Washington National Opera is not sitting around mourning its split with the Kennedy Center. Instead, the company is rolling out its first-ever staging of West Side Story in two Maryland venues this May, tweaking the production on the fly to fit very different stages.
Fully staged performances are set for Lyric Baltimore from May 8-10, while the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda will host a leaner, semi-staged version May 14-15. Ryan McCartan stars as Tony and Shereen Pimentel as Maria, backed by an orchestra of roughly 50 players. Company leaders say juggling two houses in one week has forced a crash course in creative problem-solving, from downsizing sets to rethinking where the orchestra can physically sit, but the show is moving ahead.
WNO’s exit from the Kennedy Center was announced earlier this year as part of a strategy to stabilize the company’s finances and keep its spring season alive. As reported by AP, the opera company said it would shift performances to partner venues and manage an amicable transition out of its longtime home. The move followed broader leadership and programming changes at the Kennedy Center that have been reshaping Washington’s cultural calendar…