Food and Bottle Service (Cabanas) available.
In 2010, after only being open for 2 months, famed French bakery PAUL created a new Bastille Day tradition on Pennsylvania Ave. Throngs of patrons showed up – even dressed in chef’s outfits and as French Maids in stilettos! – to “quick-walk” laps around the US Navy Memorial Plaza for a July 14th “Bastille Day Baguette Relay Race”. The winning team won $25 gift cards to PAUL, and all had a great time!
This year, PAUL has partnered with the Alliance Française and expanded its Bastille Day Festivities! The public is invited to join in the fun and participate in our 3rd Annual Baguette Relay Race on Sunday July 14th at 2pm (Kids Race) and2:30am (Adult Race). And then stay a little longer, to participate in special children’s activities organized by the Alliance Française.
Verdi’s La traviata will be performed by the Wolf Trap Opera Company for one night only, Friday, July 19 at 8:15 pm at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. Grant Gershon conducts the National Symphony Orchestra and José María Condemi directs this new, fully-staged production; both artists are making their Wolf Trap debuts. Gershon is the Music Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Resident Conductor of LA Opera; Condemi is the Artistic Director of Opera Santa Barbara and is well-known for his directorial accomplishments at some of the most well-respected opera houses in North America, including San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Joining in the production is the Washington Chorus, under the direction of Julian Wachner.
This new production features site specific video projections of original scenic designs created by Aaron Rhyne. Costumes and sets will be by Anka Lupes, and lighting will be designed by returning artist Mark Stanley. The production will be set in the Roaring Twenties, and will be sung in Italian with English supertitles.
La traviata was last produced at Wolf Trap in 1976, in a performance that featured renowned soprano Beverly Sills in the title role. During this time, established professionals sang the leading roles in Wolf Trap Opera Company productions and young artists sang in the chorus. Since 1985, all leading roles have been performed by the Filene Young Artists, an elite group of young singers who are chosen through a highly-selective annual nationwide audition tour.
This year’s production was made possible in part through generous philanthropic support from Wolf Trap Foundation Board member Daniel D’Aniello and his wife, Gayle, as well as through the generosity of other loyal Wolf Trap Opera Company supporters.
“After nearly four decades, we are delighted to bring this treasured opera back to the Filene Center with generous support for our internationally renowned young opera program,” said Arvind Manocha, President and CEO, Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.
For this production, the lead role of Violetta is played by returning Filene Young Artist, soprano Corinne Winters. Earlier this year, London’s Sunday Times named her “The best ENO Violetta in decades and worth the ticket price alone.” A native of Frederick, Maryland, Winters received training from the Academy of Vocal Arts, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Gerdine Young Artist Program, and the Peabody Conservatory. Her recent roles include Violetta (La traviata, Opera Hong Kong, English National Opera, Opera Lyra Ottawa) and Vendulka (The Kiss, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis). Last summer she sang the role of Anne Truelove in WTOC’s production of The Rake’s Progress.
Benjamin Bliss, tenor, will perform the role of Alfredo Germont. Bliss hails from Prairie Village, Kansas and received training from Chapman University and the Los Angeles Opera Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program. His recent roles include Aguilar (Dulce Rosa, LA Opera), Male Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia, LA Opera YAP), and Barbargio (I due Foscari, LA Opera).
Nicholas Pallesen, baritone, will sing the role of Giorgio Germont. Pallesen is from Riverside, California. He received training from Juilliard Opera Center, Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Gerdine Young Artist Program, and the University of Florida. His recent roles include Rigoletto (Rigoletto, Shreveport Opera), Pluto (Orpheus, New York City Opera), and Robert Storch (Intermezzo, New York City Opera).
Based on the novel La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils, La traviata (“The Woman Gone Astray”) tells a story of passion, second chances, and heartbreak. Violetta Valéry, a fashionable courtesan recovering from a recent illness, allows herself to love the ardent young Alfredo Germont, leaving her former life to live with him in the country. His father, the upstanding Giorgio Germont, knows that allowing Alfredo to continue in a relationship with a woman of Violetta’s previous reputation would ruin his entire family. Tragedy ensues as Violetta makes a sacrifice for her lover’s family, even as she succumbs to her illness.
A Pre-Performance Discussion by Lee Anne Myslewski, Director, Artistic Administration, Wolf Trap Opera & Classical Programming, will be offered one hour before performance time on the Old Farmhouse Lawn, which is located to the left of the main gate/box office area for the Filene Center.
NEW PRODUCTION
La traviata
Music by Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave
Friday, July 19 at 8:15 pm
Wolf Trap Opera Company and National Symphony Orchestra
Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
Creative Team
Conductor – Grant Gershon*
Director – José Maria Condemi*
Projections Design – Aaron Rhyne*
Costume & Scenic Design – Anka Lupes*
Lighting Design – Mark Stanley
Cast
Violetta Valéry – Corinne Winters
Alfredo Germont – Benjamin Bliss*
Giorgio Germont – Nicholas Pallesen*
with
Annina – Courtney Johnson
Flora Bervoix – Alexandra Rodrick
Gastone – Miles Mykkanen*
Giuseppe – Brandon Russell*
Baron Douphol – Harry Greenleaf*
Marquis d’Obigny – Brian Vu
Doctor Grenville – Nicholas Brownlee*
and
The Washington Chorus, Julian Wachner, Director
To celebrate one year of success, RaiseDC will be curating The One Year benefit on Friday, July 19th (10pm-late), bringing together all of our past eight beneficiaries to benefit them once again. But this isn’t your standard philanthropic event. We’ll have two of DC’s best DJs (Chris Burns and Sami Y) and one of DC’s most high energy bands, Brett, to keep hundreds of our young followers dancing all night. All of this will take place under the roof of one of DC’s newest and most anticipated venues, Malmaison, a Parisian-inspired restaurant and lounge conveniently located on the Georgetown waterfront.
Raise Your City orchestrates social change by connecting civically minded people to local non-profits, artists, and businesses invested in making a difference in their community. Raise Your City welcomes the participation of local non-profits, musicians, artists, and businesses that share a commitment to orchestrating positive social, economic, cultural and environmental change. By curating benefit events highlighting these stakeholders, our virtuous nightlife brings grassroots fundraising, arts and music promotions, and city partnerships to new frontiers.
In partnership with a committed board of advisors—a balanced mix of Generation Y non-profit leaders, event planners, social media experts, bloggers, accountants, lawyers and consultants—RaiseDC has raised thousands of dollars for various DC-based nonprofits in its first year.
The One Year will benefit the following eight local non-profit partners:
– 826DC – Thrive DC
– Higher Achievement DC Metro – Perry Center
– Earth Conservation Corps – StandUp for Kids DC
– DC Greens – Miriam’s Kitchen
Food and Bottle Service (Cabanas) available.
Union Market will host the third annual DC Scoop on National Ice Cream Day, July 21st from 1:00-4:00PM.
Taste and judge the District’s best ice cream, gelato, custard, frozen yogurt and other summer treats, for free, on National Ice Cream Day at the Third Annual DC Scoop. The event will bring together the who’s who of the D.C. food world, along with a panel of distinguished judges who will determine the winner. Judges include Richie Brandenburg, director of culinary strategy at EDENS; Cesar Vega, ice cream expert and author of The Kitchen as Laboratory; Andrew Solberg, Metropolitan Police Department Commander of the Fifth Division; and more.
In addition to tasting and judging the best frozen treats in D.C., The DC Scoop will feature fun activities like ice cream cooking demonstrations, music and live entertainment. The DC Scoop is kid-friendly with activities such as face painting and music and dancing with Boogie Babes. Boogie Babes is live music performances for kids and their grownups, which also takes place at Union Market weekly, Wednesdays at 10:30am.
Confirmed contestants include: Dolcezza Gelato, Sweet Freeze, Carmen’s Frozen Custard, Goodies Frozen Custard & Treats, Ice Cream Jubilee, Pitango Gelato, Sinplicity, Gifford’s Ice Cream, Taharka Bros., Rare Sweets, Nice Cream Factory, Dolci Gelati, Suga Mama Sweets, Hill Pops, and Cream Cycle.
The DC Scoop is a free event. Free samples are available from contestants and full serving sizes are available for purchase. For more information, please visit http://unionmarketdc.com/
Moise Fokou, Vernon Davis, Muhammad Wilkerson, Torrey Smith and other celebrated NFL players will join Chef Rob Klink and the team at Del Frisco’s Grille for a special night benefiting Root 53 Foundation’s Lunchbox and Backpack initiative. The foundation focuses on the overall development and well being of children growing up in highly urban areas in and around Washington DC.
WHAT: Celebrity Waiter Night offers guests the opportunity to enjoy a unique dining experience while supporting an outstanding community cause. Tickets are available at two price levels:
- · $75 includes a three-course meal and choice of signature cocktail before dinner
- · $200 includes a VIP pre-reception and player meet & greet, mezzanine kitchen-side seating, a premium three-course meal and open bar all night
Guests are encouraged to tip the players and a silent auction will be staged in the dining room with outstanding sponsored prizes. All of the proceeds will be donated to Root 53.
Robert Plant
presents Sensational Space Shifters
Special Guest: Bombino
Monday, July 22, 2013 at 8 pm
$35-$65
Former Led Zeppelin singer and multi-Grammy Award winner Robert Plant brings his latest music projectSensational Space Shifters to his Wolf Trap debut. Plant joined legendary rock band Led Zeppelin in 1968 and reinvented rock with hits like “Stairway to Heaven,” “Dazed and Confused,” and “Black Dog.” With the band’s breakup in 1980, Plant dove into a variety of solo and group projects, including a reunion with Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page in the mid ’90s. His 2007 collaboration with Alison Krauss, Raising Sand, won six Grammy Awards. Now he currently performs with Sensational Space Shifters, whose lineup includes Justin Adams (guitar, bendir), John Baggott (keyboards), Juldeh Camara (ritti, kologo, talking drum), Billy Fuller (bass guitar), Dave Smith (drums, percussion), and Liam “Skin” Tyson (guitar). Combining African beats, synthesizer funk, rock ’n’ roll, and blues, the band plays a mix of new songs and Led Zeppelin hits.
