"Manon Lescaut" with Washington Concert Opera

The Italian Cultural Institute of Washington, in collaboration with Washington Concert Opera (WCO), is pleased to offer an evening in the company of Giacomo Puccini’s "Manon Lescaut" led by WCO’s co-founder, Peter Russell.

On November 13, at 6 pm, join us to discover Giacomo Puccini's opera with music interpreted by Katerina Burton(soprano), Sahel Salam (tenor), and David Hanlon (piano).

The evening is a preamble to the Washington Concert Opera’s “Manon Lescaut" by Giacomo Puccini scheduled to be performed on November 24, at 6 PM, at Lisner Auditorium.

LOCATION
Embassy of Italy
3000 Whitehaven Street NW
Washington, DC 20008

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DOORS OPEN 30 MINUTES PRIOR EVENT START-TIME

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ABOUT THE OPERA

Manon Lescaut is an opera in four acts composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1889 and 1892 based on the 1731 novel “Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux, et de Manon Lescaut” by Abbe Prevost. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Regio, in Turin, in 1893. In the United States it was first performed in 1907 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

The opera centers on Manon, a young woman destined to a convent at the will of her father, who steals the heart of various young men who see her arrive and is eventually abducted. After living without love with her abductor, Geronte, for some time, she tries to escape to live with her true love, des Grieux, only to be arrested. All attempts by des Grieux to free her are vain, until finally he is able to depart on a ship that would take Manon to Louisiana. The two are finally reunited for a brief time until Manon’s premature death, when she bids her lover farewell after a heartbreaking rendering of her life.

ABOUT WASHINGTON CONCERT OPERA

Founded in 1986 by Stephen Crout, Washington Concert Opera (WCO) produces high quality, seldom performed masterpieces of the operatic repertoire in concert form. WCO has performed nearly 60 operas, with a roster of world-renowned artists and is committed to making opera vital and relevant for all audiences. It strives to become a nationally and internationally recognized opera company by making exceptional contributions to the field through its distinctive mission.

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Peter Russell – Co-Founder of Washington Concert Opera

Peter Russell assumed the artistic and administrative leadership of Vocal Arts DC in Washington, DC in March 2012. He previously served in executive roles as General Director of Opera Colorado in Denver, as Director of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, and as General Director of Wolf Trap Opera Company in Virginia. A co-founder of Washington Concert Opera, he is also a frequent guest lecturer on opera, including for the Smithsonian Institution’s Resident Associates Program and for Georgetown University’s Continuing Education Series, and has frequently adjudicated vocal competitions, including for the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, The Richard Tucker Music Foundation, Partners in the Arts and the Washington International Competition. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in music history from Yale University.

ABOUT THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Meg Sippey - Executive Director

Meg Sippey has over 20 years of experience in the artistic administration world including planning seasons, tours, and multi-faceted community collaborations with major orchestras and opera houses. In addition, she has extensive fundraising and marketing experience, having served in several senior level positions. Her love of working with artists stems even further back from her previous career as a professional flutist; originally starting on piano while also singing and touring with her church choir throughout high school. Meg holds degrees from Michigan State University and the Eastman School of Music.

ABOUT THE PERFORMERS

Katerina Burton - soprano

American vocalist Katerina Burton, acclaimed for her “rich and warm” singing (Opera Wire) is a recent graduate of the Cafritz Young Artist program at Washington National Opera where she made her role debut as Micaëla in Francesca Zambello’s acclaimed production of Carmen. This season features many principal role debuts, including Mimì in La bohème with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Violetta Valéry in La traviata with Annapolis Opera, and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Madison Opera. Ms. Burton has seen much success as a competitor, having most recently been selected a winner of the 2024 George and Nora London Foundation Awards.

Sahel Salam - tenor
As a National Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and Winner of the Mario Lanza Competition, tenor Sahel Salam currently serves as a Cafritz Young Artist of Washington National Opera. Sahel recently performed with WNO as Pang in Turandot and Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette, also covering Roméo. He has also performed as Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Rodolfo in La Bohème, and Fernand in La Favorite.

Mr. Salam is an alumnus of The Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program, Merola Opera Program, Glyndebourne Festival Opera as a Jerwood Young Artist, and The Music Academy of the West. In Santa Fe Opera’s 2024 summer season, Sahel covered Alfredo Germont in La traviata, The Italian Singer in Der Rosenkavalier, and Eli in the world premiere of Gregory Spears’ The Righteous.

David Hanlon - Piano

David Hanlon is a composer, conductor, and pianist who is currently writing The Pigeon Keeperwith librettist Stephanie Fleischmann, commissioned by the Opera For All Voices consortium led by Santa Fe Opera. David’s last collaboration with Stephanie was the chamber opera After the Storm, whose premiere he conducted at Houston Grand Opera (HGO). David has often written work for HGO, including the chamber opera Past the Checkpoints, about undocumented immigrants; chamber vocal piece The Ninth November I Was Hiding, about his grandfather’s arrest during Kristallnacht; and Power, based on a text by a high-schooler about bullying. Wolf Trap Opera collaborations include the recent premiere of his orchestration of Pauline Viardot’s Cendrillon, the performance of his commissioned children’s opera Listen, Wilhelmina!, and Texanische Liebeslieder, co-written with Kathleen Kelly and based on oral histories of German immigration to Texas. David is also a conductor of new works, most recently for the world premiere of El Milagro del Recuerdo at Houston Grand Opera, which he also co-arranged. Previously, David made his debut at Chicago Opera Theatre conducting Weisman/Cote’s The Scarlet Ibis. Among other world premieres, David has long been associated with mariachi operas Cruzar la cara de la luna (World premiere and recording; revivals in Houston, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Diego Opera, Arizona Opera, and New York City Opera) and El Pasado Nunca Se Termina (World premiere at Lyric Opera of Chicago; revivals at San Diego, HGO, and Fort Worth). In addition to his commissioned work at HGO, David has conducted Gregory Spears’ The Bricklayer, Jack Perla’s River of Light, and Jeeyoung Kim’s From My Mother’s Mother.

Host or Publisher Italian Cultural Institute in Washington