“The times, they are a-changin’….”
If you’re of a certain age or musical proclivity, those words have already planted an earworm in your head, as Bob Dylan’s penetrating lyrics and soulful (if musically approximate) voice bring back another time of flux. This corner of the Newsletter tries to stay in its lane (the arts, primarily, with occasional excursions into etymology, meteorology, philosophy, and other random topics). But there’s so much traffic in that lane right now that I can’t not comment a little bit (and also record the first double-negative I’ve ever used in this space).
I’m thinking primarily of the major tremors happening at the Big White Temple of the Arts on the Potomac (and no worries, I have often called it that over the years, usually with affection). Major productions, ensembles, and individual artists have canceled appearances. Staff have departed, for various reasons and under various circumstances. Attendance and program dates are down significantly. And just a short time ago, in what many view as the biggest aftershock of the initial earthquake, the Washington National Opera decided to break its longstanding relationship with the Center.
As you may know, the WNO, which had been performing at the Center since its opening in 1971, became an artistic affiliate in 2011 (on a similar model to that of the National Symphony Orchestra, whose affiliation began in 1986), sharing some administrative functions and financial responsibilities, but maintaining a separate Board of Trustees and artistic staff. The opera company will now perform at other venues, which as of this writing have not been announced.
This story is still unfolding, but I am very happy to note that we have the honor of presenting the superb Washington National Opera orchestra along with some of America’s finest young opera singers, from the Cafritz Young Artist program, on March 1st in what I unabashedly claim is one of the best venues for opera anywhere in the land, our own Merchant Hall.
Now this booking was done months before the current turmoil, of course, but it feels great to be offering this wonderful company an opportunity to perform outside the Beltway, for an appreciative Hylton Center audience, at this particular time. And it continues a productive relationship that we had established with the WNO/Cafritz Young Artists before the pandemic—you may remember the “Raising Voices” program in 2019, or their stirring workshop production of Menotti’s “The Consul” in February 2020, just before everything went dark. You may not know that the leading soprano in that production, Alexandria Shiner, went straight from that production to the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition and was named the Grand Finals Winner, singing, among other arias, her signature piece from “The Consul.” I was listening on the car radio and had to pull over to the curb, it was so breathtaking.
So—if you love great orchestras and inspiring singing, come see us on Sunday, March 1st at 4 p.m. And, if you feel the vibe, be part of these changin’ times.
Happy New Year!
Rick Davis
Dean and Executive Director