Great artists don’t just happen overnight. Every person you see on the Filene Center stage worked for years to get there. Rock bands “pay their dues,” racking up untold hours of practice and playing strings of tiny clubs on their way up. In the world of opera, it’s called “getting an education,” which goes way past college. For any student dreaming of earning a place...
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When Wolf Trap Opera’s Kim Witman appeared recently on an episode of the Opera Box Score podcast, she was asked to gaze into her crystal ball and envision the future of opera. “The next big thing is small,” she said. “We’re beginning to see opera companies with very large venues, who do a lot of grand opera, begin to create spin-off operations in smaller venues,...
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Earlier this spring I heard that Wolf Trap Opera was in need of additional supernumeraries for one of my favorite operas, Puccini’s masterful La bohème. After working for nearly 30 years in opera, I thought I would try my luck on stage. A “Super” is a non-singing role that appears in crowd scenes to emphasize the director’s vision and intensify large scenes. In this production...
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Wolf Trap Opera’s mainstage season features Rossini’s The Touchstone, a double bill of Glass/Moran’s The Juniper Tree and Musto’s Bastianello, and a new Filene Center production of Puccini’s Tosca. Two additional productions are part of the new UNTRAPPED initiative: Glass’s The Fall of the House of Usher (a co-production with Halcyon Stage) and Hanlon’s Listen, Wilhelmina! (a newly commissioned opera for the Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods). The Wolf Trap Opera Studio celebrates its 10th anniversary season with...
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Not sure which Opera to see? Check out our recommendations! La bohème (Aug 5) is widely considered one of the best operas for first-time opera-goers. You may be familiar with the plot, which inspired the smash-hit musical RENT and was the romantic inspiration in the movie Moonstruck. Recommended for: Hopeless romantics, anyone who loves the emotional pull of a great story. The Rape of Lucretia...
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By Hans Tuch Hans “Tom” Tuch has lived a life fit for an opera – a 14-year-old refugee from Berlin in 1938, a decorated World War II veteran and member of the storied “Screaming Eagles” 101st Airborne Division, and a long career in the Foreign Service that included stints in Russia and Germany during the Cold War. Whether scheming with his childhood friend Tony-award winner...
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The Wolf Trap Opera team is currently on the fall audition tour, hearing over 500 singers in preparation for next summer’s opera season. Kim Pensinger Witman, Wolf Trap Opera’s Senior Director, takes us behind the scenes of the audition tour and gives an update on the journey so far! For more updates on the Wolf Trap Opera team & the Audition Tour, click here – and look for our...
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