Enjoy free chamber concerts from members of the Washington National Opera and Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestras.

Beer and Wine Garden open from 3-8 p.m.

Sunday, September 3 Performance:

Sandra Del Cid-Davies, flute/piccolo
Kayla Moffett, violin
Martha Kaufman, violin
Elizabeth Pulju-Owen, viola
Kristen Wojcik, cello

Program to be announced

Enjoy free chamber concerts from members of the Washington National Opera and Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestras.

Beer and Wine Garden open from 3-8 p.m.

Sunday, August 27 Performance:

Adria Foster, flute
Emily Tsai, oboe
David Jones, clarinet
Chris Jewell, bassoon
Christy Klenke, horn

Music by Bernstein, Mozart, Bizet, Grieg, Marc Mellits, Gershwin, and Verdi

Enjoy free chamber concerts from members of the Washington National Opera and Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestras.

Beer and Wine Garden open from 3-8 p.m.

Sunday, August 20 Performance:

Susan Robinson, harp
Adria Foster, flute

Music by Debussy, Piazzolla, Persichetti, and Stella Sung

Enjoy free chamber concerts from members of the Washington National Opera and Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestras.

Beer and Wine Garden open from 3-8 p.m.

Sunday, August 6 Performance:

Emily Tsai, oboe
Najin Kim, violin
Ko Sugiyama, violin
Elizabeth Pulju-Owen, viola
Kristen Wojcik, cello

In early March, artists, community leaders, and law enforcement officials gathered in Washington to discuss Blue, a contemporary opera by Tazewell Thompson and Jeanine Tesori that explores race, policing, and reconciliation.

The opera's premiere at the Kennedy Center was later postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Washington National Opera is committed to staging Blue at a future date and we look forward to fostering more conversations that enable understanding and action.

Host: Timothy O'Leary, General Director of Washington National Opera | Moderator: Ronald E. Hampton, Former Executive Director of the National Black Police Association | Panelists: Tazewell Thompson, Director and Librettist of Blue Kenneth Kellogg, The Father in Blue Briana Hunter, The Mother in Blue Chief Peter Newsham, Metropolitan Police Department Frank Riley III, Retired Police Officer Monica Hopkins, Executive Director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia

CLICK HERE to view

Performances: Mar 1, Mar 7 @7pm; Mar 13 @7:30pm; Mar 16 and Mar 21 @7pm

Her will is more powerful than his strength.

Music by Camille Saint-Saëns / Libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire
In French with Projected English Titles
WNO production

With superhuman strength and unmatched feats, Samson has everything it takes to free the enslaved Hebrews from the Philistines, their oppressors. But his enemies possess a weapon that can bring the warrior to his knees: the beautiful and irresistible Delilah. When Delilah seduces Samson into revealing the source of his physical power, his faith will be put to a final, catastrophic test.

This vivid staging of the iconic tale of love and betrayal features a lavish production and sumptuous period costumes, set against the tumultuous backdrop of two clashing nations. Saint-Saëns’s famous opera soars with some of the most splendid vocal music in French grand opera, including Delilah’s bewitching “Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix” (“My heart opens itself to your voice”) aria known around the world. From the provocative Bacchanale dance to the epic finale, Samson and Delilah depicts the danger of tenderness laced with deceit.

Performance Timing: Act One & Act Two 83 mins.; Intermission - 25 min.; Act Two - 35 mins

Performances: Mar 1 @2pm; Mar 4 @7:30pm; Mar 7 @7pm; Mar 13 @7:30pm; Mar 16 @7pm; Mar 21 @7pm

Seduction and deceit tangle in Saint-Saëns’s sensual grand opera. When Delilah seduces Samson into revealing the source of his physical power, his faith will be put to a final, catastrophic test.

Runtime: Approx. 2 - 1/2 hrs.

Washington National Opera presents a preview of the groundbreaking new opera Blue.

Click video link to the right to view the live streaming performance online.

Please join us as we celebrate the 2019 - 2020 season. The evening will feature exclusive performances by members of the Domingo Cafritz Young Artists Program and will include music, an open bar, light fare and more – all to support the Washington National Opera.

Named for the groundbreaking African American contralto, the Marian Anderson Vocal Award recognizes a young American singer in opera, oratorio, or recital repertory.

This year’s winner, Soloman Howard, is praised for his “sonorous” (The New York Times) and “superhuman” (The Denver Post) bass. Since graduating from our Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program in 2014, Soloman has performed on celebrated opera stages around the world from the Metropolitan Opera to Teatro Real de Madrid. Among many of Soloman’s WNO notable appearances include his role as the King in 2017’s Aida and Frederick Douglass/Martin Luther King Jr. in 2015’s Appomattox.

Performances: Oct 26 @7pm; Oct 30 @7:30pm; Nov 3 @2pm; Nov 8 @7:30pm, Nov 11 @7pm

Verdi’s epic retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy traces the collapse of a great hero. As Iago manipulates Otello, the general will confront his deadliest enemy: his jealous heart.

Performances: Oct 26 @7pm; Oct 30 @7:30pm; Nov 3 @2pm; Nov 8 @7:30pm, Nov 11 @7pm

Verdi’s epic retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy traces the collapse of a great hero. As Iago manipulates Otello, the general will confront his deadliest enemy: his jealous heart.

Performances: Oct 26 @7pm; Oct 30 @7:30pm; Nov 3 @2pm; Nov 8 @7:30pm, Nov 11 @7pm

Verdi’s epic retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy traces the collapse of a great hero. As Iago manipulates Otello, the general will confront his deadliest enemy: his jealous heart.

Performances: Oct 26 @7pm; Oct 30 @7:30pm; Nov 3 @2pm; Nov 8 @7:30pm, Nov 11 @7pm

Verdi’s epic retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy traces the collapse of a great hero. As Iago manipulates Otello, the general will confront his deadliest enemy: his jealous heart.

Performances: Oct 26 @7pm; Oct 30 @7:30pm; Nov 3 @2pm; Nov 8 @7:30pm, Nov 11 @7pm

Verdi’s epic retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy traces the collapse of a great hero. As Iago manipulates Otello, the general will confront his deadliest enemy: his jealous heart.

WNO takes a year off from its annual Mars, Incorporated Opera in the Outfield at Nationals Park to celebrate the opening of the REACH with a stream of its 2013 production of Show Boat on the outdoor video wall. We'll be back at Nationals Park next fall.
Screened on the Video Wall as part of the REACH Opening Festival

The Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program presents one lively night of comic chaos, featuring works from beloved operatic comedies. Accompanied by the WNO Orchestra, the Young Artists will perform the complete first act and closing fugue of Giuseppe Verdi’s final masterpiece Falstaff, as well as other ensembles from the world’s most witty and comical operas.

The Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists, together with Principal Coach Ken Weiss, open a window into these two great masterpieces of grand opera. Two of the most iconic and enduring tales in all of literature, Goethe’s great Faust and Pushkin’s masterful Eugene Onegin are retold through the ravishing music of Gounod and Tchaikovsky.

Performances: 7pm and 9pm.

Three world premiere short operas will be staged in a concert performance, accompanied by a small chamber orchestra and followed by a Q&A with the artists and creative team. This season's distinguished mentors include composer Jake Heggie, composer and librettist Gene Scheer, and conductor Steven Osgood.