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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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….

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…

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…