Lighting Designer

Join us as opera luminaries take the stage to celebrate the heart and soul of American composers and their beloved works, weaving tales of struggle, triumph, and everything in between. With works by Samuel Barber to Leonard Bernstein to Margaret Bonds and more, this concert is a lively homage to the music that captures the American spirit.

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American Rhapsody

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Massive ensembles. White hot arias. The dark recesses of the mind. Verdi’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s smoldering tragedy is a riveting exploration of power, corruption, and freedom. Fresh off the success of Romeo and Juliet in our 2023–2024 season, Washington National Opera brings the Bard’s historical epic back for the first time in 17 years.

Macbeth

His music transcends opera stages and into pop culture. His stories transport audiences to immersive worlds where music and drama intertwine. Richard Wagner revolutionized opera with his innovative orchestrations and unparalleled theatrical visions. Now, join a special one-night-only celebration of the composer who harnessed the potent power of music.

Gods & Mortals: A Celebration of Wagner

Visionary impresaria Mary Cardwell Dawson fights and triumphs as she establishes the National Negro Opera Company in Carlos Simon and Sandra Seaton’s new play with music.

She trained hundreds of African American youth to sing. She founded the longest-running, all-Black opera company. She organized opera guilds in the country’s biggest cities. Mary Cardwell Dawson’s dream to bring music to African American audiences came true—and it changed the future of opera.

The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson makes its highly anticipated mainstage premiere to celebrate the remarkable founder of the historic and groundbreaking National Negro Opera Company, established in 1941. Starring acclaimed mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves in the title role, this play with music by Mark Twain Award-winning playwright Sandra Seaton includes selections from the repertory of the National Negro Opera Company and original music composed by Kennedy Center Composer-in-Residence and 2023 Grammy nominee Carlos Simon.

The story starts in Washington, D.C. in 1943, where the company is set to perform on a floating barge to evade racially-segregated venues. But when bad weather threatens—pushing the performance to a segregated performance hall—Mary Cardwell Dawson must find a way forward.

Lighting Designer

A.J. Guban

Events

Past events

May 3, 2025

American Rhapsody · Washington National Opera

13 - 23 Nov, 2024

Macbeth · Washington National Opera

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