On Saturday, October 25th, Washington National Opera once again stole (and we mean stole in the most positive of ways) the spotlight in the press (and by press we mean, the Associated Press, the NY Times, the Boston Herald, the Baltimore Sun, the LA Times, the Washington Examiner, and more). Kudos to the opera for coming up with a creative way to spin the opening night performance of the Richard Strauss opera, Ariadne auf Naxos. During the second act, WNO invited some of Washington’s most recognizable (and some not so recognizable) faces up to the stage. Justice’s Scalia and Ginsburg as well as Professor Ginsburg sat at one table while Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and Kennedy Center Treasurer Adrienne Arsht sat at another table. These tables flanked the two sides of the stage, and their VIP supers were easily seen by those in the house. Probably the greatest laugh of the evening was when Zerbinetta (performed by Lyubov Petrova), jumped into Justice Scalia's lap.There is no doubt that arts organizations not only fight for funders and audiences, but they also fight for column space in the news, and Washington National Opera should be commended for the clever ways in which it creates news instead of waiting for the news.
The reviews are yet to come out for this production, but if they follow the positive coverage that the opera has received for its opening night supers, then they should have a hit on their hands.
*The photograph is by Karin Cooper
