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Washington Concert Opera is a professional opera company located in Washington DC in the United States which presents operas in a concert format with full orchestra and chorus. WCO’s distinctive repertoire consists of operas which either have not been presented recently in the Washington area, or are infrequently performed anywhere, or which represent opportunities to showcase renowned artists, thus providing audiences with a unique musical experience. Typically, WCO presents two operas each season, one each in the autumn and spring, in Lisner Auditorium located on the campus of the George Washington University. During the early 2000s, the company presented operas in the Kennedy Center's Concert Hall, but with rather disastrous economic consequences: :We came perilously close to losing the Washington Concert Opera two summers ago. The troupe, which has presented concert performances of rare and unusual operas here since 1986, had made an ambitious but prohibitively expensive move to the Kennedy Center Concert Hall and suddenly realized it was going broke, with an annual deficit that had climbed to $200,000.〔Tim Page, ("Pieces Come Together For 'Luisa Miller'" ), ''The Washington Post'', June 7, 2005〕 As of the 2005 season, WCO returned to the Lisner Auditorium. ==The organization== Performers are often internationally acclaimed singers, professional musicians and chorus members who give rarely heard, full-length operatic works. Washington Concert Opera has presented almost 50 operas in the concert format since 1986, and they have featured world-class singers who regularly appear on the stages of major opera houses. Under Stephen Crout, 1986 to 2002 The company was founded in 1986 by Stephen Crout along with Peter Russell. Crout served as General Director and conductor for 15 years in presenting rarely seen or relatively rare concert versions of significant operas. He also conducted in the DC area, specifically at the Wolf Trap Park summer festival season. 〔(Crout as conductor of the 2000 ''Don Giovanni'' ) on wolftrap.org〕 In addition, Stephen Crout was a recipient of the "OMTI Bravo International Award" from the Washington, DC area based ''Opera Music Theater International'' organisation.〔("OMTI Bravo International Award" )〕 In reference to Crout's conducing of Rossini's ''William Tell'', in August 1998 ''Opera News'' notes: :General director Stephen Crout conducted, taking a characteristically spacious view of this long score and drawing an exciting sound from his orchestral forces, whose playing sparkled with witty pointing of phrase and rhythm. He sustained the tension of the unfolding drama with a judiciously paced reading, capturing in sound the changing landscape.〔Sorab Modi, ("In review: Washington, DC" ), ''Opera News'', August 1, 1998〕 In 2012, with the 25th Anniversary of WCO, Crout, as well as Russell (the former WCO artistic adviser, in addition to being the former Director of the Wolf Trap Opera Company and presently Artistic Director of the Vocal Arts DC)〔Anne Midgette, ("Peter Russell becomes artistic director at Vocal Arts DC" ), ''The Washington Post'', March 12, 2012 on washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 25 April 2014〕 were honored for their service.〔Mary Bird, ("Washington Concert Opera Celebrates 25 Years" ), , ''The Georgetowner'', April 4, 2012 on georgetowner.com. Retrieved 25 April 2014.〕 Under Antony Walker, since 2002 In 2002, Antony Walker〔Anne Midgette, ("Antony Walker: Big things lie ahead for opera conductor" ), ''The Washington Post'', May 10, 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2014〕 became Artistic Director and conductor. He is also Music Director of Pittsburgh Opera and co-artistic director of Pinchgut Opera, a chamber opera company, in Sydney, Australia. Describing Walker's strengths—in regard to the 2012 performance of ''La sonnambula''—Anne Midgette, the ''Washington Post'' music critic, noted: :One reason the whole thing sparkled is that conductor Antony Walker....approaches music with the kind of spark and verve that made some of us fall in love with it in the first place. He got a kind of precision out of the WCO orchestra...()...also actively supported the singers, or got out of their way — for instance, at the end of () Gutierrez’s and () Barbera’s exquisite duet at the end of the first scene, in which they engage in a series of ''a capella'' vocal arabesques simply to say good night.〔Anne Midgette, ("WCO's ''La Sonnambula'' is live and wide awake" ), ''The Washington Post'', September 17, 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2014〕 In an interview with Gary Tischler, who believes that "the work () does with the WCO is close to his heart", Antony Walker presented his own "take" on what concert opera means to him: :"...We have a slogan", he said. "It’s all about the music". It's not an either-or thing. It's a different way of seeing, experience and hearing opera, for that matter.......In a way, you 'see' a different sort of opera. It's much more intimate. And, as a conductor, you’re very much exposed. You’re a part of everything in a way that everyone can see."〔Gary Tischler, ( "Antony Walker of Washington Concert Opera: 'It’s All About the Music' " ), ''The Georgetowner'' (Washington DC), February 27, 2014〕 In 2007, with the presentation of Rossini's ''Otello'', the WCO was a part of the Shakespeare in Washington Festival, a six-month-long series given by many different local, national, and international organisations in Washington, DC, all reflecting multiple facets of Shakespeare's work.〔Kennedy Center: Shakespeare in Washington Festival〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Washington Concert Opera」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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