After yesterday's preview of the endless list of holiday concerts in the area in December, it is time to discuss the piece that must not be named, Georg Friedrich Händel's Messiah (1742). Yes, it is a masterpiece of music history, but the lamentable annual round of weary performances at Christmas time (in spite of the fact that Messiah is an Easter work), makes me want to run screaming for anything else this time of... more ›

Written by DCist guest contributor Michael Lodico The Washington National Opera’s production of William Bolcom’s operatic adaptation of Arthur Miller’s earthy play (premiered by the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1999 and staged by Frank Galati) shows the company’s commitment to remounting new American operas after their premieres. The Chicago production, now being presented to D.C. area audiences by the WNO, also features three leads from the original production and the two arias added by... more ›

Before the curtain of the second performance of Washington National Opera's new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni on Monday night, conductor Plácido Domingo made an announcement. Happily, it was not to announce a cast change, but to draw the audience's attention to the fact that it was the 220th anniversary of the opera's first performance in Prague (October 29, 1787). This production is not likely to rank high on anyone's list of noteworthy versions of... more ›

The Washington Business Journal reported yesterday that the Washington Convention Center will be officially renamed to honor D.C.'s first elected mayor, Walter E. Washington. Apparently the D.C. Council approved the name change last year, though we can't recall having heard about it at the time. The idea is a fine one though, and Washington is certainly worthy of having his legacy honored. So what's the problem? As of Nov. 5, the building will officially become... more ›

It is always good to know how your concert schedule is going to play out, and this week things could not be any clearer (and none of these events has sold out). Here is your list of what's good, what's free, and even some of what's both. THE BIG GUNS: >> A couple years ago, soprano Anne Schwanewilms was in the news because she replaced Deborah Voigt, when the latter could not fit into a... more ›

There are ways to attend an opera in Washington at a ticket price that will not make you cry. The easiest way is to go to a performance from one of the smaller or collegiate companies, where the reasonable ticket price will translate into hearing lesser singers or a piano or small instrumental ensemble instead of a full orchestra. If you want the true experience of opera, however — that "exotic and irrational entertainment" described... more ›

The new record for the longest amount of consecutive days without measurable rainfall at Washington National Airport is scheduled to end later today, as showers and possibly a pretty heavy thunderstorm are predicted for this afternoon. But CapitalWeather.com says this rain event won't be enough to make a dent in the area's drought, as the rain will be short-lived and the amounts modest for the most part. Still, it's been a while since you had... more ›

Now this is a "Wow" photo. Flickr user chapulin colorado woke up at some ridiculous hour to take this early morning shot of a plane taking off from Washington National Airport. The dramatic 8 second exposure from Gravelly Point Park leaves us only with the light trails as they arch up into the air. EXIF.
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Ahh, rise and shine, Washington! It's another beautiful fall day, so stretch and breathe in deep ... but not too deep, unless you enjoy inhaling some of the worst air in the nation. Scientists are putting numbers on information our lungs already knew: the D.C. area "produces more carbon dioxide than several medium-size European countries," the Post reports. This is due primarily to Maryland's coal-burning power plants and our stand-still traffic, we make more carbon... more ›

Washington Concert Opera presented the first half of their new season on Sunday night at an admirably full Lisner Auditorium. Rather than a more typical rarity, it was one of the gems of the bel canto repertoire, Vincenzo Bellini's late opera I Puritani, or as bad-girl soprano Anna Netrebko memorably put it, "crap." No one should ever mistake I Puritani for a dramatic masterpiece, but it does have some of the best, most polished, and... more ›

Just one night after the Season Opening Night Gala hosted by Washington National Opera, another set of patrons (and the critics of the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post) came together to fill the Kennedy Center Concert Hall to open the National Symphony Orchestra's season on Sunday night. In terms of funds raised, it was the most successful opening ball in the NSO's history, according to Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Blackstone... more ›

On Saturday night, Washington National Opera opened its fall season with an oh-so-edgy rendition of a tired old chestnut, Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème. It is the fifth mounting of this opera by WNO since 1984, which works out to a production every four or five years on average. Film director Mariusz Treliński created this new production for the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, which also gave Washington his Butterfly and Andrea Chénier. The aim, laudable... more ›

The classical music season got officially under way this weekend, and there will be more and more choices facing eager listeners. Even if you cannot afford all the concerts you want to attend, since local radio station WETA, at 90.9 FM, went back to a classical format, there is more local music on the airwaves, too. Tune in this evening (September 16, 7 p.m.) to the live broadcast of the National Symphony Orchestra's Season Opening... more ›

Classical music has come back from summer vacation, and that means you actually have a choice of concerts this week. Most importantly, many of the city's leading groups are opening the season with glittering events. Look for reviews next week. >> Washington National Opera is opening its fall season with one of the most popular operas in the repertoire, Puccini's La Bohème (September 15 to 30). For all its audience-pleasing qualities, this opera is a... more ›

>> Local group Ocio brings its repertoire of classic jazz standards to Twins Jazz tonight. Call (202) 234-0072 for cover information. >> It might be a bit of a drive for those of us who live in D.C., but Jeff Antoniuk and the Jazz Update, a stellar band comprised of saxophonist Antoniuk, bassist Tom Baldwin, pianist Wade Beach, and drummer Tony Martucci, plays tonight at 49 West in Annapolis. Their album, Here Today, has charted... more ›

Everyone needs a vacation, even musicians, and the summer is quite naturally a time that the classical music world slows down. So this is it for your Classical Music Agenda, until August. This week's installment will be a little longer than normal, because there are several interesting things happening over the next couple months. If you want to hear some music this summer, you can, and here's where. HEADLINES: >> The most important classical music... more ›

Opera is a serious musical genre, the summa of high dramatic art. For some serious thoughts about the season just concluded by Washington National Opera, you could read the Opera Season in Review from last week. In a less exalted but equally important way, opera is about ostentation, and in that vein, there is one more glittering event that always makes the end of the season final in Washington, and that is the annual Opera... more ›

>> Plácido Domingo conducts the orchestra and selected singers of the Washington National Opera in a special concert performance in the Music Center at Strathmore. A few tickets in the orchestra section remain at the box office, if you are looking for a last-minute luxury date. $68, 8 p.m. >> Time is running out to catch this year's Shakespeare Free For All, Love's Labor's Lost, at the Carter Barron Amphitheater. The final performance is... more ›

The 2006-07 season of the Washington National Opera comes to a close next week, with a concert appearance by several of its singers at the Music Center at Strathmore (May 31, 8 p.m.) and the last performance of its final production, Macbeth (June 2, 7 p.m.). It is time to take stock of the company's achievements this season and look forward to what it will offer the city next year. Four productions this season were... more ›

>> As we mentioned earlier in Reader, Meet Author, Vanity Fair editor Cullen Murphy will be at Politics and Prose tonight to read from and sign copies of Are We Rome? As long as we can ruled by Simon Woods, I'm all for saying, yes, please, let's be Rome. 7 p.m. >> Tickets are still available for tonight's performance of Leoš Janáček's Jenůfa at Washington National Opera. Our critic called this production WNO's "best... more ›

Summer is almost here, and that means it is almost time to roll up the carpets and send the Classical Music Agenda on vacation. So enjoy the music while you can. In particular, this is the last week to take in a performance of the best production from Washington National Opera this season, Janáček's Jenůfa. My review called this opera "essential viewing for anyone who cares about music drama." Performances remain only on Monday (May... more ›

>> At the the Guy Mason Recreation Center tonight there will be an open house to discuss DDOT's Glover Park Transportation Study. 6:30 to 8 p.m. [via FreeRide] >> Trippy Japanese instrumentalists Mono stop by the Rock and Roll Hotel with Grails and World’s End Girlfriend. $10/$12, 8 p.m. doors. >> The American City Diner & Cafe hosts a special screening of the still great Mike Nichols film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, starring... more ›

Verdi's Macbeth is the least worthy of the composer's three settings of Shakespeare plays, but it is hardly fair to compare this homely little opera to the composer's final masterpieces, Otello and Falstaff. Macbeth, the earliest of the three, has some beautiful melodies, some dramatic scenes, effective choral writing, and glimmers of what Verdi would eventually accomplish -- the elimination of tired bel canto conventions or, short of that, the ingenious incorporation of those... more ›

On Saturday night, the Washington National Opera opened its best production of the season, with David Alden's modernized staging of Leoš Janáček's Jenůfa. Washington is the last of the three cities co-producing this version to see it on the stage, after a well-received 2004 premiere at Houston Grand Opera and an overwhelming critical success last fall at English National Opera, where it won the Laurence Olivier Award for best new opera production. Janáček adapted the... more ›

This is another one of those weeks, when devoted classical listeners could be in one hall or another every night of the week. Enjoy it while you can, as the summer is almost here and with it far fewer concerts to hear. ESSENTIAL: >> A concert by French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard is an event to be cherished, and this week he will play twice in Washington. The first occasion is a solo recital at the... more ›

This Saturday evening, the Washington National Opera opens its highly anticipated production of Leoš Janáček's Jenůfa. This is only the second Janáček opera in the history of the WNO, with one Cunning Little Vixen done in English translation in 1993. This new production directed by David Alden premiered at Houston Grand Opera in 2004: after it played to critical success last fall at English National Opera, it won the Laurence Olivier Award for best new... more ›

There is little doubt that the main event this week is the opening of the final part of the Washington National Opera's season. The company's penultimate production, Leoš Janáček's Jenůfa in a staging by David Alden, won the Laurence Olivier Award this year for best new opera production. For reasons beyond understanding, not a single performance has sold out, although this is likely to be the high point of the WNO season. Some people may... more ›

Czech conductor Jiří Bĕlohlávek led this weekend's National Symphony Orchestra concerts at the Kennedy Center. This heralds the opening of a Czech mini-season in Washington, with a program of symphonic music from his homeland. Next month, Bĕlohlávek will conduct the much-anticipated production of Janáček’s Jenůfa at Washington National Opera. On Friday night the three short programmatic works under Bĕlohlávek's baton were welcome obscurities. A Mozart concerto and a perennial favorite, Smetana's tone poem Moldau, provided... more ›

After the success of the second part of its American Ring Cycle, with all performances long since sold out, Washington National Opera opened its second spring production on Saturday evening, Gaetano Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment. There is no reason to revive this rather silly comic opera, last mounted by WNO in 1993, unless you have a truly remarkable cast and perhaps a new and interesting production. That seemed to be the case with this... more ›

At the end of the first installment of Francesca Zambello's American Ring Cycle, last year's Das Rheingold premiered at Washington National Opera, the gods went into Valhalla on what looked like the gang plank of a cruise liner, clinking their champagne flutes. Richard Wagner adapted the libretti of his four-opera cycle from German mythology, and Zambello's idea was to exchange the German myths in the operas for American ones. The gold-hungry Alberich became a... more ›