WNO Pays Rent to the Kennedy Center

Oh I have so much to catch up on! The great parody of blogging: lots to blog about = lots going on = no time for blogging! Okay, I'll catch you up on as much as I can in the little bit of time I have tonight. Then I'll write more tomorrow, I hope.

Wednesday the 21st I got to take my first trip out to the Washington National Opera Studio (and, consequently, my first experience riding the metro). This is a big facility all the way on the other side of DC where we have our costume studio, Education Department, and three big stage-sized rehearsal spaces. All employees were invited for a meeting.

Placido was there, and this time we got a picture:


This is all the interns with Placido Domingo, General Director of Washington National Opera. What you don't see is his right hand, which is firmly clutching my left arm. It was actually a little awkward.

It was a very interesting meeting. We just got a new Executive Director a few months ago, and most of the meeting was about his plan to get the company on better ground financially. Here are a couple mind-boggling, important tidbits that most people don't know about Washington National Opera:

• Opera is by far the most expensive art form. Ticket sales only account for about 40% of our budget. The rest has to be obtained through donations and grants.
• Because we perform at the Kennedy Center, most people think we are affiliated with them. WE ARE NOT PART OF THE KENNEDY CENTER! We pay the Kennedy Center way more than most people make in a year to rent their space to perform our operas! This is huge! This is the reason we hardly get any support from Capitol Hill - they think they are helping us by helping the Kennedy Center, but we are not benefiting from it at all!

We really need more support. It would be a huge tragedy if our nation's capitol lost its opera for lack of support! I know a lot of people don't understand or like opera, but think about it this way: We all know that it is important for all of us, especially children, to have a creative outlet. Art, music, theater, etc. in many different forms are taught in schools because of its many benefits to human development, and it is expected that most people will zero in on one or two specific modes of creativity to cultivate throughout their lives. Now think about what opera really is - it is a single form of art that contains almost every art form - music, visual art in sets, props, and costumes, theater, poetry, linguistics, etc. Its all there! I really believe that opera is quite possibly the best art form to expose our children to, because through it they can explore so many different modes of creativity and then have many options to choose from as far as their own creative outlets. There is just nothing else like it. And, I know what you're thinking, but there are a lot of children's operas out these days. The most popular is Hansel and Gretel. That is one reason to support opera, even if you don't particularly care for it.

So, if you know anyone who knows anyone important, just do me a favor and pass the message along to them that Washington National Opera not only pays the Kennedy Center to use their opera house, but is really lacking in sufficient support. You might have fun seeing their reaction. :) Because seriously, does anyone else think its absolutely absurd that the National Opera is undersupported?