Dear Friend,

Imagine the drama and soaring vocal lines of the opera coming together with the musical intricacies and colors of the symphonic repertoire. The National Symphony Orchestra's Music Director, Gianandrea Noseda, has been doing just that. As the General Music Director of Zurich Opera, Maestro Noseda is hailed for his electrifying opera performances, recently completing his first Ring cycle. This week, Maestro Noseda will be bringing all the drama of the opera to the stage, with the National Symphony Orchestra's Opera in Concert: Verdi's Otello. With this concertized production of Verdi's late masterpiece, Maestro Noseda and the NSO will be elevating the drama of Verdi through music alone. Continue reading to learn more about Maestro Noseda and his first Ring cycle, and the upcoming performances of Otello with the NSO. Maestro Noseda certainly seems to have cracked the code of storytelling with music - by allowing the best of both worlds to work together to touch our hearts.

Yours musically,
Jim Allison
Program Director

Noseda's First Ring Cycle

Presenting Wagner’s four-opera Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle remains, nearly 150 years after its premiere, a benchmark for opera companies, orchestras, and conductors. The technical and musical demands are daunting, and not all productions succeed in the challenge. DC's own maestro, Gianandrea Noseda, not only rose to the challenge, but elevated this musical feat to new heights with the Zurich Opera. WETA Classical's Program Director, Jim Allison, was in attendance for Noseda's first Ring Cycle, and shares with us his impressions.

Verdi's Otello Comes to the
Concert Hall

Maestro Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra bring the best of two worlds, that of the symphony and opera, to present Verdi's Otello in concert. This unstaged production with the orchestra on stage will allow for the music to elevate the electrifying drama of Verdi's mature masterpiece. Nicole Lacroix speaks with Maestro Noseda about the process of concertizing an opera, his insight into Otello, and more.