Wolf Trap in Newsweek

The July 3-10 international edition of Newsweek includes two articles with mentions of the Wolf Trap Opera Company. One article "Singing in the States", lists Wolf Trap as one of their picks for "first-rate opera" and the other, "The Rise of American Arias", includes several mentions of Wolf Trap as they detail destinations for opera in the "New World".

The full performance schedule for the Wolf Trap Opera Company is available online.

Lots Happening This Week

The Doobie Brothers were here last night and we had B.B. King the night before (the Doobie Brothers were here to catch that show). Los Lonely Boys are on stage right now. Susan Tedeschi opened the show. Riverdance rolls into town tomorrow and there are two more chances to catch the Wolf Trap Opera Company's production of Telemann's Orpheus this weekend at The Barns. It's gotten great reviews from The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, and The Washington Times.

Lawn Only Left for B.B. King Tonight

Lawn seats are all that remain for B.B. King with special guest Jackie Greene tonight at Wolf Trap. You can get your tickets by calling 877-WOLFTRAP or you can always call the Wolf Trap box office at 703-255-1868 for information on any show or to check on ticket availability.

Weather for tonight
CapitalWeather.com was calling for some late afternoon thunderstorms in the D.C. area, which came through Wolf Trap in the 3 o'clock hour. Nothing is falling from the sky right now and the sun is trying to break through.

Keep an eye on the radar here, if you're looking to track storms in the area. The show goes on regardless of the weather and B.B. King is calling this his final world tour, so a little rain won't keep people away.

WashPost Calls Orpheus "Stunningly Touching"

Joan Reinthaler gave the Wolf Trap Opera Company's American premiere of Orpheus a glowing review in today's Washington Post, calling it "a stunningly touching and entertaining production."

Orpheus is here at The Barns at Wolf Trap again this coming weekend for two final performances, on Friday, June 23 at 8pm and Sunday, June 25 at 2pm. Show and ticket information is available at wolftrap.org.

DCist Review of Costello/Toussaint

Amadie Hart of DCist reviewed last night's Elvis Costello/Allen Toussaint show. The review includes photos taken at the show by Wolf Trap House Photographer, Andi Kling.

Tonight at Wolf Trap
The Temptations and The Four Tops take the stage at the Filene Center at 8pm, while the Wolf Trap Opera Company presents the American premiere of Telemann's Orpheus at The Barns at Wolf Trap, also at 8pm. For more on Orpheus, check out Wolf Trap's First Podcast.

Wolf Trap Opera Company Director Kim Witman gives a pre-performance Inside the Opera talk one hour prior to the performance. Inside the Opera takes place in the Lecture Hall at Wolf Trap's Center for Education, which is located directly behind The Barns.

Check back here later for an update on tonight's shows.

Tickets Left for Elvis Costello/Allen Toussaint Tonight

There are still tickets left for tonight's show with Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint. You can order tickets online or call 877-WOLFTRAP. As of this posting, there are seats available both in-house and on the lawn.

CapitalWeather.com reports:

"Today's forecast calls for delightful conditions, with mostly sunny skies, low humidity levels and cooler than normal highs in the upper 70s to near 80 under breezy NW winds. Clear and cool tonight, with lows from the mid 50s in the cooler 'burbs to the lower 60s downtown."

Don't forget, you can bring your own food and drinks (even alcohol, but no kegs) when you come to Wolf Trap.

For those looking to take Metro to the show, you can do that by taking the Orange Line to the West Falls Church Metro Stop and catching the Wolf Trap Metro Shuttle Bus Express (the cost of the shuttle bus is $5 round trip). Further details are available in the Metro Access section of wolftrap.org.

[UPDATE: 5:42 pm] Tickets can no longer be purchased online for tonight's show...online sales are cut off three hours before every performance. So, you can still get tickets for tonight, but you have to purchase them at the Wolf Trap box office.

Camila Added As Sin Bandera Opener

We just received word that Camila will open this Sunday's show with Latin Grammy winners Sin Bandera. Several Camila tracks are available for previewing on MSN Music.

The First Wolf Trap Podcast

We've launched the first Wolf Trap podcast. This one focuses on the Wolf Trap Opera Company and their upcoming production of Telemann's Orpheus (June 16, 18, 23 and 25) at The Barns at Wolf Trap).

Hear the history of Orpheus and find out more about the American premier of this great operatic work by Georg Philipp Telemann. Hosted by Kim Witman, Director of the Wolf Trap Opera Company.

Download the first podcast at this link [Orpheus], or subscribe to our podcast feed to get this one and all future podcasts. You can subscribe by plugging this address into your aggregator: http://www.switchpod.com/users/wolftrap/feed.xml

No iPod or MP3 player is needed to listen to a podcast. They can be played on most computers. If you're not sure what podcasting is, here's some background information.

[UPDATE: 5/16/06] The Wolf Trap podcast is now available via iTunes.

Win Tickets to Chicago: The Musical, Plus Dinner

If you visit the promotion section of wolftrap.org by 10 a.m. on Monday, June 26, you can enter to win a pair of in-house tickets to opening night of Chicago: The Musical on July 11 and a gift certificate for dinner for two at Ovations Restaurant.

Ovations is presented by Capital Restaurant Concepts and is a 200-seat, open-air pavilion overlooking the Wolf Trap meadow. Ovations is open during Filene Center performances only and reservations are strongly recommended. Reservations can be made online at www.mealsbeneaththemoon.com or call (703) 255-4017 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday or on performance days.

Washington Area Premiere Tonight

Alonzo King's LINES Ballet make their Washington area premiere tonight at Wolf Trap. Described as "hip and hot, looking good and dancing deliciously on the edge" by the San Francisco Chronicle, the company was founded in 1982 and has performed internationally in Germany, France, and Italy. However, the group has never before performed in the D.C. area and tonight is your chance to catch their debut at Wolf Trap.

Tickets are still available and range from $10 to $34. More information on the performance, including ticket details, is available on wolftrap.org.

"Alonzo King is a genius" -San Francisco Chronicle

Which Shows Are Selling Out?

One question we hear somewhat frequently is, "Are there still tickets left for [insert popular show here]?" So, here's a little inside information (which anyone who subscribes to our email updates gets).

The following shows are now lawn only*:
June 20 - Doobie Brothers
July 5 - Bonnie Raitt
July 30 - Trisha Yearwood
August 9 - Chicago
August 26 - Kenny Rogers, The Oak Ridge Boys

*Wolf Trap has 7,028 total seats: 3,868 in-house and 3,160 on the lawn.

So, get your lawn tickets to those shows now and subscribe to the email updates if you'd like this lawn only information delivered to your Inbox.

Washington Post Review of Friday's Show

Mike Joyce's review of Friday night's Clarke/Duke Project - Marcus Miller Band show is available in today's Washington Post.

moe. and North Mississippi Allstars Tonight

North Mississippi Allstars are on stage right now (doing a cover of "La Grange") and the lawn is filling up nicely. CapitalWeather.com gave today their "Nice Day" stamp and I think everyone here would agree with that. It is a great night to be outside in the D.C. area. moe. is up next.

[8:35 PM] I'm not sure how many songs into moe.'s set we are right now (they've been on stage for a little over an hour), but the guys from North Mississippi Allstars just joined them onstage and they just started into The Rolling Stones' "Can't You Hear Me Knocking". Here's a site that should be a good place to check for the full setlist later.

Jewel, Plus More on Toussaint and Costello

moe. and North Mississippi Allstars are here tonight. The show starts at 6 p.m. and I'll likely post another entry later. The weather is perfect for a show tonight too...Sunny and breezy here right now.

Before tonight's show start though, I want to pass along a couple things:

-->A review by Catherine Lewis of Thursday's Jewel show appears in today's Washington Post.

-->In addition to Richard Harrington's piece on Allen Toussaint's collaboration with Elvis Costello, which I linked to in a Press Round-Up post on Thursday, a "Quick Spin" of their new CD, The River in Reverse, will run in tomorrow's Post. This one was written by Allison Stewart and it's up on washingtonpost.com now.

moe. and North Mississippi Allstars at Wolf Trap

This Saturday night, June 10, Bonnaroo veterans moe. and North Mississippi All Stars roll into town for a 6 p.m. show here at the Filene Center. Tickets are $25 for the lawn and $30 in house.

You can expect two sets out of the headliners, moe. and if you're not familiar with either group, they both have plenty of tracks you can preview on their MySpace pages: [moe.] [North Mississippi Allstars]

Press Round-Up

A few recent stories involving Wolf Trap:

-->Tomorrow's Washington Post Weekend section will include a Richard Harrington piece on Allen Toussaint. It's available online now: "Toussaint: Following The Ebb And Flow". Toussaint is here next week on Thursday, June 15 with Elvis Costello.

-->Catherine Lewis reviewed Tuesday night's The New Cars/Blondie show in yesterday's Washington Post.

-->Daniel Campbell of The Washington Times reviewed last week's Lynrud Skynyrd show. That one ran on Monday.

-->Mike Joyce highlighted last Sunday's Swamp Romp and the upcoming Friday, June 9 Clarke/Duke Project with Marcus Miller Band show in The Washington Post's "June's Best Jazz Concerts".

-->Tim Page of The Washington Post included the Wolf Trap Opera Company's upcoming production of Telemann's Orpheus in "June's Best Classical Concerts". That runs June 16, 18, 23, and 25 at The Barns at Wolf Trap. You can also keep up with the Wolf Trap Opera Company on Director Kim Witman's blog.

More Artists Added

This just in...

Rogue Wave has been added as a special guest for the Tuesday, August 1 Guster/Ray LaMontagne show and Jon Nocholson has been added to the Sunday, August 27 Roots, Rock, Reggae Festival.

NPR: Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint

Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint bring The River in Reverse Tour to Wolf Trap next week, on Thursday, June 15, and NPR has a Song of the Day feature about them on their site today, providing a glimpse at the results of their collaboration.

Broken Bones and Blondie

Well, the story about Elliot Easton's broken clavicle seems to be getting around. They go on stage just over an hour from now.

But in the meantime, Blondie kicked things off tonight with "Call Me" and just covered Roxy Music's "More Than This" a few songs later. Right now, they're getting some backing vocals from the crowd on "The Tide is High". Our money in the press office is on "Heart of Glass" as the closer. Stay tuned... [MORE LATER]

[9:25 PM] "Heart of Glass" it was for the closing number. Even our intern got that one. But I didn't see the cover of "Paint It Black" coming right before it. We're at intermission now. The New Cars are coming up. I need a slice of pizza...wait, Catherine is here in the press office and says "pretzel".

"Elliot Easton Not Dead"

If you didn't hear the news yesterday, The New Cars' tour bus swerved to avoid an accident on their way into town for tonight's show at Wolf Trap. Guitarist Elliot Easton fractured his left clavicle, but he is "not dead" and tonight's show with Blondie will go on as scheduled.

Here are more details from the band's press release:

ELLIOT EASTON NOT DEAD – “IT’S ALIVE” IN STORES TODAY
THE NEW CARS NARROWLY AVOID SERIOUS COLLISION
EASTON INJURED BUT THE TOUR WILL GO ON – NEW CD IN STORES TODAY

Los Angeles, CA (June 5, 2006) – Elliot Easton, founding member and guitarist for The New Cars, fractured his left clavicle while en route from their show on June 4 at The Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, OH to Washington DC. The band was asleep when the tour bus swerved to avoid a vehicle during the early morning hours of Monday, June 5th. Easton was thrown from his bunk and injured. Easton was taken to a local hospital where he told the doctor “I’ve been waiting 17 years for this tour, I’m not missing any shows.” No shows have been canceled and the tour continues with their next destination in Vienna, VA at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap on Tuesday, June 6.

Details for tonight:
Gates open at 6:30pm. Blondie kicks things off at 8pm and The New Cars will follow. Get tickets by calling 877-WOLFTRAP (877-965-3872) or you can order them online.

Chris Botti on WETA Right Now

Jazz trumpter Chris Botti comes to Wolf Trap on Wednesday, September 9 and you can catch him right now on WETA TV 26 in the D.C. area. Chris Botti & Friends: Live from the Temple of Air runs from 8 - 9:30pm.

At Swamp Romp

Chris Ardoin & Double Clutchin'--the second act of the day here at the 17th Annual Louisiana Swamp Romp--are on stage now. This is a general admission show and most people are choosing to hang on the lawn in the sunshine. Rebirth Brass Band and Marcia Ball are coming up. [MORE LATER]

[UPDATE - 5:40 PM] There was definitely a solid turnout this afternoon and the weather held up just fine. Marcia Ball and her band are on stage right now, closing out the show.

Texas Fred Carter from WPFW 89.3 FM and XM Radio has been handling the MC duites today and Schelby from WARW 94.7 FM was here for a remote broadcast just before the gates opened and people rushed in to grab their seats.

Swamp Romp is a little different than your typical Wolf Trap show. Since it's general admission, some people are moving back and forth between the lawn and the pavilion a bit, heading towards the front or the aisles when they get the urge to dance or moving up close to check out their favorite act and then returning to the sunshine on the lawn.

Things will be wrapping up by about 6pm and then the Filene Center is dark tomorrow. Tuesday night we welcome The New Cars and Blondie.

Pirates

Alright, so there was no blog entry from last night's Lynryd Skynyrd show. I wasn't here for it, but the show was sold out and the word on the street is that it rocked. WARW 94.7 FM did a remote broadcast and they'll be back out here again this Sunday, broadcasting from the 17th Annual Louisiana Swamp Romp beginning at 11:30am (the show starts at 2pm).

Tonight and tomorrow night, The Pirates of Penzance visits Wolf Trap. Showtime is 8pm both nights and you can still get tickets. If you're thinking about heading this way now, it's a little overcast but no rain is falling.