American Opera Initiative: WOLF | LAMBS

The American Opera Initiative is a comprehensive commissioning program founded in January 2012 by Washington National Opera. The Initiative was created to stimulate, enrich, and ensure the future of contemporary American opera by providing talented emerging composers and librettists with mentorship and opportunities to write for the stage. Since 2012, the American Opera Initiative has commissioned short operas (under 60-minutes) each year from composers and librettists selected from across the country. Commissioned works use a chamber ensemble drawn from the WNO orchestra and singers from the Cafritz Young Artists. Each team of composers and librettists workshops their operas throughout the development cycle and has the invaluable experience of witnessing their work performed to a live audience.
 

A key element of the American Opera Initiative is connecting the young composers and librettists to professional mentors who have successfully brought new American operas to the stage. Mentors have included composers Anthony Davis, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jake Heggie, Laura Kaminsky, John Musto, Kevin Puts, Kamala Sankaram, Carlos Simon, and Gregory Spears; librettists Deborah Brevoort, Mark Campbell, Kimberly Reed, Kelley Rourke, Gene Scheer, Tracy K. Smith and Thulani Davis; and conductors David Bloom, John DeMain, George Manahan, Anne Manson, David Neely, and Steven Osgood.