March 11, 2014 Contact: Camille Cintrón, 703.255.4096 or [email protected]

WOLF TRAP ANNOUNCES SUMMER 2014 SYMPHONY, OPERA, DANCE, AND JAZZ SEASON

Season highlights include the National Symphony , featuring Yo-Yo Ma and Jean-Yves Thibaudet; Wolf Trap Opera production of Carmen; The Philadelphia Orchestra; Trey McIntyre Project; Pilobolus; Wynton Marsalis with The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra; Pat Metheny; and more

**ALL PERFORMANCES ON SALE MARCH 29 AT 10 AM**

Vienna, VA— Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts announces its 2014 summer symphony, opera, dance, and jazz productions. The expanded fine arts repertoire and guest artists feature some of the greatest performers, ensembles, and classical and crossover programs from each genre.

This season’s collaboration with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) includes seven performances, featuring conductors Andrew Litton, Grant Gershon, Vince Mendoza, Thomas Wilkins, and NSO Festival Conductor Emil de Cou. Guest artists include iconic cellist Yo-Yo Ma, world-renowned pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and American singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter. The schedule also features two NSO performances with film: Pixar in Concert and Disney Fantasia Live in Concert.

Wolf Trap Opera’s (WTO) original Operascape production of Bizet’s highly popular Carmen is conducted by Grant Gershon and features the Filene Young Artists, Studio Artists, and the National Symphony Orchestra. WTO also presents a new production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare, and a rare pairing of Milhaud’s Le pauvre matelot and Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias, both at The Barns at Wolf Trap. This year, WTO announces internationally renowned bass-baritone Eric Owens as its first Artist in Residence. An alumnus of Wolf Trap’s Filene Young Artist program, the Grammy Award-winning Owens has carved a unique place in the opera world as an esteemed interpreter of classic works and a champion of new music.

Wolf Trap proudly welcomes The Philadelphia Orchestra for the first time since 1999 in a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, conducted by Bramwell Tovey, with The Choral Arts Society of Washington and featuring four Wolf Trap Opera soloists. This concert marks the ensemble’s only appearance in 2014 in the D.C. area.

This year’s fine arts offerings include four dance programs, featuring five major dance companies—the most Wolf Trap has hosted in recent years. The 2014 dance programs feature the Trey McIntyre Project, in its final D.C. performance; the mainstream and highly acrobatic works of Pilobolus; the electrifying Noche Flamenca, featuring live music and dance; and a joint bill featuring the Pacific Northwest Ballet and Oregon Ballet Theatre in a Face of America™ production.

This summer, Wolf Trap will also host four three concerts featuring multiple Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis with The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra; leading jazz guitarist Pat Metheny and his Unity Group alongside Bruce Hornsby in their Campfire Tour 2014; and a co-bill with saxophonist Boney James and R&B/soul singer Eric Benét in his Wolf Trap debut.

Tickets for these performances go on sale at 10 am on March 29 and can be purchased online at wolftrap.org, by calling 1.877.WOLFTRAP, or at the Wolf Trap Box Office located at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts at 1551 Trap Road, Vienna, Virginia 22182.

All Performances in Chronological Order by Genre

SYMPHONY:

Pixar in Concert National Symphony Orchestra Emil de Cou, conductor Friday, June 20, 2014 at 8:30 pm

Everyone’s favorite animated Pixar films will be projected on the big screen, including Finding Nemo, Up, Toy Story, and Monsters, Inc., with their original Academy and Grammy Award- winning scores by Randy Newman, Thomas Newman, Michael Giacchino, and Patrick Doyle performed live by the National Symphony Orchestra. Included in this animated and musical journey will be Pixar’s most recent Academy Award-winning film, Brave. Pixar in Concert © Disney/Pixar

In his 10th season as conductor for the National Symphony at Wolf Trap, Emil de Cou is also the music director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet. “He’s one of the few conductors trying to open new doors into classical music, either with video…or other new technologies aimed at younger audiences.”—The Washington Post

The Philadelphia Orchestra Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 Bramwell Tovey, conductor Featuring The Choral Arts Society of Washington and Wolf Trap Opera Soloists Saturday, June 28, 2014 at 8:15 pm

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor (9th Symphony) including the iconic “Ode to Joy” will be performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the world’s leading , in its only 2014 D.C.-area appearance.

“One of the most versatile and charismatic musicians in the world, Bramwell Tovey is a Grammy Award-winning conductor and a renowned composer.”—MusicalAmerica.com. The award- winning Choral Arts Society of Washington joins soloists from the Wolf Trap Opera; Tracy Cox, soprano; Virginie Verrez, mezzo-soprano; Robert Watson, tenor; and Ryan Speedo Green, bass- baritone.

Repertoire: Beethoven: Egmont Overture Britten: Four Sea Interludes Beethoven: Symphony No. 9

Matthew Morrison National Symphony Orchestra Steven Reineke, conductor Thursday, July 10, 2014 at 8:15 pm

Emmy, Tony, and Golden Globe-nominated Matthew Morrison is best known for playing Link in Hairspray on Broadway and Will Schuester on FOX-TV’s Glee, a role that won him a Screen Actors Guild Award. Morrison just released Where It All Began (2013), a collection of classic standards by Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, and more.

Steven Reineke, principal pops conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra and music director of The New York Pops, is praised for his creative compositions and presentations. “With the peppy, husky growl of a radio DJ and the fervor of a boxing announcer, Reineke’s excitement and passion for the material is pleasantly infectious to orchestra and attendees alike.”—Edge New York

Disney Fantasia Live in Concert National Symphony Orchestra Emil de Cou, conductor Friday, July 11, 2014 at 8:30 pm Saturday, July 12, 2014 at 8:30 pm

Experience Disney magic on the big screen when the National Symphony Orchestra casts an enchanting musical spell on sorcerer Mickey and other cherished characters from the animated masterpiece, featuring vibrant interpretations of classical pieces by Beethoven, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and more. Disney Fantasia Live in Concert © Disney

Repertoire: Disney’s Fantasia (1940) Fantasia 2000 (1999)

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano Andrew Litton, conductor National Symphony Orchestra Friday, July 18, 2014 at 8:15 pm

Hailed as “one of the best pianists in the world” (Baltimore Sun), Jean-Yves Thibaudet continues to captivate audiences around the world with his thrilling performances, profound artistry, poetic musicality, and dazzling technical prowess.

Andrew Litton, music director of ’s Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, artistic director of the ’s Sommerfest, and conductor Laureate of Bournemouth Symphony, was recently named music director of the Colorado Symphony. Litton conducts the world’s leading orchestras and opera companies and has a discography of over 120 recordings with awards including America’s Grammy, France’s Diapason d’Or, and many British and other honors.

Repertoire: Rossini: William Tell Overture Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36

2001: A Space Odyssey Performed by the National Symphony Orchestra Emil de Cou, conductor Saturday, July 19, 2014 at 8:30 pm

The sci-fi masterpiece from acclaimed director Stanley Kubrick is one of the American Film Institute’s (AFI) Top 10 Greatest Films. A journey through time and space, the film’s score heralded a resurgence in popularity of J. Strauss’ Blue Danube waltz, R. Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra, and Ligeti’s Atmosphères. Kubrick’s Academy Award-winning film will be projected on huge screens while the breathtaking score is performed by the National Symphony Orchestra.

Mary Chapin Carpenter: Songs From The Movie National Symphony Orchestra Vince Mendoza, conductor Friday, August 1, 2014 at 8:15 pm

Mary Chapin Carpenter is a two-time Country Music Associate Female Vocalist of the Year and an inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In January 2014, she released Songs From The Movie, an orchestral reinvention of her music, which was recorded with a 63-piece orchestra and a 15-voice choir.

Conductor, arranger, and composer Vince Mendoza has been at the forefront of the jazz and contemporary music scene as a composer and recording artist for the past 20 years. He is a six- time Grammy winner and arranged Carpenter’s new .

Yo-Yo Ma National Symphony Orchestra Thomas Wilkins, conductor Saturday, August 2, 2014 at 8:15 pm

Yo-Yo Ma has a discography of more than 75 and has won the National Medal of Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and more than 15 Grammy Awards. “This Paris-born, Harvard-educated musician may be the most venerated performing artist today. Which is not at all surprising given his warm personality and peerless musicianship, distinguished by poise, technical prowess and tonal luster.”—Wall Street Journal

Thomas Wilkins is music director of the Omaha Symphony and principal guest conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

Repertoire: Bernstein: Candide – Overture Bernstein/Harmon: Candide – Suite Grieg: Peer Gynt – Suite No. 1 Dvořák: Cello Concerto

OPERA:

Handel’s Giulio Cesare The Barns at Wolf Trap Friday, June 27, 2014 at 7:30 pm Sunday, June 29, 2014 at 3 pm Tuesday, July 1, 2014 at 7:30 pm

Handel’s most popular opera (both during his lifetime and today) focuses on Julius Caesar’s visit to Egypt in 48 BC, during which he encounters the exotic Cleopatra. Giulio Cesare in Egitto (1724) juxtaposes the virtuosity of 18th-century opera seria with a real sense of intimacy and emotion. Cesare returns to Wolf Trap for the first time since 1995.

Conductor – Antony Walker Director – Chas Rader-Shieber Scenic Design – Judy Gailen Costume Design – Jacob Climer Lighting Design – Robert H. Grimes Language Consultant – Franca Gorraz

Cleopatra – Ying Fang, soprano Giulio Cesare – John Holiday, countertenor Tolomeo – Eric Jurenas, countertenor Cornelia – Renée Rapier, mezzo-soprano Sesto – Carolyn Sproule, mezzo-soprano Achilla – Jeongcheol Cha, bass-baritone Curio – Alex Rosen,* bass-baritone Nireno – Kara Sainz,* soprano *Studio Artist

Aria Jukebox The Barns at Wolf Trap Sunday, July 13, 2014 at 3 pm

The 2014 Filene Young Artists and special guest Eric Owens sing your favorite opera highlights with Kim Witman at the piano. Ticket price includes a wine and cheese pre-concert reception beginning at 2 pm. Come early and put your quarters in the jukebox to vote for the arias of your choice!

Houseful of Song The Barns at Wolf Trap Saturday, July 19, 2014 at 3 pm Sunday, July 20, 2014 at 3 pm Steven Blier and a trio of Filene Young Artists get domestic as they perform songs for every room in the house!

Bizet’s Carmen Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts Wolf Trap Opera Company National Symphony Orchestra Friday, July 25, 2014 at 8:15 pm

A spellbinding drama filled with lust, jealousy, and tragedy, Carmen is opera’s ultimate temptress and one for the world’s most popular operas. Bizet’s masterpiece features many of opera’s most powerful and memorable melodies, from the bewitching “Habanera,” to the passionate “Seguidilla,” and the bravura of the “Toreador Song,” Carmen captures the imagination from the first note of the overture.

“First-rate conductor” Grant Gershon (Opera News) is resident conductor of LA Opera and music director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

Conductor – Grant Gershon Director – Tara Faircloth Video Projection Design – S. Katy Tucker Costume Design – Rooth Varland Lighting Design – Mark Stanley

Carmen, a gypsy – Maya Lahyani, mezzo-soprano Don José, a corporal – Kevin Ray, tenor Escamillo, a bullfighter – Norman Garrett, baritone Micaëla, a country girl – Melinda Whittington, soprano Zuniga, a lieutenant – Ryan Speedo Green, bass-baritone Moralès, a corporal – Joo Won Kang, baritone Frasquita, a gypsy – Mireille Asselin, soprano Mercédès, a gypsy – Virginie Verrez, mezzo-soprano Le Dancaïre, a smuggler – Robert Watson, tenor Le Remendado, a smuggler – Tobias Greenhalgh, baritone

French Double Bill At The Barns at Wolf Trap Milhaud’s Le pauvre matelot Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias Friday, August 8, 2014 at 7:30 pm Sunday, August 10, 2014 at 3 pm Saturday, August 16, 2014 at 7:30 pm

Two 20th-century French one-act operatic gems are presented in a new and unusual pairing.

The evening begins with Milhaud’s dark and dramatic Le pauvre matelot (The Poor Sailor, 1927) on a libretto by Jean Cocteau. At only 40 minutes long, Le pauvre matelot is a short study in both greed and fidelity. The sailor has gone missing for 15 years, and although his friends and family believe him dead, his wife holds out hope. He returns home unrecognizable from the passing of years and ravages of harsh climates and decides to remain anonymous to test his wife’s faithfulness.

After intermission, the drama gives way to the absurd with Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias (Tirésias’ Breasts, 1947), with text based on Apollinaire’s surrealistic play of the same name. Poulenc’s score is both beautiful and humorous and Apollinaire’s story is zany, ridiculous, and outrageous. This 55-minute opera features a feminist who changes her gender in order to escape the oppression of men (freeing herself of her breasts, hence the title) and her husband, who takes on the burden of child-bearing (40,049 of them) in order to save the human race. There are drunken gamblers, an easily duped gendarme, and a mysterious fortune-teller. Poulenc described this opera, his first, as “the work that is dearest to me.”

Conductor – Timothy Myers Director – Matthew Ozawa Scenic Design – William Boles Costume Design – Amanda Seymour Lighting Design – Robert H. Grimes Language Consultant – Marie-France Lefebvre

Le pauvre matelot

Le matelot (a sailor) – Robert Watson, tenor Sa femme (his wife) – Tracy Cox, soprano Son ami (his friend) – Norman Garrett, baritone Son beau-père (his father-in-law) – Ryan Speedo Green, bass-baritone

Les mamelles de Tirésias

Thérèse – Mireille Asselin, soprano Mari – Tobias Greenhalgh, baritone Directeur/Gendarme – Joo Won Kang, baritone Lacouf – Eric Ferring,* tenor Presto – Michael Adams,* baritone Le Fils – Martin Clark,* tenor La Marchande – Megan Samarin,* mezzo-soprano Journaliste – Michael Anderson,* tenor Une Dame – Evan Kardon,* soprano Un Monsieur Barbu – Matt Turner,* bass Une Grosse Dame – G. Thomas Allen,* countertenor *Studio Artist

DANCE:

Trey McIntyre Project Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at 8:30 pm

In their final D.C. performance, this inventive and bold contemporary ballet company performs to Queen’s glam-rock stylings. “Rock concert? More than 1,400 people did the stomp-stomp-clap of Queen’s iconic sports anthem, ‘We Will Rock You,’ on the Morrison Center floor, while the dance company dazzled on stage. The extended curtain call was a literal scream fest.”—Idaho Statesman

Trey McIntyre is one of the most sought-after choreographers working today. He has received the Gold Medal of Lifetime Achievement from the National Society of Arts and Letters, two choreographic fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Choo-San Goh Award for Choreography.

Repertoire: Mercury Half Life: a 50-minute performance set to the music of Queen The Vinegar Works: Four Dances of Moral Instruction, inspired by the work of illustrator and writer Edward Gorey

Pilobolus Tuesday, July 1, 2014 at 8:30 pm

Wild creativity and daring, athletic modern dance that “makes dance lovers do a double take— and non-dance lovers ooh and ahh” (Dance Magazine). Pilobolus has won a Primetime Emmy Award, the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for lifetime achievement in choreography, and the Dance Magazine Award. “If human centipedes, Houdini-like escapes, Cirque de Soleil-style aerial acrobatics and lots of very sexy, muscular performers in dance belts appeal to your sense of fun and aesthetics, then Pilobolus…should be your cup of tea.”—The Huffington Post

Noche Flamenca Tuesday, August 12, 2014 at 8:30 pm

Spellbinding live music with song and dance reveals the essence of flamenco at its most authentic. The performance stars acclaimed dancer Soledad Barrio and has won the National Dance Project Award. “Noche Flamenca, the Madrid-based company of dancers, singers and guitarists, unfurled a program with the fully felt emotional expression of the soul that pure flamenco demands of its practitioners…Not to join [them] in this captivating journey would be to lose a chance at love, both its ecstasy and its agony.”—The Washington Post

Pacific Northwest Ballet and Oregon Ballet Theatre A Face of America™ Production Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 8 pm

Pacific Northwest Ballet premieres Wolf Trap-commissioned work by up-and-coming choreographer Andrew Bartee, featuring a live performance by the Chromatics and stunning scenic film from Olympic National Park and other majestic parks of the Pacific Northwest. Oregon Ballet Theatre dances to the music of favorites Fleet Foxes.

In recognition of the extraordinary role that America’s national parks play in preserving our country’s rich cultural and natural resources, Wolf Trap launched its original performances series, Face of America, in 2000, taking audiences on a journey to discover the diversity of people and landscapes that shape our nation’s past, present, and future. For each performance, Wolf Trap commissions artists to create site-specific work that is captured on location at the national park in high-definition video. A taped performance projected on giant screens combines with live music and dance on the Filene Center stage to bring the essence of the national park to Wolf Trap’s audience.

Pacific Northwest Ballet is a highly regarded company that presents more than 100 performances each year that allow “audiences to view different facets of the ever-expanding world of contemporary ballet” (Seattle Dances). Oregon Ballet Theatre is a versatile dance company whose performances make “a deep visual and emotional impression” (BachTrack.com). Seattle-based indie band Fleet Foxes are revered for their harmony-rich rock and were praised as “one of the most buzzed about bands in America” by Rolling Stone. There’s an intimate distance to the music of Chromatics, an electronic band from Portland known for pensive rhythms and haunting vocals. Their newest album, Kill for Love, was chosen as one of Pitchfork’s Top 50 albums of 2012.

JAZZ:

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis Wednesday, July 30, 2014 at 8 pm

Grammy Award-winning jazz master Wynton Marsalis and the all-star Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra have been hailed as the “finest big band in the world today” (The Daily Telegraph).

Orchestra leader and trumpet virtuoso Wynton Marsalis has received nine Grammy Awards, the Louis Armstrong Memorial Medal, the National Medal of Arts, and was the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. With a lineup including members from the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis’s original septet, the 15-piece Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra features some of the best soloists, ensemble players, and arrangers in jazz. “Ellington’s era may have come and gone, but the model he established still resonates in our culture, nowhere more than in the work of [the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra].”—The Chicago Tribune

Pat Metheny Unity Group Bruce Hornsby Campfire Tour 2014 Wednesday, August 6, 2014 at 7:30 pm

Boundary-pushing jazz quintet meets genre-hopping pop pianist and songwriter behind ’80s hit “The Way It Is.” Pat Metheny Unity Group balances 20-time Grammy winner Pat Metheny’s uniquely accessible jazz instrumentalism with his hunger for innovation and experimentation. The newly expanded quintet is hailed for “taking complete joy in the art of making creative music and taking new risks” (MusicOMH.com).

Bruce Hornsby’s stirring piano runs and airy vocals have captivated audiences since his first profound hit “The Way It Is.” The Grammy-winning songwriter and former Grateful Dead bandmate now applies his understated technique to the diverse frontiers of bluegrass, jazz, and soundtrack work.

Boney James Eric Benét Thursday, August 14, 2014 at 8 pm

Smooth, soulful hits from genre-busting saxophonist Boney James and sensual R&B crooner Eric Benét. Saxophone king Boney James is a Soul Train Award winner (Best Jazz Album) with 10 number-one albums on multiple Billboard jazz charts. He blends pop, jazz, R&B, funk, and Latin influences to woo audiences with a smooth yet electrifying sound “all but daring them not to have a good time” (The Boston Globe). Armed with a silky voice and a knack for sophisticated songwriting, R&B singer and Soul Train Award-winner Eric Benét brings romance and a timeless groove to hits such as “Spend My Life With You,” which topped Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.

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About Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by Catherine Filene Shouse (1896-1994), produces and presents a full range of performance and education programs in the Greater Washington area, as well as nationally and internationally. Wolf Trap features three performance venues: the outdoor Filene Center and Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, both located at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, and The Barns at Wolf Trap, located down the road from the national park and adjacent to the Center for Education at Wolf Trap. The 7,028-seat Filene Center is operated in partnership with the National Park Service and annually showcases an extensive array of diverse artists, ranging from pop, country, folk, and blues to classical music, dance, and theatre, as well as multimedia presentations, from May through September. The Barns at Wolf Trap is operated by the Wolf Trap Foundation year-‘round, and during the summer months is home to the Grammy- nominated Wolf Trap Opera, one of America’s outstanding resident ensemble programs for young opera singers. Wolf Trap’s education programs include the nationally acclaimed Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, and Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, a diverse array of arts education classes, grants, and a nationally recognized internship program that was included in Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s 2009 List of “Best Places to Intern.” As part of its ongoing commitment to protect and preserve the environment, Wolf Trap offers Metro access and is a founding member of the Green Music Group.

Visit wolftrap.org for more information