Opera lovers will be transported to a 19-Century Parisian ballroom this coming Saturday as The Washington National Opera Company (WNO) opens its season with Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi’s masterpiece La Traviata. This tale follows romantic travails of Violetta, a “fallen woman,” who yearns for true love
The production is crafted by the company’s Artistic Director Francesca Zambello. The elegant set designed by Peter Davison and sumptuous costumes by Jess Goldstein are sure to delight the audience. It features the debuts of Russian soprano Venera Gimadieva as Violetta, American tenor Joshua Guerrero as Alfredo and Grammy-winner, baritone Lucas Meachem as Germont.
Italian Renato Palumbo conducts the orchestra, who DC audiences last saw in the WNO’s 2007 production of Verdi’s Macbeth.
WNO’s season continues with the company premiere of Kevin Puts’s and Mark Campbell’s Silent Night (November 10-25, 2018); Tchaikovsky’s epic Eugene Onegin (March 9-29, 2019); Gounod’s devilishly entertaining Faust (March 16-30, 2019); and Puccini’s towering masterpiece Tosca (May 11-25, 2019). The season also features a revival of WNO’s hit holiday family opera The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me (December 14-16, 2018). The WNO will premiere new works during the American Opera Initiative Festival (January 11-13, 2019) and a special Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist performance A Concert of Comic Masterpieces (May 24, 2019).
La Traviata runs from Oct. 6 to 21 with 11 performances in the Kennedy Opera House. Tickets are available online at The Kennedy Center.
