2017 WNO Opera Gala & Concert

(WASHINGTON)—Washington National Opera (WNO) today announces an exciting

conclusion to its 2016–2017 season: the 2017 WNO Opera Gala, celebrating WNO

Board Chairman Jacqueline Badger Mars, who will step down as Chairman this

summer. The Gala, on Saturday, June 3, 2017, will include a concert in the Kennedy

Center Opera House featuring the WNO Orchestra and an array of musical stars who

will pay special tribute to Jacqueline Mars’s visionary leadership of WNO: legendary

soprano Renée Fleming, superstar mezzo-soprano and D.C. native Denyce Graves,

and Hamilton Tony Award® winner Leslie Odom Jr. The Gala is presented as part of

JFKC, the Kennedy Center’s season-long celebration of John F. Kennedy’s centennial,

and explores the themes of service and gratitude, which are often associated with

President Kennedy.

The Co-Chairmen of the WNO Opera Gala are WNO Life Chairman Mrs. Eugene B.

Casey and Mrs. John F. Mars. The Opera Gala pays tribute to Jacqueline Badger Mars

for her six seasons of leadership of the WNO Board of Trustees. Highlights of her

tenure include the founding of the American Opera Initiative, which for the last five

seasons has helped identify the brightest rising American composers and librettists and

has added their work to the repertory; the programming of an annual opera for families

at the holiday season, including Hansel and Gretel, The Little Prince, and the world

premiere commission of The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me; and the presentation of WNO’s

first-ever complete Ring cycles in 2016, a feat that put WNO into a very elite group of

American opera companies.

“I have been honored to work with Jacquie Mars since 2008, and her imaginative

leadership and guidance have brought WNO unparalleled growth and success while

also making the opera more accessible to a broader audience,” said WNO executive

director Michael L. Mael. “Our next Chairman will certainly have big shoes to fill, but I

am happy that Jacquie will continue to steer this company as a WNO trustee.”

Tickets for the Gala concert start at $49 and are on sale now to Kennedy Center

members. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, April 21, 2017 at 10 a.m.

For those who wish to purchase special Gala packages, the evening will begin with a

VIP cocktail reception on the Kennedy Center’s River Terrace at 5:30 p.m., followed by

the Gala concert at 6:30 p.m. After the performance, Gala package holders will depart

the Kennedy Center for elegant black-tie dinners hosted by many ambassadors at their

embassies or residences throughout the city, a longtime tradition of the Opera’s season-
ending social gathering.

The Opera Gala is WNO’s largest fundraiser and one of Washington’s most anticipated

events of the year. Proceeds from the Opera Gala will play a crucial role in advancing

the Opera’s award-wining artistic, educational, and outreach programs.

While the 2016–2017 season is coming to an end, the new season promises

excitement. WNO’s 2017–2018 season includes new productions of Verdi’s epic drama

Aida, the company premiere of Handel’s magical baroque opera Alcina, and Verdi’s

towering masterpiece Don Carlo, plus Rossini’s delightful comedy The Barber of Seville

and Bernstein’s biting satire Candide. The season also features a festival weekend of

four world premieres as part of the American Opera Initiative, the return of the holiday

family opera The Little Prince, two special Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist performances,

and more. Subscription packages are available now.

TICKET INFORMATION:

Tickets for the Gala concert start at $49 and are available online, in person at the

Kennedy Center Box Office, and by calling (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324. For all

other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at

(202) 416-8540.