MACBETH | Bloody Child
Performance Dates:
Wed. Nov. 13, 2024
Fri. Nov. 15, 2024
Sun. Nov. 17, 2024
Tue. Nov. 19, 2024
Thu. Nov. 21, 2024
Sat. Nov. 23, 2024
Massive ensembles. White hot arias. The dark recesses of the mind. Verdi’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s smoldering tragedy is a riveting exploration of power, corruption, and freedom. Fresh off the success of Romeo and Juliet in our 2023–2024 season, Washington National Opera brings the Bard’s historical epic back for the first time in 17 years.
Meet opera’s most power-hungry couple: Macbeth and his Lady. When they’re caught in a murderous plot to claim the Scottish throne, their manic greed for control has no end. Verdi wrote this powerhouse during Italy’s independence movement, and it soars with themes of political corruption, tyrannical rule, and liberation of the people.
Macbeth takes audiences through a gripping tale of ambition and scandal, from the first note to the spectacular closing chorus. As the chilling finale approaches, ghosts of the past lurk in the shadows. Power unchecked comes at a cost; what can stop its bloody path of destruction?
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Music by Giuseppe Verdi / Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and Andrea Maffei after William Shakespeare’s play
In Italian with Projected English Titles
Composed 1847–1865
JUNGLE BOOK | Bagheera
Step into the jungle, where adventure awaits! Orphaned child Mowgli seeks refuge with a group of wolves deep in the jungle. Should the pack accept Mowgli as its own, even if it makes an enemy of the dangerous tiger Shere Khan?
Our holiday opera returns for all ages with a new take on the Kipling classic from Kamala Sankaram and Kelley Rourke. The beloved story gets a contemporary twist with music from South Asian and Western music traditions and mesmerizing Bollywood dance from Indian classical dance company Taal. Join Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera, and more animal characters for a heartwarming tale about friendship, compassion, and forgiveness. The jungle may be filled with dangers but there is strength in chosen family.
Performances Dates:
Fri. Dec. 13, 2024 7pm
Sat. Dec. 14, 2024 12pm
Sat. Dec. 14, 2024 5pm
Sun. Dec. 15, 2024 12pm
Sun. Dec. 15, 2024 5pm
MID-ATLANTIC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA | A Toast to the New Year!
An evening of music especially selected to ring in the New Year featuring soprano Kresley Figueroa!
Tuesday, December 31, 7 PM | Christ Church, Easton, MD
MUD GIRL | River
American Opera Initiative | Washington National Opera
Talented creative teams. Powerful stories. All-original opera. WNO’s acclaimed commissioning program for contemporary American opera enters another exciting season—showing how short opera can move and inspire us! Talented composer-librettist teams will showcase three world premiere one-act operas with the Cafritz Young Artists among the casts.
This year’s talented artists include librettist Clare Fuyuko Bierman, composer Kyle Brenn, librettist Lex Brown, composer JL Marlor, librettist Christine Evans, and composer Omar Najmi.
American Opera Initiative (AOI) mentorship is led by Director Christopher Cano, Artistic Advisor Kelley Rourke, conductor George Manahan, librettist mentor Tracy K. Smith, and composer mentor Gregory Spears.
PERFORMANCES
Sat. Jan. 18, 2025 7pm
Sat. Jan. 18, 2025 9pm
MAHLER 4 | Soprano Soloist
The Greenwich Village Orchestra presents Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, featuring transcendent young soprano Kresley Figueroa. Conducted by the GVO’s Music Director, Barbara Yahr.
“Tickets will be offered for a suggested donation of $30, or $20 for seniors and students. Tickets may be purchased at the door on the day of the concert or at our online store using the “Buy Tickets” buttons when available below. Our online store will soon offer a discounted season ticket and 20% off purchases of six or more tickets.”
THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS | Chrisann Brennan
WNO Premiere
2019 GRAMMY AWARD® FOR BEST OPERA RECORDING
His products changed the world and put instant connection at our fingertips. But behind tech mogul Steve Jobs was a life shaped by triumphs, trials, and contradictions.
Step into the orbit of the Apple co-founder who rose from garage genius to tech titan. With a Grammy®–winning score by Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence emeritus Mason Bates and libretto by Pulitzer Prize–winning librettist Mark Campbell, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs offers an operatic journey through the interior workings and spiritual journey of an innovator. Bates merges an electronic soundscape with Campbell’s classical lyricism to immerse audiences in the world of Silicon Valley in the 1980s.
Across his life, Jobs played husband, father, spiritual seeker, and industry leader. He was also protagonist and antagonist, cycling between destruction and redemption, disillusion and reality. As Jobs comes face-to-face with his mortality, audiences will see that some things can’t be programmed—including humanity.
Performance Dates:
Fri. May 2, 2025 7:30pm
Sun. May 4, 2025 2pm
Mon. May 5, 2025 7pm
Wed. May 7, 2025 7:30pm
Sat. May 10, 2025 7pm
Gods & Mortals: A Celebration of Wagner | ORTLINDE
Perhaps the only time Kresley will be singing Wagner! Don’t miss her as the Valkyrie Ortlinde.
Join a special one-night-only celebration of the composer who harnessed the potent power of music.
This sweeping concert features video projections and staged selections from the likes of Tannhäuser, the Ring Cycle, The Flying Dutchman, Lohengrin, Parsifal, and more. Be there when soprano Christine Goerke, tenor Brandon Jovanovic, bass-baritone Derek Welton, bass Soloman Howard, and talented singers from WNO’s Macbeth and Fidelio take on the works of a legend who brought us everlasting stories of gods, betrayal, and love.
Creative Team
Robert Spano, Conductor
Francesca Zambello, Director
A.J. Guban, Lighting Designer
S. Katy Tucker, Projection Designer
SONGBIRD | Berginella
Kresley performs the role of Berginella in Offenbach’s La Périchole.
Jazz meets operetta in this playful new riff on La Périchole. Offenbach’s comedic love story is transported to the glimmer and corruption of New Orleans during Prohibition, while his melodies are reimagined in the swinging style of the Jazz Age. Grammy Award®–winning superstar mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard portrays a struggling artist torn between her living and her love; while Tony®-nominated leading man Ramin Karimloo stars as her fellow singer and lover. With toe-tapping music, glamorous costumes, mistaken identities, and comic twists, Songbird infuses Frenchman Street flair into the classic “opéra bouffe” while keeping all of its irresistible charm.
Adaptation created by Eric Sean Fogel, James Lowe, and Kelly Rourkey.
PERFORMANCE DATES
Sat. Mar. 9, 2024 7p.m.
Mon. Mar. 11, 2024 7p.m.
Fri. Mar. 15, 2024 7:30p.m.
Sun. Mar. 17, 2024 2p.m.
Wed. Mar. 20, 2024 7:30p.m.
Sat. Mar. 23, 2024 7p.m.
THE LION, THE UNICORN, AND ME | The Unicorn
Kresley performs the role of The Unicorn in the hit family opera, returning for the holidays, based on the award-winning children’s book and featuring music from Tony®-winning composer Jeanine Tesori.
This revival will be directed by Andrea Beasom and conducted by Stephanie Rhodes Russell, former CYA.
PERFORMANCE DATES
Friday Dec 08 2023 | 07:00 PM
Saturday Dec 09 2023 | 12:00 PM
Saturday Dec 09 2023 | 05:00 PM
Sunday Dec 10 2023 | 02:00 PM
90 MINUTES INCLUDING A 20-MINUTE INTERMISSION
BEL CANTO | Beatriz
Kresley makes her role debut as Beatriz in Jimmy Lopez’s Bel Canto, an opera based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Ann Patchett. The libretto is sung in Spanish, English, Japanese, Russian, German, French, Latin, Italian, and Quechua. It was commissioned by the Lyric Opera of Chicago as part of the Renée Fleming initiative.
The production will be conducted by Maestro Patrick Summers and directed by Kevin Newbury.
J. S. Bach: Magnificat
Kresley performs the soprano solos in Bach’s Magnificat, conducted by Nic McGegan with the Aspen Music Festival in “A Baroque Evening with Nicholas McGegan”.
RECITAL: Ana María Martínez and Myra Huang
Ana María Martínez soprano
Myra Huang piano
José Luis Maldonado baritone
Kresley Figueroa soprano
César Andrés Parreño tenor
Scott Rubén La Marca tenor
DUNCAN WILLIAMS VOICE COMPETITION | Finalist
A voice competition for Black and Latinx Classical Singers presented by New York City Opera and Manhattan School of Music. The finals concert will be live-streamed and include aria performances.
DUNCAN WILLIAMS VOICE COMPETITION | Song Presentation
A voice competition for Black and Latinx Classical Singers presented by New York City Opera and Manhattan School of Music. This event will be live-streamed to the public and features Black and Latinx composers.
FALSTAFF | Nannetta
Performing the role of Nannetta in a cast led by Sir Bryn Terfel in the title role of Verdi’s Falstaff with the Aspen Music Festival. The production will be directed by Paula Suozzi and conducted by Patrick Summers.
The comic opera in three acts—staged for the Benedict Music Tent—follows the misadventures of Sir John Falstaff, the portly knight who attempts to seduce two married women to gain access to their husbands’ fortunes.
Mendelssohn: Scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream Op. 61 | Soprano Soloist
Kresley performs the soprano solos in select scenes from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Aspen Music Festival. This performance will be conducted by Nicholas McGegan.
DON GIOVANNI | Zerlina
Kresley makes her role debut as Zerlina and her house debut with OPERA San Antonio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, conducted by Bob Tweten and directed by Garnett Bruce.