Washington National Opera presents Gods & Mortals: A Celebration of Wagner

Washington National Opera presents

Gods & Mortals: A Celebration of Wagner

A staged presentation features today's leading Wagner singers:
Christine Goerke, Brandon Jovanovich, Derek Welton, Soloman Howard

Kennedy Center Opera House
October 26, 2024

(WASHINGTON)-On October 26, the Washington National Opera (WNO) presents a staged presentation of Richard Wagner's music featuring some of today's leading Wagner singers, including Christine Goerke, Brandon Jovanovich, Derek Welton, and Soloman Howard. Gods & Mortals: A Celebration of Wagner is conducted by WNO Music Director Designate Robert Spano and directed by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello.

WNO has an illustrious history in presenting Wagner's operas. George London, the famed bass-baritone, directed the company's first Die Walküre in the 1974-1975 season. Conductor Julius Rudel brought Tristan und Isolde into the repertoire in the 1979-1980 season. Prominent Wagner singers including Anja Kampe, Linda Watson, Iréne Theorin, Nina Stemme, and Eric Owens have sung at WNO over the years. Zambello, who first directed Die Walküre during the 2003-2004 season and presented her landmark "American Ring" cycle during the 2015-2016 season, directs this concert. "Wagner's operas frames ordinary individuals' quests for power, for justice, for love in an epic scale," said Zambello. "They are both grand and intimate, overwhelming and relatable. That is why I am very drawn to it. With my longtime friend Robert Spano and some of my favorite Wagner singers together, we will give the audience an evening of spectacular music-making and storytelling."

The program includes selections from Rienzi, The Flying Dutchman, Die Walküre, Lohengrin, The Master-Singers of Nuremberg, and The Ring of the Nibelung. Also included is "Norma il predisse, o Druidi," an interpolated aria Wagner wrote for his favorite opera-Bellini's Norma-when he conducted it in 1837. In addition to Christine Goerke, Brandon Jovanovich, Derek Welton, and Soloman Howard, the concert also features members of the Cafritz Young Artists and the WNO Orchestra.

Gods and Mortals: A Celebration of Wagner

October 26, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
Kennedy Center Opera House
In German with projected English titles

Robert Spano, conductor
Christine Goerke, soprano
Brandon Jovanovich*, tenor
Derek Welton, bass-baritone
Soloman Howard†, bass

with
Tiffany Choe^, soprano
Kresley Figueroa^, soprano
Viviana Goodwin^*, soprano
Anneliese Klenetsky^*, soprano
Teresa Perrotta†, soprano
Michelle Mariposa^*, mezzo-soprano
Winona Martin^, mezzo-soprano
Cecelia McKinley†, contralto

Francesca Zambello, director
A.J. Guban, lighting designer
S. Katy Tucker, projection designer
Kylee Loera, co-projection designer

* WNO mainstage debut
^ Member of the Cafritz Young Artist program
† Alumnus of the Cafritz Young Artist program

Program

Rienzi: Overture
The Flying Dutchman: Die Frist ist um	Derek Welton
Die Walküre: Winterstürme…	Brandon Jovanovich
…Du bist der Lenz…	Christine Goerke
…O süßeste Wonne! seligstes Weib!…	Christine Goerke & Brandon Jovanovich
…Siegmund heiß' ich	Brandon Jovanovich & Christine Goerke
Die Walküre: Leb wohl (Wotan's Abschied)	Derek Welton
Lohengrin: Prelude to Act 3
Siegfried: Ewig war ich	Christine Goerke & Brandon Jovanovich
---intermission---
Die Walküre: Ride of the Valkyries	Tiffany Choe, Kresley Figueroa, Viviana Goodwin, Anneliese Klenetsky, Teresa Perrotta, Michelle Mariposa, Winona Martin, Cecelia McKinley
The Master-Singers of Nurmberg: Preislied	Brandon Jovanovich
Norma: Norma il predisse, o Druidi	Soloman Howard
Götterdämmerung: Siegfried's Rheinfahrt…
…Brünnhilde! Heilige Braut (Siegfried's Death)…	Brandon Jovanovich
…Trauermarsch…
…Starke scheite (Immolation Scene)	Christine Goerke

*Program and cast are subject to change

ABOUT WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA

Washington National Opera (WNO) is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. Under the leadership of General Director Timothy O'Leary and Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, the company presents compelling works at the highest levels of artistry across the Kennedy Center, balancing the standard repertory with new and infrequently performed works. Each season the WNO seeks to shape the future of opera through commissioned American works and a variety of special concerts, youth operas, and events.

Founded in 1956 and an artistic affiliate of the Kennedy Center since 2011, WNO has a storied legacy of groundbreaking world premieres and new productions, digitally streamed content, and innovative education and community-engagement programs. In recent years, WNO has championed diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging onstage by championing artists and creators who identify as BIPOC, women, and non-binary.

Recent artistic highlights include a new production of Puccini's unfinished opera Turandot with a world premiere ending by Christopher Tin and Susan Soon He Stanton; the world premiere of Grounded by Jeanine Tesori and George Brandt; a new production of Strauss' Elektra starring Christine Goerke; the D.C. premiere of Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson's Blue, commissioned by Zambello; Blanchard's Champion, commissioned by O'Leary; and the WNO's first complete Ring Cycle, helmed by Zambello.

WNO is committed to expanding opera's reach and fostering new generations of artists and audiences. The Cafritz Young Artists program is one of the most sought-after training residencies for singers and pianists on the verge of international careers. WNO's other initiatives include the American Opera Initiative, the annual Marian Anderson Vocal Award, the Artist Ambassador program, and the True Voice Award.

WNO education programs include in-person and digital Opera Look-In performances, WNO Opera Institute, Opera in the Outfield^®, free pre-concert lectures and post-show Q&As after many shows, and the Let's Go There discussion series.

Funding Credits
The WNO Season Sponsor is General Dynamics
The Official Airline of the WNO Season is American Airlines
Major support provided by Jacqueline Badger Mars and Mrs. Eugene B. Casey
Additional support provided by Chevron
Additional support provided by Paul M. Angell Family Foundation
Support for the WNO Orchestra generously provided by Ms. Roswitha S. Augusta and Mr. Don Dittberner
Support for the performance of Soloman Howard provided by The Wagner Society of Washington DC

Ticket Information

Tickets may be purchased online at kennedy-center.org, in person at the Kennedy Center Box Office, or by calling (202) 467-4600.

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Media Contacts

David Hsieh
Senior Press Representative, Classical
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
(202) 416 8093
[email protected]

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