 2024. Favorites include: Macbeth, 2024–2025; The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me, 2023–2024, 2018–2019, 2013–2014; Silent Night, 2018–2019; Candide, 2017–2018; The Little Prince, 2016–2017, 2014–2015; The Ring Cycle, Appomattox, 2015–2016; Peter Grimes, 2008–2009

Past: Carmen, Silent Night, Semele, Don Giovanni, Wolf Trap Opera; Radamisto, Opera Lafayette; The Marriage of Figaro, Opera Philadelphia; Central City Opera stage management staff, 2006–2016; supertitle coordinator, Vocal Arts DC

Production Staff

Assistant Director .........................................................................................

David Radamès Toro

Assistant Stage Managers .................................................................. Allison Bailey, Leslie Sears

Production Assistant ..................................................................................................... Leica Long

Assistant Technical Director ...................................................................................... Sean Miller

Assistant Lighting Designers Paul Callahan, Mallory Miller

Surtitles Operator Isabel Martin

Surtitles Coordinator Corinne Hayes

Hair and Make-Up Head Adele Thorpe

Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor ..................................................................................... Amy Carr

Assistant Lighting Designer–Spots ..................................................................... Malory Hartman

^ Washington National Opera AGMA production staff member with 10 or more seasons of service

Washington National Opera Chorus

Joseph Baker

Marta Kirilloff Barber §

Cornelius David

Grace Gori §

Sammy Huh

Shaina Kuhn §

Brittani McNeill

Colby Mullen

Isabel O’Hagan

Aaron Reeder §

James Shaffran §

Abigail Wright

§ Washington National Opera Chorus members with 10 or more seasons of service

Washington National Opera Supernumeraries

Wim De Groof

Bill Donovan

Kieth Flores

Jacob Lunsford

Misha Polonsky

Matt Sommers

Philippos Sourvinos

Gary Sullivan

Charles Taylor

Victor Yager

Washington National Opera Staff

Timothy O’Leary

General Director of WNO

Francesca Zambello

Artistic Director of WNO

ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNANCE

Kathleen Dean, Director of Administration and Governance

Shiyana Valentine, Constituent Relations and Audience Development Manager

Keely Fravel, Strategy and Operations Coordinator

ARTISTIC PLANNING AND OPERATIONS

Samuel Gelber, Director of Artistic Planning and Operations

Giuliana Zanoni, Senior Manager of Artistic Planning and Operations

Sophie Dolamore, Assistant Manager of Artistic Planning and Operations

MUSIC STAFF

Michael Baitzer, Head of Music Staff

Steven Gathman, Chorus Master

Ken Weiss, Music Administrator

Shelley Friedman, Music Librarian

WNO ORCHESTRA STAFF

Molly Jackson, Orchestra Personnel Manager, KCOHO/WNOO

CAFRITZ YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAM & THE AMERICAN OPERA INITIATIVE

Christopher Cano, Director of the Cafritz Young Artists Program and the American Opera Initiative

Kelley Rourke, Artistic Advisor, American Opera Initiative

Caitlin Oldham, Assistant Manager, Cafritz Young Artist Program

DEVELOPMENT

Sharmin Mahmud Price, Managing Director for Advancement

Nicole Woods, Director, Individual Giving and Operations

Heather Whitpan, Manager of Stewardship

EDUCATION

Ashi Day, Manager, Music and WNO Education

MARKETING

Scott Bushnell, Senior Director, Creative and Brand Strategy

Lily Maroni, Senior Manager, Advertising Communications

Lizzie Stoltz, Advertising Production & Special Projects Assistant Manger

OFFICE OF THE GENERAL DIRECTOR

Melanie Leinbach, Executive Assistant to the General Director

PRODUCTION

Chelsea Antrim Dennis, Director of Production

Cayley Carroll, Production Operations Manager

Elizabeth Ventura, Senior Manager of Rehearsal Department

Diane Lin, Production Stage Manager

Charlotte Cugnini, Assistant Manager Rehearsal: Artist Services

Liam Hurley, Rehearsal Coordinator: Artist Services

Rebecca Silva, Leigh DeWitte, Margaret Warner, Allison Bailey, Elle Sullivan, Mia Athey, Isabel McLane, Mel Mader, Alice Wilson Production Office Assistants

COSTUMES

Mark Hamberger, Costume Director

Timm Burrow, Costume Design Manager

AnaMarie Nelson, Costume Workroom Manager

Samantha M. Wootten, Wig Master

Stephanie Parks, Assistant Costume Coordinator

Megan Repetski, Assistant Costume Coordinator

William Nelson, Draper

Kristin Patrick, Draper

Stacey Hamilton, First Hand

Stella Pivnik, First Hand

Darcy Chapman, Stitcher

Emily Cosma, Stitcher

Sierra Henderson, Stitcher

Angela McLean, Stitcher

Ariana Peck, Stitcher

Rose Peele, Stitcher

Autumn Rekus, Stitcher

Amy VanderStaay, Stitcher

Joshua Kelley, Crafts Artisan

TECHNICAL

Paul Taylor, Technical Director

Christy Blackham, Associate Technical Director

Sean Miller, Assistant Technical Director

A.J. Guban, Lighting Director

Rachel Witt, Properties Assistant Manager

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Emily Flower, Director of Public Relations, Classical

Amanda Fischer, Deputy Director of Public Relations, Classical

Rebecca Winzenried, Program Book Editor-in-Chief

Kennedy Center Staff

Kennedy Center Staff

KENNEDY CENTER EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

KENNEDY CENTER EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP

Washington National Opera also warmly acknowledges the work of the following Kennedy Center partners and their teams:

Washington National Opera also warmly acknowledges the work of the following Kennedy Center partners and their teams:

President, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts ........................................................... Ambassador Richard Grenell

President, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Ambassador Richard Grenell

Chief Financial Officer .................................................................................................................................................Donna Arduin

Chief Financial Officer Donna Arduin

General Counsel

Elliot Berke

General Counsel Elliot Berke

Vice President of Human Resources�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

M. Bowens

Vice President of Human Resources LaTa’sha M. Bowens

Senior Vice President, Marketing ....................................................................................................................... Kimberly J. Cooper

Senior Vice President, Marketing Kimberly J. Cooper

Senior Vice President, Development..................................................................................................................................... Lisa Dale

Senior Vice President, Development Lisa Dale

Vice President, Public Relations

Vice President, Public Relations Roma Daravi

Executive Director, National Symphony Orchestra Jean Davidson

Executive Director, National Symphony

Vice President, Special Events Bronagh Donlon

Vice President, Special Events .................................................................................................................................Bronagh Donlon

Vice President, Facilities .....................................................................................................................................................Matt Floca

Vice President, Facilities Matt Floca

Director, Office of the President Rick James

Director, Office of the President Rick James

Vice President, Education

Vice President, Education Jordan LaSalle

Chief Information Officer .............................................................................................................................................Bob Sellappan

Chief Information Officer Bob Sellappan

Opera House Staff

Opera House Staff

Theater Manager ......................................................................................................................................................... Guy Jordin Heard*

Box Office Treasurer Holly Longstreth

Theater Manager

Guy Jordin Heard*

Head Usher Mykal Cox

Box Office Treasurer Holly Longstreth

Production Operations Director Melissa Santiago

Head Carpenter Shane Angus Flyman..................................................................................................................................................................................... Richard Page

Head Ushers Mykal Cox, Keith Dunn

Assistant Carpenter ............................................................................................................................................................. Robert Palmer

Head Carpenter

Shane Angus

Head Electrician Mark Cohee

Flyman Richard Page

Assistant Electrician Annemarie Mountjoy

Assistant Carpenter Robert Palmer

Assistant Electrician ............................................................................................................................................. Ian Lewis-Millholland

Head Electrician Mark Cohee

Head Audio ............................................................................................................................................................................... Dave Crook

Assistant Electricians

Lewis-Millholland

Head Props Dave Mairs

Head Props

David Mairs

Assistant Props Ben Large

Assistant Props Ben Large

Head Wardrobe .................................................................................................................................................................. Megan Quarles

Head Audio Dave Crook

Head Wardrobe

*Represented by ATPAM, the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers.

The technicians at the Kennedy Center are represented by Local #22, Local #772, and Local #798 I.A.T.S.E.

Megan Quarles

Steinway Piano Gallery is the exclusive area representative of Steinway & Sons and Boston pianos, the official pianos of the Kennedy Center. The box office at the Kennedy Center is represented by I.A.T.S.E, Local #868.

The American Guild of Musical Artists, the union of professional singers, dancers and production personnel in opera, ballet and concert, affiliated with the AFL-CIO, represents the Artists and Staging Staff for the purposes of collective bargaining.

Washington National Opera Orchestra musicians are represented by Metropolitan D.C. Federation of Musicians, AFM Local 161-710.

Thank You to Our Supporters

WNO Governance Board

The Washington National Opera (WNO) Board is the governing body of one of the nation's leading producing opera companies, now an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Board's purpose is to advocate, enhance, and support the art of Opera through the Kennedy Center. The Board ensures that there is effective planning for WNO’s future, implementation of strong programs and services, and monitoring of its goals.

Officers

Eric Jon Larsen, Chair

Jacqueline Badger Mars, Chairman Emeritus

Andy Pharoah, President

Edward J. Asher, Secretary

Billy Cox, Treasurer

Anne Kline Pohanka, Opera Ambassador

Executive Committee

Edward J. Asher

Ellen S. Berelson

Jane Lipton Cafritz

Billy Cox

WNO Board of Trustees

Roswitha S. Augusta

Dr. Omar Baker

Camille S. Biros

Nicki Bland

Kenneth R. Feinberg

Alan Fleischmann

Patricia Froyo-McCarty

Gregory S. Gallopoulos

Mr. Daniel L. Glaser

Monica Lind Greenberg

Honorary Trustees

Rear Admiral Susan Blumenthal, MD

Mrs. Charles J. DiBona

Jeffrey P. Cunard

Robert B. Downing

James A. Feldman

Eric Jon Larsen

Ian M. Jefferson

Eric J. Kadel, Jr.

Charles N. Kahn III

Ms. Y. Michele Kang

Kent Knutson

Ineke Kreeger

Mr. John Malcolm

Terri Malone

Derrick Mashore

Ramona Mockoviak

Jeffery Tribble Jr.

Usha Chilukuri Vance

Washington National Opera Council

Jacqueline Badger Mars

Andy Pharoah

Anne Kline Pohanka

Diana Prince

Antonio Reynolds

Dr. Helena Rodbard

The Hon. Selwa Roosevelt

Dr. Mona Siddiqui

Molly Wilkinson

Dorothy M. Woodcock

Nancy M. Zirkin

The Washington National Opera Council is a group of committed supporters who serve as national and community advocates for the Opera. These members are integral to WNO’s success as they help share their appreciation for the artistic and educational goals of the Opera throughout the city and across the country.

Allie and Ellen Ash

Ryna G. Cohen

Judy Cox

Don Dittberner

Miguel Estrada and Patricia McCabe

Larry Franks

Virginia McGehee Friend

Ms. Mariko Ikehara

Susanne Larsen

Geoffrey P. Pohanka

Alan J. Savada

Susie Trees

Gail R. Wilensky †

Thank You to Our Donors

Individual and Foundation donors contributing $1,800 or more to the Washington National Opera annually are recognized in the following lists. For a full list of Kennedy Center supporters, please visit: tkc.co/Support

Visionary Benefactors

The Kennedy Center wishes to thank the following major supporters, who have made gifts of $1,000,000 or more annually, for their extraordinary contributions to the nation’s cultural center.

Anonymous Dallas Morse Coors

Jacqueline Badger Mars

The Washington National Opera wishes to thank the following major supporters, who have made gifts of $500,000 or more annually, for their extraordinary contributions to the nation’s cultural center

The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation

Leadership Benefactors

Mrs. Eugene B. Casey

The Washington National Opera offers its gratitude to the following donors, all of whom have contributed $100,000 or more annually, for their generosity.

Ms. Roswitha S. Augusta and Mr. Don Dittberner

Betsy and Ed Cohen

The Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation

Robert and Lynn Downing

James A. Feldman and Natalie Wexler

Monica Lind Greenberg

Mr. and Mrs. Eric Larsen

Mr. Jeffrey G. Mora and Mrs. Wendy Fuller-Mora †

The Dr. M. Lee Pearce Foundation, Inc. Drs. Helena Wachlischt Rodbard and David Rodbard

Laureate Sustaining Benefactors

Denise Littlefield Sobel

Barbara Augusta Teichert

Mrs. Beatrice Wilkinson Welters and Mr. Anthony Welters and the An-Bryce Foundation

Ken and Dorothy Woodcock

The Washington National Opera extends its deepest appreciation to those Benefactors who have made major multiyear commitments of $75,000 or more

Billy and Judy Cox

Sachiko Kuno Philantrhopic Endowment

Laureate Benefactors

The Washington National Opera extends its deepest appreciation to the following donors for their commitment of $75,000 or more, annually.

The Theodore H. Barth Foundation

Virginia McGehee Friend

Benefactors

Mr. Andy Pharoah and Ms. Anita Gannon Prince Charitable Trust

Mr. Alan J. Savada and Mr. Will Stevenson

The Trees Family

The Washington National Opera extends its deepest appreciation to the following donors for their commitment of $50,000 or more, annually.

Mr. Edward Asher and Ms. Laura Asher

Eve E. Bachrach

The Law Offices of Kenneth R. Feinberg and Camille S. Biros

($25,000)

Anonymous

Allie and Ellen Ash

Dr. Omar & Mrs. Behnaz Baker

Ms. Nicole Bland

A. James Cark, Jr.

Mr. Jeffrey P. Cunard and Ms. Mariko Ikehara

Miguel Estrada and Patricia McCabe

Mr. Alan H.H. Fleischmann and Ms. Dafna Tapiero

Greg Gallopoulos

The Honorable Daniel Glaser and Ms. Stéphanie Oueda Cruz

Mr. and Mrs. John F. Mars

Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey P. Pohanka

Mr. and Mrs. William E. Schuiling, Jr.

Jean and Gene Stark

Ted Snowdon and Duffy Violante

Mr. Andrew Martin-Weber

Drs. Robert and Gail + Wilensky

Ms. Judy Honig and Mr. Stephen Robb

Ian M. Jefferson and Olesia Jefferson

Mr. and Mrs. Eric J. Kadel Jr.

Ms. JoAnn Willis and Mr. Charles N. Kahn, III

Ms. Y. Michele Kang

Mr. and Mrs. Kent Knutson

Mrs. Ineke Kreeger and Mr. Peter Kreeger

John and Mary Lee Malcolm

Ms. Terri Malone

Mr. Derrick Banks Mashore

Patricia Froyo-McCarty and Michael McCarty

The Honorable Mary V. Mochary

Mrs. Noémi K. Neidorff

Robert Nelson and Van Broughton Ramsey

Nina Totenberg and Dr. David Reines

Antonio Reynolds

Hon. Rozanne Ridgway

Dr. Mona Siddiqui and Mr. Danish Hamid

Molly Wilkinson

Nancy and Harold Zirkin

Thank You to Our Donors

Chairman Circle ($15,000)

Erin and Derek Arrison

Dr. Maria L. Dufau Catt

Robert+ and Jamison Craft

Katherine Maddox Davis

Dr. Joseph P. DiGangi

Nicole Alfandre Halbreiner

Frederic Harwood and Nedda di Montezemolo

Betsy Scott Kleeblatt

Mr. Myron S. Lehtman

Mr. James Lynch and Ms. Anne Woodard

Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Nettles

Mr. and Mrs. Scott Plumridge

Miriam Radakovich In Memory of K. William Harter

Ambassador Circle ($10,000)

Anonymous (3)

Mr. Kellam Conover

Sally Davidson

Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. DiBona

Mr. and Mrs. David M. Dorsen

John C. Driscoll

Mr. and Mrs. John L. Dyer

Mr. and Mrs. Rick Findlay

Shelly and Jack Hazel

Producer Circle

($6,000)

The Hon. Leonie M. Brinkema & Mr. John Brinkema

Mr.+ and Mrs. Erminio Costa

Phil and Joan Currie

John and Joanna Driggs

Mr. Neil R. Ericsson and Ms. Karen L. Florini

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph J. Francis

Drs. Jorge R. Gallardo-García and Viviana Velez-Grajales

Mr. Joseph Goffman and Ms. A. Fondaras

Golden

Circle ($4,000)

Mr. Michael J. Adler

The Honorable and Mrs. Alex M. Azar II

Mr. John Ausink and Ms. Elaine S. Simmons

Mr. Raymond Banoun and Ms. Barbara Kreisman

Ms. Elizabeth Crittenden

Mr. Elbert L. Dage

Mr. Geert Deprest and Mrs. Laura Travis-Deprest

Maria + and Paul Dragoumis

Tom Ehrgood

Jack Firestone

The Hon Ricki Tigert Helfer and Mr. Michael S. Helfer

Dr. Frederick W. Hollmann

Craig S. Howie

Edward and Paula Hughes

Ms. Stephanie Kanwit

Erna and Michael Kerst

Mr. and Mrs. John Larue

Ms. Sheri A. Layton

Mrs. Ariadna Miller

Mr. James E. Miller and Ms. Fynnette Eaton

Mr. and Mrs. Gregg H.S. Golden

Mr. Anthony M. Gryzmala

Ms. Margaret Harrison

Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Howard

Mr. Thomas J. Jesulaitis and Ms. Barrie M. Seidman

Ms. Simone Katsas

Helen and David Kenney

Stephen and Mary Sue Kitchen

Theodore and Peggy Mastroianni

Ms. Marcia MacHarg, Esq.

Katherine Kilduff and Paul Petersen

Mr. John K. Hoskinson and Ms. Ana I. Fabregas

Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Kampschroer

Ms. Maria Kazanowska and Mr. Michael F. Martus

Ms. Marina Kotova and Seyfeddin Roustamov

Ms. Ann Malcolm

Mr. Forbes Maner

Mr. and Mrs. Peter M. Manos

Mr. Arthur Reiger and Ms. Martha Matthews

Joan and John McAvoy

Chris Morrison

Robert Nickel

Dr. James D. Parker

Admiral William Roberts and Patricia Roberts

Dr. and Mrs. Guillermo Schultz

Martha and John Schwieters

Fredda S. Sparks

Mrs. Diane E. Tachmindji

The Rabbitt Whalen Family Foundation

Dr. Edwin S. Williams

Judy Miner

Ralph and Gwen Nash

Mr. Roy Pfautch

Erin Richardson

Mrs. Harriet Rogers

Jerry and Carol Trautschold

Mr. Robert L. Turner

Mr. Donald B. Verrilli

Dr. Jean Vike

Michael and Suzanne Resner

Stephen A. Saltzburg and Susan Lee

Ed and Andy Smith

Peter Threadgill

Ms. Ida Tjeknavorian

M.C. Volpe

Mr. and Mrs. John A. Weeks

Gloria M. Weissberg, PhD

John White

Dr. Frederick Wolff + and Dr. Catherine Chura

Susan and Michael Pillsbury

Elise and Dennis Reeder

Ms. Judith M. Stehling

Mr. Rick Trevino and Mr. W. Larz Pearson

Mr. Sheldon Turley

Mr. and Mrs. James G. Vaughter

Dr. Linda E. Wetzel

Mrs. Dorothy B. Wexler

Ms. Judith M. Whalen and Dr. Paul Goldsmith

Kathleen G. Wicks

Mr. Connor Woodson

Thank You to Our Donors

Circle ($1,800)

Mr. Michael R. Abejuela, Esq.

Ms. Susan Absher

Anonymous (3)

Ms. Jean W. Arnold

Ms. Theresa Arvidson

Mr. James E. Ballowe, Jr.

Hon. and Mrs. David Barbour

Dr. David P Beatty

Mr. Eric Berkman and Ms. Carolyn Mooney

Darwin B. Bingham

Mr. Gerard Blais

Mr. and Mrs. James A. Bland

Ms. Cathleen Blanton

Jane B. Boynton

Judge Susan G. Braden (Ret.) and Mr. Thomas M. Susman

William W. Bratton

Mr. Archie J. Brown and Ms. Faith Mitchell

Mr. Ken Buckley and Mrs. Baerbel Bernhardt

Frank and Victoria Chang

Ms. Lynne Church

Elham Cicipppio

Bill and Diane Cohen

Sally and John Cox

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Culbertson

Mrs. Karen Davis and Mr. Clark Madigan

Joan Desens and Simon Carr-Ellison

Peter and Sally DiGiovanni

Mr. Don W. Douglas

Mr. and Ms. William Eisner

Mr. Edward and Dr. Rachel Eitches

Dr. and Mrs. A.R. Esfandiary

Wayne Evans

Mr. and Mrs. Vankirk E. Fehr

Christopher Feldmann and Laura Beauchamp

Amber Fording

David Frazier

Catherine French

Robert J. Funches

Drs. Jyothi and Prasad Gadde

Dr. Michael S. Garet

Brian Gleason

Mr. Mark J. Golden

Mr. and Mrs. Sanford D. Greenberg

Marianne Gustafson

Mr. Jack E. Hairston, Jr.

Amy R. Hammer; Hammer Associates, LLC

Ms. Sheridan Harvey

Frank Hauer and Christopher Splet

Mrs. and Mr. Donald A. Hensel

Ms. Anita G. Herrick

Mr. Ernest C. Higgins and Mrs. Virginia Ann McArthur

Nathaniel Hirsch

Betsy and David Holland

Christiane B. Huff

Robert and Sheila Inglis

Carol D. Jobusch

Ms. Nancy E. Johnson

Col. Soren Jones, USAF, (Ret.)

Ms. Adriene Jordan and Mr. David S. Brown

Max H. Jordan

Mr. Albert G. Jordan

Dr. Martha Kanter

Mr. Daniel P. Kaplan and Mrs. Kay L. Richman

Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Kelly

Ms. Carole Klein and Mr. Brad Chesivoir

Drs. Paul Kimmel and Prudence Kline

CAPT & Mrs. Andrew A. King, USN (Ret.)

Stephanie Smith Kinney

Mary Hughes Knox

Mr. Jerome J. Kraisinger

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Kraskin

Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Kroll

Robert L. Larke

Alienor Lei

Ms. Joanne and Mr. Martin Levine

Mr. Donald V. Lincoln

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Maddox

Michael and Judy Mael

Francisco Marcillo

Maeva and Daniel Marcus

Ethan Maretich

Sheryl Markowitz and Robert Labes

Dr. and Mrs. J. Kenneth Marshall

Dr. and Mrs. Steven F. Mazer

Mr. and Mrs.Thomas J. McGonigle

Joe and Ruth McInerney

Paul W. McKee

Rona and Allan Mendelsohn

James and Tina Mendelson

Ms. Pamela Mika

Mr. Stephen Miller

Constance Miner

David and Rose Mollitor

Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Molloy

Ms. Alison Mundy

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Newkirk

Timothy and Kara O'Leary

Frank and Ieva O'Rourke

David and Marina Ottaway

William Passer

Leonard Pfeiffer, IV and Anna Gunnarsson Pfeiffer

Mr. John H. Philligin

Brenda A. Pommerenke and Dr. Larry George

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Powell, Esq.

Dr. and Mrs. Aron Primack

Dr. Linda Randolph

Dr. J. Rodman Ransome , Jr.

Mrs. Susan Rappaport

Mrs. Wendy Reaves

Ellen von Seggern Richter and Jan Paul Richter

Mr. and Mrs. William Ronsaville

Ms. Setsuko Rosen

Dr. Shirley Ross and Mr. Joseph Pinciaro

Dr. Michael Salamon and Ms. Doris Daou

Amaal Sami

Betty H. Sams

Mona Sarfaty and Jay P. Siegel

Mr. and Mrs. Nash Whitney Schott

Lynn M. Schubert

The Honorable Carol L. Schwartz

Ira Schwartz, PhD and Janine Tucker

John and Susan Sedgewick

Judy Selberg

Ms. Belinda D. Shaw

Mr. Ted Shlechter

Byron and Elva Siliezar

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Singleton

Drs. Robert and Maria Sjogren

Johnathon Smith

Wendy Haimes Smith and Gary E. Fitch

Mrs. Margaret Snowdon

Mr. Richard A. Soderquist

Nita Somasundaram

Mr. and Ms. Robert T. Soppelsa

Ms. Virginia D. Sorkin

Mr. Richard Sterba and Mrs. Gabrielle Sterba

Donna Stienstra and Thomas Strikwerda

Ms. Lane Stone

Mr. and Mrs. Jacques de Suze

Ms. Pamela Swallow

Mrs. Holly H. Thomas

Barbara Tilley

Mrs. Frances L. Usher

Jenny Craig Wallace

Kirk and Jacqueline Weaver

Dr. John Weiss

Maria Elena Weissman

Mr. and Ms. John H. Wheeler

George and Patti White

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Wiener

Ms. Sonia Wilder

Veronica and Rob Yale

Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth M. Yamada

Mr. David Yao

Dr. Daniel Yergin and Dr. Angela Stent

John Yetter and Jeanne Dennis

More Opera This Season!

Treemonisha

Music & libretto by Scott Joplin

Musical Arrangement & Orchestration by Damien Sneed

Dialogue & Additional Lyrics by Kyle Bass

Directed by Denyce Graves

Scott Joplin was the “King of Ragtime” whose melodies filled America but his 1910 opera nearly vanished from history. Now, WNO presents a world premiere new production of this powerful work.

March 12–22, 2026

The Crucible

Music by Robert Ward

Libretto by Bernard Stambler

Based on the play by Arthur Miller

Directed by Francesca Zambello

In this opera based on Arthur Miller’s play, audiences are transported into the heart of the 17th-century Salem witch trials with a lush score, capturing a community gripped by fear as an allegory for the 1950s Red Scare.

March 19–29, 2026

West Side Story

Music by Leonard Bernstein

Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Book by Arthur Laurents

Based on a concept by Jerome Robbins

Directed by Francesca Zambello

Created by four American icons of the 20th century, Shakespeare’s story of star-crossed lovers meets the scale and power of opera for a retelling you won’t forget!

May 8–23, 2026

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