A Record of Achievement

Founded in 1956, Washington National Opera has a seven-decade history of artistic leadership, financial strength, and community impact. From its earliest days, WNO has upheld a commitment to opera that is not only extraordinary music, but also meaningful theatre.  Thanks to WNO’s artists, audiences, trustees, staff, and our loyal community of support, WNO has thrived for 70 years and looks forward to serving our community and our art form for another 70 years and beyond.

As  WNO enters its 70th anniversary year in 2026, the company's artistic influence  extends far beyond Washington. 

Following the pandemic, The Washington Post wrote “WNO returns with a vengeance,” while Washington Classical Review noted, “Washington National Opera puts the grand back in grand opera.” DC Theatre Arts observed, “Washington National Opera continues to expand our idea of who opera is for and whose story gets told.”

The Washington National Opera’s "American Ring" is regarded as a milestone achievement that solidified the company’s international standing by successfully reimagining Wagner’s epic through the lens of American iconography and environmentalism. The San Francisco Opera has recently announced a new staging of this WNO Ring cycle for 2028.

Critics lauded Director Francesca Zambello’s visionary staging for its dramatic cohesion and "stunning" visual storytelling, which transformed mythic gods into corporate moguls and Valkyries into paratroopers. Musically, the production was hailed as a "triumph," with the WNO orchestra receiving ecstatic reviews for a performance characterized by both power and chamber-music delicacy. By attracting Wagner enthusiasts from around the world and earning multiple standing ovations, the "American Ring" remains a signature highlight of WNO’s history. 

Last fall, WNO's original productions have achieved remarkable success across the country. Recent months have seen sold-out performances of La Traviata in Atlanta, West Side Story in Los Angeles, and Porgy and Bess in Houston. 

Two operas nurtured at WNO have received nominations for the 2026 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording: 

• American Soldier by Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang, which premiered through WNO's American Opera Initiative in 2014 (recorded by Houston Grand Opera).
• Grounded by Jeanine Tesori and George Brant, which had its world premiere opening WNO's 2023-2024 season (recorded by the Metropolitan Opera).

Since 2012, WNO’s American Opera Initiative has commissioned three 20-minute operas each year from competitively selected emerging opera composers and librettists, whose works are then given staged productions with the WNO Orchestra and Cafritz Young Artists. In its first decade, AOI also commissioned 7 hour-long operas, six of which have gone on to national productions. Alumni of the Initiative have gone on to contribute more than 55 operas to the American repertory.  

Artistic Director Francesca Zambello's visionary leadership has been recognized nationally, with Opera America recently announcing her induction into the Opera Hall of Fame. Under her direction, WNO has maintained exceptional production quality while navigating unprecedented challenges. 

Further, Washington National Opera has long been heralded as a leader in the industry for advancing equity in the arts. In October 2023, The New York Times cited a study that highlighted WNO’s representation of women in leadership roles, spearheaded by WNO’s pioneering Artistic Director Francesca Zambello: “The paper singled out an outlier among the 11 companies: the Washington National Opera, which outpaced others when it came to hiring female conductors, directors and other members of its creative teams. That was even more pronounced in the five most recent seasons in the study period, when more than half of Washington’s directors and more than a third of its conductors were women."

For more than two decades, WNO has commissioned an annual Holiday Opera specifically for young audiences, creating opportunities for young performers to share the stage with professional artists. This season's production of The Little Prince received glowing reviews, with Broadway World noting that "The Little Prince took off and never looked back. Let's make sure WNO continues to soar for years to come."

The Holiday Opera has become a cherished Washington, D.C. family tradition, consistently selling out performances. These productions feature local young people in chorus and solo roles alongside members of the prestigious Cafritz Young Artists program, introducing opera to new audiences while nurturing the next generation of performers.

A hallmark of Washington National Opera is its passion for engaging all members of the community and advancing awareness of and appreciation for opera through innovative education initiatives. These programs include Cafritz Young Artists, a resident-training program that annually prepares pre-professional singers for careers in the field; Opera Institute, which welcomes high school singers from across the country for a summer opera-intensive; and Opera in the Outfield—a tradition at Nationals Park that welcomes thousands of opera fans and opera-curious for an evening of free, outdoor fun, including family-friendly activities before the main event: a broadcast of WNO’s spring production on the big screen.

 As Washington National Opera celebrates 70 years of bringing world-class opera to the nation's capital, these achievements reflect the dedication of artists, staff, board members, and supporters who have made WNO a pillar of American opera.