Vienna, VA (May 29, 2018) Wolf Trap Opera opens its resident season with a fully staged new production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Idomeneo on Friday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m. at The Barns at Wolf Trap. Three additional performances are scheduled for Sunday, June 24 at 3 p.m., Wednesday, June 27 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, June 30 at 3 p.m. See below for complete casting and ticketing information. High resolution production images are available upon request.
“As always, Wolf Trap Opera’s repertoire is selected to showcase the strengths of the singers we select during our nationwide audition tour. This year’s best talent included a dramatic coloratura tenor, high lyric mezzo-soprano, light lyric soprano, and dramatic coloratura soprano – the perfect quartet for this Mozart masterpiece,” said Kim Pensinger Witman, Vice President, Opera and Classical Programming at Wolf Trap Foundation. “Idomeneo includes some of Mozart’s best choral music, and I know that our ensemble of Studio Artists will deliver it with extraordinary beauty and drama. And our new updated production will focus on the themes inherent in this dramatic story.”
Continuing Wolf Trap Opera’s tradition as a top-tier operatic training program for emerging artists, all principal roles will be performed by Wolf Trap Opera’s Filene Artists. The cast, in order of appearance, includes soprano Madison Leonard (Ilia), mezzo-soprano Megan Mikailovna Samarin (Idamante), soprano Yelena Dyachek (Elettra), tenor Duke Kim (Arbace), and tenor Ian Koziara (Idomeneo). Singers in the Wolf Trap Opera Studio will round out the cast as Men and Women of Crete and Troy. Wolf Trap Opera’s elite group of young singers is chosen through an annual highly selective nationwide audition tour. See complete casting below.
Idomeneo, a 1789 opera by Mozart with libretto by Giambattista Varesco, tells the story of Idomeneo, king of Crete, returning home after the Trojan War. When his boat is caught in a storm, he desperately prays to the god Neptune and promises that if he survives, he will sacrifice the first thing he sees upon reaching land safely. His prayer is answered, but the first person he sees is his son, Idamante. Director Omer Ben Seadia sees the opera as an examination of the traumatic effects of war, both on those fighting it and those left behind at home. “This opera asks fundamental questions about what we are willing to sacrifice in times of peril,” writes Ben Seadia. “These questions were as relevant in Mozart’s time as they are for us today.”
Idomeneo is conducted by Geoffrey McDonald and directed by Omer Ben Seadia, with scenic design by Ryan Howell, costumes by Amanda Seymour, and lighting by Robert H. Grimes. Continuing Wolf Trap Opera’s broadcast initiative, performances will be filmed and audio recorded for future radio broadcasts and online streaming.
Since 1971, Wolf Trap Opera has mounted more than 130 productions of over 80 different operas. In addition to Idomeneo, the summer opera season will also feature Gounod’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Roméo et Juliette (July 15, 17, 19, 21) at The Barns, directed by Louisa Muller with conductor Eric Melear, and the company premiere of Verdi’s Rigoletto (August 3) at the Filene Center, directed by Crystal Manich, with the National Symphony Orchestra led by Grant Gershon. Additionally, Wolf Trap Opera presents concerts and productions as part of the UNTRAPPED initiative at venues across the region, including Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins in partnership with Halcyon’s By The People at Halcyon Stage at Dock 5, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, The Philips Collection and Wolf Trap’s Children’s Theatre-in-the -Woods. Visit wolftrap.org/opera for more information.
Special thanks to Dan and Gayle D’Aniello, Wolf Trap 2018 Season Underwriters,
and Ed and Andy Smith, Performance Sponsors
###
Wolf Trap Opera is a program of Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, produces and presents a full range of performance and education programs in the Greater Washington area, as well as nationally. Wolf Trap features three performance venues: the outdoor Filene Center and Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, both located at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, and The Barns at Wolf Trap, located down the road from the national park and adjacent to the Center for Education at Wolf Trap. The 7,028-seat Filene Center is operated in partnership with the National Park Service and annually showcases an extensive array of diverse artists, ranging from pop, country, folk, and blues to classical music, dance, and theatre, as well as multimedia presentations, from May through September. The Barns at Wolf Trap is operated by the Wolf Trap Foundation year round, and during the summer months is home to the Grammy-nominated Wolf Trap Opera, one of America’s outstanding resident ensemble programs for young opera singers. Wolf Trap Foundation’s education programs include the nationally acclaimed Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, a diverse array of arts education classes, grants, and a nationally recognized internship program.
Media Information
(Please do not publish contact information)
Erick Hoffman, Director, Public Relations
703.255.1917 or erickh@wolftrap.org
Amanda Sweet, Bucklesweet
347.564.3371 or Amanda@bucklesweet.com
Press passes and high-resolution production photos may be available upon request.
PRODUCTION AND TICKETING INFORMATION
Idomeneo, Rè di Creta
New production
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Libretto by Giambattista Varesco
Friday, June 22, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 24, 2018 at 3 p.m.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 30, 2018 at 3 p.m.
Inside the Opera pre-show talk begins one hour before curtain at the Center for Education at Wolf Trap, next door to The Barns at Wolf Trap.
The Barns at Wolf Trap is located 1635 Trap Road, Vienna, VA 22182
Three hours with one intermission | In Italian with projected translations
Tickets start at $32 and can be purchased online at wolftrap.org, in person at the Filene Center and Barns Box Offices, or by phone at 877.WOLFTRAP.
CAST
In order of vocal appearance
Ilia, a Trojan princess Madison Leonard
Idamante, Idomeneo’s son Megan Mikailovna Samarin
Elettra, Princess in exile Yelena Dyachek
Arbace, the King’s advisor Duke Kim*
Idomeneo, King of Crete Ian Koziara
High Priest Senhica Klee*
A Voice Cory McGee
Men & Women of Crete & Troy Wolf Trap Opera Studio
*Studio Artists
CREATIVE TEAM
Conductor Geoffrey McDonald
Director Omer Ben Seadia
Scenic Designer Ryan Howell
Costume Designer Amanda Seymour
Lighting Designer Robert H. Grimes
Wig & Makeup Designer Anne Nesmith
Chorusmaster David Hanlon