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The Opera House is the second-largest theater in the Center, with 2,300 seats. It was designed for ballet, opera, and musical theater. Over the years, the Opera House has welcomed dozens of the world's great dance and opera companies and has hosted some of the most important artistic events of the last quarter century. With its distinctive red and gold silk curtain, a gift from Japan, and the e … Morexquisite Lobmeyr crystal chandelier, a gift from Austria, the Opera House makes an elegant setting for the annual Kennedy Center Honors, the nations highest award for lifetime achievement in the arts. Less
Washington National Opera performs Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. As this brilliantly light-hearted opera begins, a serious opera company and a commedia dell'arte troupe have arrived at a dinner party, and are forced to perform at the same time. Chaos, hilarity, and beautiful melodies result. Learn more...
The antics of Shakespeare's infamous rascal Falstaff cause utter mayhem as the merry wives of Windsor teach him a lesson he'll never forget. Falstaff is a delightful fusion of humanist realism and light-hearted fantasy - and the perfect testament to the multi-faceted genius of Verdi. Learn more...
The Washington National Opera presents a concert performance by Russian opera stars Olga Borodina and Ildar Abdrazakov. Joined by conductor Placido Domingo and the WNO Orchestra, the husband and wife duo will perform an evening of Russian, Italian, and French arias. Learn more...
Rossini's cherished classic is a delightful farce filled with high-flying vocal fireworks and gorgeous melodies, including "Largo al factotum," made famous by the iconic line "Figaro, Figaro, Figaro!" To help young Count Almaviva win the hand of the beautiful Rosina, the sharp-witted barber, Figaro, must prevent her from marrying her guardian, Dr. Bartolo. The trio of schemers stops at nothing in the name of love and duty. Learn more...
Based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, The Royal Ballet is Great Britain's most prestigious ballet company. Returning to the Kennedy Center for the first time in three years, the Company performs Kenneth MacMillan's three-act narrative ballet Manon, based on the classic French novel Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prévost and set to music by Massenet. Learn more...
Benjamin Britten's gripping opera Peter Grimes tells the story of a lonely fisherman who is persecuted and accused of murder. The most-performed 20th century British opera in the international repertoire, Grimes is known for its haunting, sea-tossed score and profound psychological insight. Learn more...
The acclaimed company, renowned for its purity, balance, and musicality, performs three mixed repertory programs featuring works by Balanchine, Robbins, and Tharp to music performed by the New York City Ballet Orchestra. See details below for specific program information. Learn more...
Lorin Maazel conducts the Arab and western musicians of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra in their international debut program at the Kennedy Center Opera House. They'll be performing two new works by their Artistic Director Marcel Khalifé, and Beethoven's immortal Fifth Symphony. Learn more...
The Kennedy Center welcomes American Ballet Theatre. One of the world's foremost dance companies since its founding in 1940, the company will perform a mixed repertory program highlighted by classic works choreographed by George Balanchine, Anthony Tudor, and Twyla Tharp. Learn more...
Legally Blonde follows sorority star Elle Woods, an underestimated blonde who doesn't take "no" for an answer. When her boyfriend dumps her for someone more "serious," Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law. Learn more...
Chicago's world-renowned The Joffrey Ballet returns with its founder's dazzling family production of The Nutcracker. From its charming Victorian scenery and costumes, to the dozens of dancing and singing children, Robert Joffrey's staging beams brightly from start to finish. Learn more...
America's oldest professional ballet company returns to the Kennedy Center for the first time in six years to celebrate its landmark 75th season. This timeless ballet follows a beautiful young peasant girl driven to madness and an untimely death upon discovering that her true love has deceived her. Learn more...
America's oldest professional ballet company, the San Francisco Ballet is celebrating its landmark 75th season. They'll present a mixed repertory program that includes two ballets commissioned for the company's spring 2008 New Works Festival: the D.C. premieres of Mark Morris's Joyride and Christopher Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour. Also on the program is George Balanchine's classic work The Four Temperaments. Learn more...
Washington National Opera General Director Plácido Domingo conducts Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia After the Borgia palace is defaced, Lucrezia demands the desecrator's death. When Gennaro (Vittorio Grigolo) is arrested for the crime, Lucrezia's thirst for vengeance sets in motion a tragic chain of events that eventually destroys her enemies -- and herself. Learn more...
Washington National Opera presents Georges Bizet's exotic feast for the eyes and ears. The prayers of the virgin priestess Leïla (Norah Amsellem) protect the fishermen of ancient Ceylon until Chief Zurga (Trevor Scheunemann) jealously condemns her and Nadir (Charles Castronovo) to death. When Zurga realizes that Leïla is the woman who once saved his life, he makes the ultimate sacrifice for their freedom and happiness. Learn more...
Washington National Opera presents a concert production of Mascagni's beloved opera Cavalleria Rusticana. Set in a Sicilian village, this melodramatic tale of "rustic chivalry" follows the fickle and passionate love triangle between Turiddu, who loves Lola; Santuzza, who loves Turiddu, the father of her child; and Alfio, the all-too-trusting husband of Lola. Mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick and tenor Salvatore Licitra star. The program also features orchestral selections from works by Verdi, Puccini, and Macagni. Learn more...
A royal family destroyed by conspiracy, madness, and vengeance is the setting for Washington National Opera's riveting Elektra. Richard Strauss' modernist masterpiece stars Susan Bullock, whose performance in the title role has been hailed a triumph by critics around the world. Under the baton of WNO Music Director Heinz Fricke, you'll be electrified as Elektra avenges her father's death. Learn more...
Misfortune, greed, and fidelity collide in this storm-battered tale of one man's quest for life-saving love. Wagner retells the nautical legend of the fearsome Flying Dutchman, cursed to sail the seas until he finds a woman who will love him until death. Learn more...
Washington National Opera presents Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto. As the libertine Duke of Mantua's jaded jester, Rigoletto is known for sparing no one his biting and often vicious sarcasm. But when courtiers abduct Rigoletto's beloved daughter, Gilda, for the Duke's enjoyment, a curse and misdirected revenge bring tragedy and are Rigoletto's undoing. Learn more...
Set in post-war New York and based on an Arthur Miller play, A View from the Bridge tells the tale of Brooklyn longshoreman Eddie Carbone, whose desire for his adult niece, Catherine, leads to disaster in his community and home. Washington National Opera welcomes stars from the original Chicago production that has captivated critics and audiences from coast to coast. Learn more...
Mozart's celebrated tragicomedy tells the story of the famous womanizer who is given one last chance to repent of his philandering ways. But when he adds murder and blasphemy to his lengthy list of sins, human and supernatural forces combine to enact a terrible punishment and avenge Donna Anna, Donna Elvira and thousands of other women. Learn more...
Perhaps more than any other classic opera, La Bohème lends itself to contemporary interpretation. Innovative director Mariusz Trelinski updates Puccini's timeless tale in an extraordinary new production, following the stories of a circle of young artists who long for a deeper connection to society. Learn more...
As part of the citywide Shakespeare in Washington festival, the Washington National Opera presents a new production of Verdi's Macbeth at the Kennedy Center Opera House. You know Shakespeare's story. Well, Verdi's music matches its chilling power. And when Lady Macbeth risks everything--vocally and emotionally--in her great sleepwalking scene, it's clear that Shakespeare and Verdi were made for each other. Learn more...
The Kennedy Center Opera House will be home to the Washington National Opera's premiere of Leos Janácek's Jenufa. If you think the Italians have a lock on operatic passion, this Czech masterpiece will change your mind. A drama of betrayal, revenge and an unspeakable crime committed in the name of morality, it demands a cast that acts as intensely as it sings. Learn more...
In this cream puff of an opera, Marie is an orphaned army brat and the regiment's lovable mascot, brimming with high spirits and even higher C's. Her ardent lover (a tenor, of course) is more than her match. His show-stopping aria boasts nine -- count 'em, nine -- high C's. The story may be deliciously bizarre, but the music is divinely Donizetti. Learn more...
