Wolf Trap

Norm Lewis brings his smooth vocal genius to Wolf Trap

With the National Symphony Orchestra at the performing arts national park, a perfectly cool evening of Broadway hits.

Big Tony and Trouble Funk bring first Go-Go to Wolf Trap

On the 50th anniversary of the landmark National Park Service music-and-entertainment center, DC’s Official Music takes center stage.

Wolf Trap marks 50th anniversary with first live performances in a year and half

A full summer season of concerts to reopen America’s only national park for the performing arts.

Top picks for weekend streaming from Lauren Marcus, Mariza, and The Seeing Place

This weekend’s top streaming picks include headline concerts by a multi-hyphenate Broadway favorite and an international Fado artist, along with a post-apocalyptic dark comedy with songs from a...

Wolf Trap to stream a summer’s worth of gems from its archives

Wolf Trap’s Filene Center may be quieter than usual this summer of 2020, but it is far from dark. While there are no live performances in an abundance of caution because of COVID-19, Wolf Trap has...

‘Riffs and Relations’: WNO’s Cafritz Young Artists Program sounds so very American

You’d have to be dead not to enjoy a recital of the caliber given this past Sunday in the Phillips Collection Music Room by members of the current class of Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young...

Sutton Foster Glows at The Barns at Wolf Trap

The audience for Sutton Foster at The Barns at Wolf Trap was packed on opening night and clearly delighted to have a chance to hear Foster in such a warm and intimate venue. A phenomenal actress,...

Review: Jennifer Hudson and the NSO at Wolf Trap

Gracious, engaging, and a powerhouse of a voice, Jennifer Hudson brought the house down and left the audience standing and cheering while in concert with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap...

Review: Josh Groban at Wolf Trap

Josh Groban seems to have hit his stride with his latest album Bridges. Uplifting melodies and covers of pop standards have created another recording that is more than worthy of the experience he...

Review: ‘It’s Not You, It’s Me’ by The Second City at Wolf Trap

By Andy Arnold The Second City: It’s Not You, It’s Me gets laughs. Sort of like the laughs an adult might give a naughty, inappropriate child. The show – a re-envisioning of sketches by the Canadian...

Laura Benanti on Motherhood and Performing with Her Mom

There is one role that Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti cherishes above all others: Mother. The My Fair Lady star gave birth to daughter Ella Rose in 2017. “Becoming a mom changed me in every possible...

Maestro Antony Walker Previews ‘Le vin herbé’ by Wolf Trap Opera and Washington Concert Opera

Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, the composer’s operatic meditation on the metaphysical nature of love, sex, and death, is generally accepted to be the “before/after” point in the history of Western...

Review: ‘Disney’s Broadway Hits’ at Wolf Trap

As the summer humidity abates a bit, what better way to enjoy a summer evening than with a concert full of classic Disney songs at Wolf Trap? Disney’s “Broadway Hits” concert on Thursday, August 9,...

5 Questions with Joshua Conyers, Summer 2018 Filene Artist at Wolf Trap Opera

Baritone Joshua Conyers is becoming a mainstay in the Washington area. Conyers is a Summer 2018 Filene Artist at Wolf Trap Opera, where he has sung Count Capulet in Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette,...

Review: ‘Bernstein at 100: A Celebration’ at Wolf Trap

What could bring luminaries from the worlds of opera, musical theatre, a cappella, jazz, dance, choral music, and symphonic music together for one night of heavenly tunes? Perhaps nothing short of...

Review: ‘Motown the Musical’ at Wolf Trap

Motown the Musical is one irresistible playlist of infectious chart-topping music performed by a bevy of fine singers and dancers who have plenty of acting chops as well. While too-sweet nostalgia...

Wolf Trap Opera and Halcyon to Perform Kurt Weill Opera at Union Market

After their highly successful partnership in 2017 on Philip Glass’s The Fall of the House of Usher, Wolf Trap Opera and Halcyon reunite to present Kurt Weill and Bertholt Brecht’s The Seven Deadly...

Review: ‘Bastianello’ and ‘The Juniper Tree’ at The Barns at Wolf Trap

It is not often that a program offers heartfelt imagery that is brilliantly optimistic, and also brings in dark, often sad scenarios. That is the beauty of traditional fairy and folk tales, that there...

Review: Blondie & Garbage – The Rage and Rapture Tour at Wolf Trap

Despite the torrential downpour Thursday night, Blondie and Garbage devotees came in droves to Wolf Trap, with rain ponchos and umbrellas in hand, to hear two distinctively powerful and iconic...

Review: Aretha Franklin at Wolf Trap

Last night was a miracle of sorts. The heavy rains forecast to wash out the Aretha Franklin concert at The Filene Center of the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts didn’t show up. And,...

Interview: Landis and Jennifer Smith Discuss ‘The Beast in the Bayou’ to play at Wolf Trap July 6-7th and Penn’s Landing July 11th

The great thing about fairy tales is their malleability. Fairy tales have been around for millennia and are often transported from country to country, morphing with each region and time that they...

Capital Fringe Preview: ‘Boobs, Balloons, Babies, & Buffoons’: The Origin Story of ‘Tiresias’ Tits’ By Rebecca Rose Vassy, aka Diva Darling

The night I went to see the opera Les Mamelles de Tiresias, I was not expecting to hear a duet about bacon. I’d gone to the dress rehearsal of the Wolf Trap Opera Company’s production knowing nothing...

Review: Sheryl Crow at Wolf Trap

In support of her latest album, aptly entitled Be Myself, nine-time Grammy Award-winning, singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow returned to Wolf Trap. The sold-out crowd at the Filene Center eagerly embraced...

An Interview with the National Orchestral Institute and Festival (NOI+F) Director Richard Scerbo: Thirty Years After It Began, NOI+F is Breaking Ground and Stronger Than Ever by Robert Lintott

When the National Orchestral Institute and Festival (NOI+F) began in 1987, its first director appealed to student musicians across the country by telling them that “participants will have the...

Review: ‘Bernadette Peters’ at Wolf Trap

There’s something special about outdoor summer concerts: the light breeze, the chirping crickets, the enjoyment of good music in summer. But when you have all that and the performer is Broadway legend...

Review: ‘Faun’ at The Next Ice Age

The Columbia Figure Skating Club put on its annual spring show at the Columbia Ice Rink last Saturday and Sunday. The theme this year was Sing into Spring with two distinct parts. The first part...

Review: The Escher String Quartet Chamber Music at The Barns at Wolf Trap

While quartets abound, that quality of coming together and making four musicians truly come together through music is still a difficult task to achieve. This is where The Escher String Quartet stands...

Review: Soprano Ailyn Pérez at The Barns at Wolf Trap

There’s no business like show business, but does that include opera? If in a few years people finally agree that opera is genuinely another form of musical theater, it may be because of the current...

Review: Aaron Tveit at The Barns at Wolf Trap

Aaron Tveit returns to his Broadway roots on Saturday evening during his debut at the Wolf Trap. Tveit (Next to Normal, Grease Live!) has not performed on a Broadway stage since his 2011 starring role...

Review: ‘One Singular Sensation – A Celebration of the Music of Marvin Hamlisch’ at Live Arts Maryland

One Singular Sensation, presented by Live Arts Maryland, was a loving tribute to the life and work of Broadway and film composer Marvin Hamlisch. J. Ernest Green led the Annapolis Chamber Orchestra...

Live Arts Maryland Celebrates Composer Marvin Hamlisch on Saturday, November 12th at 8 PM

Live Arts Maryland Celebrates Composer Marvin Hamlisch on Saturday, November 12th at 8 PM at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis, MD Broadway truly arrives in Annapolis when Live Arts...

Review: Laura Benanti’s ‘Tales from Soprano Isle’ at The Barns at Wolf Trap

From the moment Laura Benanti stepped onto the stage at The Barns at Wolf Trap to perform Tales from Soprano Isle she set the buoyant mood for the evening. She charmed and enchanted even as she spoke...

Review: Lindsey Stirling ‘Brave Enough’ Tour at DAR Constitution Hall

Promoting her third studio album Brave Enough in a tour of the same name, Lindsey Stirling has come a long way from her days competing in the fifth season of America’s Got Talent. The violinist, known...

In the Moment: The Arts Council of Fairfax County’s Arts Awards Announced

Celebrating outstanding achievements, leadership, and support to the arts in Fairfax County, the Cities of Fairfax and Falls Church, Virginia, the Arts Council of Fairfax County is presenting its...

Review: Patti LuPone at Wolf Trap

The Barns at Wolf Trap resonated with the powerful belt of one of Broadway’s reigning divas tonight as Patti LuPone brought her concert “Don’t Monkey with Broadway” down to DC. A whirlwind tour...

Review: “Weird Al” Yankovic at Wolf Trap

“All bets are off,” says Wolf Trap’s website, when “Weird Al” Yankovic, King of Parody, takes over the concert hall. Absolutely anything can happen. 35 years on, the polka-dancing, accordion-playing...

Review: Bryan Adams at Wolf Trap

If you’re looking for the fountain of youth, look no more, it’s called Rock ‘N Roll. Boyish and Renaissance man Bryan Adams transported through a time machine from the 1980s to grace Wolf Trap’s stage...

Review: Don Henley at Wolf Trap

Seeing American icon in concert Don Henley is a must! He is Americana at its best! A musician to the core, his musical craftsmanship holds up to the test of time. A founding member of one of the most...

Review: Disney in Concert: ‘Tale as Old as Time’ With the Wolf Trap Orchestra

On the first cool evening in the DC area in a while, what better way to spend it than at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap? Tonight’s concert, Disney in Concert’s Tale as Old as Time, with the Wolf Trap...

Review: Kristin Chenoweth at Wolf Trap

On a hot, humid summer evening at the Wolf Trap Performing Arts Center last night, the lithe and absolutely charismatic Broadway, television, and singing sensation Kristin Chenoweth brought out the...

Review: ‘Ira Glass: Seven Things I’ve Learned’ at Wolf Trap

Usually when attending Wolf Trap it is to partake in either a concert or an opera, or a musical. Ira Glass’ unique show shook things up a bit, as he shared Americans’ personal stories and his life...

Review: Matt Nathanson and Phillip Phillips at Wolf Trap

A few years ago, I asked to review Gavin Degraw at Wolf Trap. I had loved his music for years, and was anxiously awaiting his turn for the stage when his co-headliner, a man named Matt Nathanson – who...

Review: The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma at Wolf Trap

A high school teacher of mine used to say that there are two universal languages in the world. One is math; the other is music. Simply stated at the time, its message has echoed through my life in...

Review: The Band Perry at Wolf Trap With Jordan Rager

Pioneers and Comeback Kids – an Evening with The Band Perry The cowboy hats came out to play at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center on August 7, welcoming The Band Perry to Vienna, Va. The trio, comprised of...

Review: ‘Seth MacFarlane and The Great American Songbook’ with NSO at Wolf Trap

Like many people my age, I’ve been a fan of Seth MacFarlane’s work for some time. Creator of hugely successful shows Family Guy and American Dad!, his list of accolades is impressive– and exhaustive!...

Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ With the National Symphony Orchestra with Pianist Yuja Wang, Conducted by Lionel Bringuier at Wolf Trap

It was a stifling hot, totally sticky humid July evening in the DC area. Cooling breezes under the glowing wooden open structure that is Wolf Trap’s Filene Center at first were few and far between...

Review: Bob Dylan at Wolf Trap With Mavis Staples

Bob Dylan and the balmy air of the Mid-Atlantic summer: the folksy voice of an era and the backwoods feel of Wolf Trap seem like they were meant to go together. However, for those fans hoping for a...

Review: National Symphony Orchestra: Dreamworks Animation in Concert at Wolf Trap

After reviewing productions for a number of years, a “critic” like myself can usually come to rely on certain venues for consistent, professional entertainment. Wolf Trap is a spectacular venue and I...

In the Moment: Wolf Trap and the NSO Celebrate 100th Anniversary of National Parks Service on Friday, 7/1

American epic grandeur will be visible and heard at Wolf Trap when the National Symphony Orchestra presents America the Beautiful in a grand pre-July 4th event. There will be breath-taking large-scale...

Review: ‘Riverdance: The 20th Anniversary World Tour’ at Wolf Trap

Some members of the company weren’t even born when lines of dancers with arms at their sides first performed at a Eurovision competition in 1994. I’d say the rest was history but I don’t think anyone...