Concert/Opera/Music Preview: WOLF TRAP FOUNDATION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS (50th Anniversary Season)

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by Eve Meadows on June 17, 2021

in Concerts / Events,Music,Theater-Regional

BOTH THE ANNIVERSARY AND THE LINE-UP ARE GOLDEN

Just in time for the 50th anniversary season at Wolf Trap National Park, here come the first live music performances since December 2019. Concerts are populating quicker than Stage and Cinema can keep up with them. As always, the line-up is amazing, so check out this summer’s calendar for concerts, dates, and prices. While June and July performances remain at limited capacity, sold in socially distanced pods of 2–8 tickets, all August and September shows will welcome audiences at full capacity! Tickets for the newly announced shows go on sale tomorrow June 18, 2021 (877.WOLFTRAP or visit Wolf Trap). For those who haven’t been, expect wide open spaces, a lawn area to enjoy a picnic, music under the stars, and much more magic.

Concerts this summer include Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange) (July 7); an interactive concert with the rhythmic force of The E Street Band’s Max Weinberg  (July 10 + 11); New Orleans jazz legends Preservation Hall Jazz Band (July 17); D.C.’s best-seen-live, go-go music icons Big Tony and Trouble Funk (July 18); An Evening with Amos Lee (July 21 + 22) featuring the acclaimed singer-songwriter in a stripped down, intimate production; a solo appearance by internationally renowned genre-defying mandolinist Chris Thile (July 24 + 25); Grammy Award-winning Americana singer-songwriter Aoife O’Donovan, with members of The Knights (July 28), and the exhilarating musical fusion of The War and Treaty (July 29) – and that’s just July! Check out Harry Connick, Jr. (Aug. 20), Pink Martini (Aug. 11), the incredible band Train with Vertical Horizon (Aug. 19) and the Indigo Girls & Ani DiFranco (Sep. 22).

The Semicentennial special anniversary concert on July 1, 2021, Fifty Years Together: A Celebration of Wolf Trap. with National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) under the baton of JoAnn Falletta, Broadway and film star Cynthia Erivo, soprano Christine Goerke, and the amazing pianist Joyce Yang still has seats available (the dinner is SOLD OUT). The gala concert pays homage to Wolf Trap Foundation’s Founder, Catherine Filene Shouse, a champion of the arts and of the advancement of women, with a program celebrating the breadth and spirit of the opening Filene Center gala concert that took place on July 1, 1971.

NSO’s summer season includes Beethoven and Bologne (July 8 + 9), featuring Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Bologne‘s Violin Concerto in A major, played by Italian violinist Francesca Dego under the direction of Jonathon Heyward; and beloved American stage and screen actor and singer Norm Lewis (July 30 + 31), who will join the orchestra to perform some of his favorite songs from Broadway. Also, Renée Fleming performs at the Filene Center for the first time in 15 years on August 6.


Wolf Trap Opera (WTO)’s season kicks off with Bologne’s 1780 chamber opera The Anonymous Lover (L’Amant Anonyme) in Concert. This rarely staged work will be performed in collaboration with the NSO (Geoffrey McDonald, conductor) and is directed by Kimille Howard; Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert; a special double bill of Viardot’s Cinderella (Cendrillon) and Holst’s Sāvitri in Concert; STARias: Opera’s Most Powerful Moments with Tamara Wilson (soprano), Michelle DeYoung (mezzo-soprano), Paul Groves (tenor), Ryan Speedo Green (bass-baritone) and others performing some of opera’s most beloved arias from ToscaLa bohèmeLa traviataRigolettoFaust and more. WTO will also stream digital programs including the perennial favorite Aria Jukebox beginning July 10, and the new Salon Series: Intimate Evenings of Song, which offers a unique glimpse into how some of this summer’s artists interpret art songs and the world around them.

Just prior to the season start, Wolf Trap will offer four free concerts for area frontline healthcare and education workers and volunteers beginning with the Wolf Trap debut of Marin Alsop conducting the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic (June 24) followed by three different performances by “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band ensembles Free Country (June 25), Big Band (June 26), and in concert with Celebrating 50 Years at Wolf Trap (June 27).

Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods performances will be held at the Filene Center this year with a diverse group of renowned performers for children and families, including Inez Barlatier – Ayiti: Stories and Songs from Haiti (July 20); award-winning clarinetist Oran Etkin’s Timbalooloo – Finding Friends Far From Home (July 21); popular children’s performers Dan + Claudia Zanes with Friends – New Beginnings (July 24); this year’s Grammy winner for “Best Children’s Album” Joanie Leeds – All The Ladies (July 27); Korean American folk artist Elena Moon Park and Friends (July 28); and local favorite Maryland Youth Ballet, performing Snow White (July 31).

While August and September shows will have patrons at full capacity, June and July 2021 tickets will be sold in socially distanced pods (seated groups of 2–8 tickets); ticket buyers will be responsible for buying a full pod; no single tickets will be sold. All tickets will be delivered electronically.

for tickets, call 877.WOLFTRAP or visit wolftrap.org
see website calendar for concerts
Wolf Trap members have access to exclusive presales

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