Richard Wagner s The Ring

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1 Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 13, 2014 Washington National Opera announces principal casting and dates for its production of Richard Wagner s The Ring Three complete cycles to be presented April 30 May 22, 2016 in the Kennedy Center Opera House Bayreuth sensation Catherine Foster makes U.S. debut as Brünnhilde Superstar soprano Nina Stemme makes WNO debut as Brünnhilde in Cycle III American heldentenor Daniel Brenna makes WNO debut as Siegfried American bass-baritone Alan Held returns to WNO as Wotan The Ring is directed by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and conducted by WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin (WASHINGTON, D.C.) Washington National Opera (WNO) today announced principal casting and performance dates for its first complete presentation of Richard Wagner s four-part Ring cycle. Three full cycles will be presented from April 30 to May 22, 2016 and will be directed by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and conducted by WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin. WNO s Ring cycles feature two outstanding Brünnhildes. Acclaimed British soprano Catherine Foster, who has stunned audiences at Wagner s hometown festival of Bayreuth in performances of the role, will make her U.S. debut in Cycles I and II. Internationally renowned Swedish soprano Nina Stemme, whose performances as Brünnhilde were highly acclaimed in this production s San Francisco run in 2011, makes her WNO debut in Cycle III. American ~ more ~

2 heldentenor Daniel Brenna, a noted interpreter of Siegfried at opera houses across Europe, takes on the role in the United States for the first time. American bass-baritone Alan Held, an experienced Wagnerian who has appeared in more than 20 WNO productions, returns to his celebrated portrayal of Wotan. Ring Cycle I, featuring Ms. Foster, runs April 30 May 6, Ring Cycle II, also featuring Ms. Foster, runs from May 10 15, Ring Cycle III, featuring Ms. Stemme, runs from May 17 22, A complete schedule of the operas in each cycle appears below; all performances will take place in the Kennedy Center Opera House. The Ring is an epic four-part story that follows the struggles of gods, heroes, and several mythical creatures for possession of a magical ring. From a grand castle in the sky to a dark underground city, from the banks of the Rhine to a mountaintop ringed by magic fire, three generations fight for domination over the entire world. Sponsorship packages with priority seating for The Ring will go on sale in September Subscription packages will be available in Spring The previously announced creative team includes direction by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, set design by Michael Yeargan, costume design by Catherine Zuber, lighting design by Mark McCullough, and projection design by Jan Hartley and S. Katy Tucker. The WNO Orchestra will be conducted by noted Wagnerian and WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin. Each opera will be performed in German with projected English titles. The company is planning a wide range of events during the spring of 2016 to engage Wagner aficionados, patrons new to Wagner s Ring, college students, children, and the city at large in Wagner s groundbreaking music and in the American historical themes that are the foundation of Francesca Zambello s striking production. Events will include lectures and symposia in music, literature, the visual arts, and more; additional information will be announced in the coming months. These spring 2016 performances will be the first time the company has presented the Ring in complete cycles in its history. WNO has previously presented the first three operas of the cycle individually: The Rhinegold in 2006, The Valkyrie in 2007, and Siegfried in The fourth opera, Twilight of the Gods, was presented in a successful concert staging in I am excited to bring my complete vision of the Ring back to its home at WNO, said WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, the director of the cycles. This production was conceived and evolved here in Washington, and I m looking forward to having our D.C. audience experience it in the intimacy of the Kennedy Center Opera House as a complete work. We have 2

3 assembled the best international and American artists to work with our experienced Wagnerian music director and our fine orchestra, and I look forward to giving our audiences the chance to experience the Ring in one-week cycles as Wagner intended. More information on Ring casting, ticket pricing, and on-sale dates will be announced in the coming months. For further details, go to Richard Wagner s The Ring (Der Ring des Nibelungen) Directed by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello Conducted by WNO Music Director Philippe Auguin Performed in German with Projected English Titles April 30 May 22, 2016 Cycle I Cycle II Cycle III The Rhinegold Sat., April 30 eve Tues., May 10 eve Tues., May 17 eve The Valkyrie Mon., May 2 eve Wed., May 11 eve Wed., May 18 eve Siegfried Wed., May 4 eve Fri., May 13 eve Fri., May 20 eve Twilight of the Gods Fri., May 6 eve Sun., May 15 mat Sun., May 22 mat BIOGRAPHIES OF PRINCIPAL ARTISTS Francesca Zambello (Director) is the artistic director of Washington National Opera. Previously she served as its artistic advisor. She has directed many WNO productions, including Of Mice and Men (debut in 2001), Fidelio (2003), Die Walküre (2003 and 2007), Billy Budd (2004), Porgy and Bess (2005 and 2010), Das Rheingold (2006), Siegfried (2009), Salome (2010), Show Boat (2013), The Force of Destiny (2013), and the world premiere children s opera The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me (2013). Since September 2010 she has also been the artistic and general director of The Glimmerglass Festival in upstate New York. An internationally recognized director of opera and theater, her work has been seen at the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, the Bolshoi, Royal Opera House, Munich State Opera, Paris Opera, New York City Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and English National Opera. She has staged plays and musicals on Broadway, at the Royal National Theatre, BAM, the Guthrie Theater, Vienna s Raimund Theater, the Bregenz Festival, Sydney Festival, Disneyland, Berlin s Theater des Westens, and at the Kennedy Center. She began her career as the artistic director of the Skylight Opera Theatre and as an assistant director to the late Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. She has been a guest lecturer at Harvard, Juilliard, and Yale. An American who grew up in Europe, she speaks French, Italian, German, and Russian. She is a graduate of Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. She has been awarded the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for her contribution to French culture, and the Russian Federation s medal for Service to Culture. Her theatrical honors include three Olivier Awards, two Evening Standard Awards, two French Grand Prix des Critiques, a Helpmann Award, a Green Room Award, a Palme d Or in Germany, and the Golden Mask in Russia. 3

4 Philippe Auguin (Conductor) is the music director of WNO and the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. Since his explosive debut with WNO leading concert performances of Wagner s Götterdämmerung in 2009, he has conducted performances of Salome (2010), Lucia di Lammermoor (2011), Così fan tutte (2012), Nabucco (2012), Don Giovanni (2012), Manon Lescaut (2013), Wagner s Tristan and Isolde (2013), and The Magic Flute (2014). This season he has conducted Madama Butterfly and Arabella at the Metropolitan Opera and La bohème and Tosca at the Vienna State Opera. He also led the NHK Symphony Orchestra in celebration of Wagner s bicentennial with a concert of opera overtures and excerpts. He enjoys a major career at the most important opera houses around the world: the Metropolitan Opera (Doktor Faust, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Lohengrin), the Vienna State Opera (Die tote Stadt, La forza del destino, Arabella), Teatro alla Scala (La forza del destino, Macbeth, Un ballo in maschera), Royal Opera House (La traviata, Tosca, Madama Butterfly), the Bavarian State Opera (Lohengrin, Der Rosenkavalier, Elektra), and the Berlin State Opera (Der Ring des Nibelungen, Der fliegende Holländer, Tannhäuser), among many other companies. He conducted the opening matinée of Mozart s bicentennial celebration at the Salzburg Festival in 1991 and the opening night of the Olympic Festival at the Sydney Opera House in In 2005 he brought to the International Beijing Music Festival the first-ever performances in China of Wagner s complete Ring cycle. Early in his career he was the assistant conductor of Herbert von Karajan and worked closely with Sir Georg Solti. He conducted the Memorial Concert of Sir Georg Solti in Westminster Abbey in He was awarded the Cross of Federal Merit of the German Republic in 2005 and was made the Honorary Consul of the French Republic in Catherine Foster (Brünnhilde, Cycles I and II) will make her U.S. debut in WNO s Ring cycle in She made her Bayreuth Festival debut in 2013 as Brünnhilde in the bicentenary production of the Ring cycle. Other career highlights in the Wagner repertory include Senta in The Flying Dutchman at the Dresden Semperoper in 2009, Brünnhilde in the Weimar Ring cycle in the season (available on DVD and Blu-ray by Arthuas), Brünnhilde in Hamburg in the season, Brünnhilde in the Helsinki Ring cycle in 2011, Isolde in Tristan und Isolde in Nice in 2012, and Brünnhilde in Die Walküre with Deutsche Oper Berlin in In the season she performed the role of Brünnhilde in acclaimed Ring cycles in Amsterdam and Hamburg. Future engagements include Brünnhilde in Barcelona and a return to the Bayreuth Festival for The Ring. She was born in Nottingham, U.K., where she first qualified and worked as a nurse and midwife before beginning her professional studies for singing at the Birmingham Conservatoire between under the guidance and tutelage of Pamela Cook MBE, who remains her teacher to date. Her first professional engagements were as the Queen of the Night with Opera Northern Ireland in 1998, with Welsh National Opera in 1999, and with English National Opera in Since 2001 she has been engaged at the German National Theater in Weimar as a spinto soprano, where she had a huge success with her debut role of Mimì in With equal success followed many leading roles, including Elektra in Idomeneo, the two Elizabeths in Wagner s Tannhäuser and Verdi s Don Carlo, the two Leonoras in Verdi s Il trovatore and Beethoven s Fidelio, Senta in Wagner s The Flying Dutchman, Abigaille in Nabucco, and the title roles in Tosca, Turandot, and Elektra. Nina Stemme (Brünnhilde, Cycle III) will make her WNO debut in the company s Ring cycle in She performed in this production during its run in San Francisco in 2010, directed by Francesca Zambello. The Swedish soprano is today in great demand at all major opera houses worldwide. She is a frequent guest at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, La Scala in Milan, the Vienna State Opera, Opera Bastille in Paris, Royal Opera House in London, as well as the opera houses in Stockholm, Zurich, Munich, Barcelona, Houston, and San Francisco, where she has sung roles such as Isolde (Tristan and Isolde), Brünnhilde (Wagner s Ring cycle), Elisabeth 4

5 (Tannhäuser), Turandot, Minnie (La fanciulla del West), Tosca, Ariadne, Salome, The Marschallin (Der Rosenkavalier), and Leonore (Fidelio). Her role interpretations are met with great acclaim among both audience and critics, and in 2013 she was the first recipient of the Opera Award for Best Female Singer. She was appointed Swedish Court Singer in 2006, Austrian Kammersängerin in 2012, and she has been selected Singer of the Year by the German magazine Opernwelt in 2005 and Her highly acclaimed Isolde in Christof Loy s production of Tristan and Isolde at the Royal Opera House in London garnered her the Laurence Olivier Award for best role interpretation in She has also been honored with the Swedish Royal medal Litteris et Artibus and the Italian Premio Abbiati. Since her debut as Cherubino in Cortona, Italy in 1989, her repertoire has included Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus), Mimì (La bohème), Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly), Manon Lescaut, Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), Katerina (Greek Passion), Suor Angelica, Euridice (Orfeo ed Euridice), Katerina (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk), Countess (Le nozze di Figaro), Marguerite (Faust), Agathe (Der Freischutz), Marie (Wozzeck), Nyssia (König Kandaules), Jenůfa, Arabella, Eva (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Elsa (Lohengrin), Senta (Der fliegende Holländer), Sieglinde (Die Walküre), Amelia (Un ballo in maschera), Leonora (La forza del destino), and Aida. She has performed at numerous opera scenes and festivals including Bayreuth, Salzburg, Savonlinna, Glyndebourne, Bregenz, and the BBC Proms in London. Future engagements include Tristan and Isolde at Deutsche Oper Berlin and at the Royal Opera House in London, and Ring cycles at the Vienna State Opera. Daniel Brenna (Siegfried) will make his U.S. debut in WNO s Ring cycle in Earlier this season he made his debut at Stuttgart State Opera in the title role of Siegfried. Later this year he makes his debut as Siegfried in Götterdämmerung at Opera North. His international career began in 2011 when he portrayed Aron in Moses und Aron at the Zurich Opera House under the stage direction of Achim Freyer and the musical direction of Christoph von Dohnànyi. Following his debut in the title role of Siegfried at the Longborough Festival in 2011, the Times of London wrote that Daniel Brenna is American, and must be one of the youngest and most convincing Siegfrieds around. In summer 2012 he made his widely noticed debut as Desportes in an Alvis Hermanis staging of Zimmermann s Die Soldaten at the Salzburg Festival. Other recent highlights include the Drum Major in a new production of Wozzeck and Aegisth in the revival premiere of Elektra, both for Stuttgart State Opera. The American-born tenor studied musicology at Boston University and completed his studies with a Master of Music and his opera diploma. First engagements brought him to the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra under the musical direction of Seiji Ozawa and Daniel Harding. He made his European debut at the Music Theatre in Gelsenkirchen. Lately, further guest engagements brought him to the Opera House Leipzig, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Aalto-Theatre Essen, the Festival St. Margarethen, the Munster Opera House, the Klagenfurt Theatre, and the Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2013 he enjoyed major successes as Jim Mahoney in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at the May Festival at the Wiesbaden State Theatre, as Siegmund and Siegfried in a special version of Wagner s Ring at Opéra Dijon, and he made his successful debut in the title role of Tannhäuser at the Dortmund Theatre. Future engagements include Desportes in Die Soldaten at La Scala and Alwa in Lulu at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam under the baton of Fabio Luisi. Alan Held (Wotan) has sung the role of Wotan in WNO s productions of Die Walküre (2003 and 2007) and Siegfried (2009), and the role of Gunther in WNO s concert staging of Götterdämmerung (2009). Since his WNO debut in Roméo et Juliette in 1987, he has appeared in more than 20 productions with the company, most recently as Scarpia in Tosca (2011). Next season he reprises his acclaimed performance in the title role of WNO s The Flying Dutchman. An American bass-baritone, he has appeared in major roles in the world s finest opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Canadian Opera 5

6 Company, the Royal Opera House, Paris Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, and the Munich State Opera. His many roles include Wotan in the Wagner s Ring Cycle, Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde, the Four Villains in Les Contes d Hoffmann, Jochanaan in Salome, Don Pizzaro in Fidelio, Orestes in Elektra, Balstrode in Peter Grimes, and the title role in Wozzeck. His performance of the Four Villains at the Metropolitan Opera was broadcast live in HD around the world, and his performance of the title role in Cardillac at the Paris Opera is available on DVD (Bel Air Classiques). He also sang Don Pizzaro on Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic s recording of Fidelio (EMI Classics). ABOUT WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA Washington National Opera (WNO) is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. Founded in 1956 and now an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the company boasts numerous artistic highlights, including world premieres, commissioning of new works and new productions, international tours, and performances by some of opera s most admired artists. WNO productions have been heard around the world, through radio and television broadcasts on WETA-FM, NPR, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, and PBS, as well as through audio and video recordings. In 2012, WNO launched the American Opera Initiative, a comprehensive new commissioning program that brings contemporary American stories to the stage while fostering and developing the talents of new American composers and librettists. WNO contributes to the future of opera through two other signature artist-development programs: the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program is a leading resident-training program for artists on the verge of international careers, and the WNO Opera Institute nurtures the ambitions of high-school-age singers and pianists from across the nation during an intensive three-week summer program. WNO s education and access initiatives include year-round programs in public schools throughout the region; Generation O, a popular discount-ticket initiative for young people; and a variety of lectures and discussions for every production on the season calendar. Among the most popular of WNO s community programs is M&M S Opera in the Outfield, which brings free, live simulcasts of opera to Nationals Park for thousands of opera fans as well as new audiences. FUNDING CREDITS: Initial funding for WNO s 2016 Ring is provided in part by Jacqueline B. Mars. David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of WNO.. For more information about Washington National Opera, visit Visit for behind-the-scenes news, special offers, and advance notice of events. on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news, offers, and more. PRESS CONTACT * : TICKETS & INFORMATION: Michael Solomon (202) ; (800) (202) masolomon@kennedy-center.org * Please do not publish this contact information 6