Wolf Trap (national park) Filene Center inside

The Wolf Trap Opera Company (sometimes abbreviated WTOC) was founded in 1971 as part of the program of the Wolf Trap Foundation located near the

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (originally known as the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts and simply known as Wolf Trap) is a performing arts center located on of national park land in unincorporated Fairfax Count ...

Fairfax County Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria and ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The company is a residency and training program for aspiring opera professionals, with its major production being a summer

opera festival This is an inclusive list of opera festivals and summer opera seasons, and music festivals which have opera productions. This list may have some overlap with list of early music festivals. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition, ...

Mission and development

The company's mission is to discover and develop talent in the opera field and to serve young singers by giving them training and performance experience with opera productions, concerts and recitals each summer at the Filene Center and The Barns at Wolf Trap. Productions also feature the work of rising directors, conductors, designers, coaches, stage managers, scenic artists, and technicians. The company typically presents three operas at the Filene Center and/or The Barns at Wolf Trap. In addition, recitals and other performances take place. Wolf Trap Opera also regularly presents operatic rarities in full production.

Achievements

Over 90% of recent Filene Young Artists are working as professional singers. Among notable alumni are Stephanie Blythe (1995 and 1996),

Lawrence Brownlee Lawrence Brownlee (born November 24, 1972) is an American operatic tenor particularly associated with the bel canto repertoire. Describing his voice, Speight Jenkins, general director of the Seattle Opera, said: "There are other singers that sing ...

(2001),

Elizabeth Futral Susan Elizabeth Futral (born September 27, 1963 in Johnston County, North Carolina) is an American coloratura soprano who has won acclaim (as both singer and actress) throughout the United States as well as in Europe, South America, and Japan. E ...

(1991),

Denyce Graves Denyce Graves (born March 7, 1964) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. Early life Graves was born on March 7, 1964, in Washington, D.C., to Charles Graves and Dorothy (Middleton) Graves-Kenner. She is the middle of three children and ...

(1989),

Christine Goerke Christine Goerke (born 1969) is an American dramatic soprano. Early life and education The daughter of Richard Goerke and Marguerite Goerke, Goerke was born in 1969 in New York State. She grew up in Medford, New York, where she attended Tremont ...

(1995), Nathan Gunn (1994 and 1995),

Beverly Hoch Beverly Hoch (born August 26, 1951) is an American coloratura soprano and music educator who has had an active performance career in operas, concerts, and on recordings since the late 1970s. She has been teaching at Texas Woman's University sinc ...

(1980), Lisa Hopkins (2007),

Michael Maniaci Michael Maniaci (born May 3, 1976) is an American opera singer. Possessing a male soprano voice, Maniaci is noted for his claim to be able to sing into the upper soprano range without resorting to falsetto, an otherwise common phonation for me ...

(2002),

Simon O'Neill Simon John O'Neill (born 1971) is a New Zealand-born operatic tenor. In 1998, his image appeared on the New Zealand one-dollar performing arts postage stamp. Biography O'Neill was born in Ashburton, New Zealand, and received his musical tra ...

(2003),

Dawn Upshaw Dawn Upshaw (born July 17, 1960) is an American soprano. She is the recipient of several Grammy Awards and has released a number of Edison Award-winning discs; she performs both opera and art song, and her repertoire spans Baroque to contempor ...

(1985),

Jennifer Larmore Jennifer Larmore (born June 21, 1958) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer, particularly noted for her performances in coloratura and bel canto roles which she has performed in the world's major opera houses.Slonimsky, Nicolas and Kuhn, ...

(1983),

Mark Delavan Mark Delavan is an American operatic bass-baritone. He was a national finalist of the Metropolitan Opera auditions and an Adler Fellow with the San Francisco Opera. Early life His mother was a soprano and his father was an Opera singer, co ...

(1988),

Paul Austin Kelly Paul Austin Kelly (born 1960) is an American singer. A former rock musician who has sung opera, the tenor also writes, records and performs music for children. Musical beginnings Kelly attended Rondout Valley High School in Accord, New York and ...

(1987), James Maddalena (1975, 1976, and 1977),

Mary Dunleavy Mary Dunleavy (born 1966) is an American soprano who has performed with major opera companies and orchestras around the world. Life and career Dunleavy grew up in Montvale, New JerseyShengold, David"Focused on Her Game; OCP favorite Mary Dunleavy ...

(1993 and 1994),

Robert Orth The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

(1975, 1976, and 1979),

Rockwell Blake Rockwell Blake (born January 10, 1951) is an American operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in Rossini operas. He was the first winner of the Richard Tucker Award. Biography Born and raised in Plattsburgh, NY, Blake was the son of a mi ...

(1974 and 1976), Richard Croft (1985), and

Anna Christy Anna Christy is an American soprano opera singer. She studied at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and made her debut in 2000 at New York City Opera as Papagena. Christy sings ...

(2000 and 2001). In December 2009, the Company's 2007 live recording of John Musto's ''

Volpone ''Volpone'' (, Italian for "sly fox") is a comedy play by English playwright Ben Jonson first produced in 1605–1606, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it remains Jonson's most-perfor ...

'' was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

in the category of Best Opera Recording.

Commissioned Composers

Lee Anne Myslewski, vice-president for opera and classical programming at Wolf Trap, conceived of the UNTRAPPED series of programming in 2016 and has featured artistic partnerships with the Shakespeare Theatre, Taffety Punk, Halcyon, AMP at Strathmore, as well as ongoing partnerships with The Phillips Collection, the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

and the National Orchestral Institute + Festival. Under the direction of Myslewski, Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts has commissioned new works by living composers including

Caroline Shaw Caroline Adelaide Shaw (born August 1, 1982) is an American composer, violinist, and singer. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013 for her a cappella piece '' Partita for 8 Voices'' and the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Contemporar ...

Derek Bermel Derek Bermel (born 1967, in New York City) is an American composer, clarinetist and conductor whose music blends various facets of world music, funk and jazz with largely classical performing forces and musical vocabulary. He is the recipie ...

, Edward W. Hardy, Jake Heggie,

John Musto John Musto (born 1954) is an American composer and pianist. As a composer, he is active in opera, orchestral and chamber music, song, vocal ensemble, and solo piano works. As a pianist, he performs frequently as a soloist, alone and with orch ...

, Mark Campbell,

Mark-Anthony Turnage Mark-Anthony Turnage CBE (born 10 June 1960) is a British composer of classical music. Biography Turnage was born in Corringham, Essex. He began composing at age nine and at fourteen began studying at the junior section of the Royal College of ...

and Samuel Adler.

References

External links

* {{authority control Musical groups established in 1971 Opera festivals American opera companies 1971 establishments in Virginia Performing arts in Virginia

Mission and development

Achievements

Commissioned Composers

See also

References

External links