Wolf Trap Announces 35 Additions to its Summer 2012 Schedule; 74 Shows Booked to Date

Standout line-up features headlining pop, rock, and country performers including Bonnie Raitt, IL DIVO, Barry Manilow, Ben Harper, Norah Jones, Martina McBride and Crosby Stills & Nash; the Annual NSO @ Wolf Trap series featuring Marvin Hamlisch and Idina Menzel; and Don Giovanni and The Rake's Progress by the Wolf Trap Opera Company

***TICKETS AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS NOW; ON SALE TO GENERAL PUBLIC SATURDAY, MARCH 24 AT 10 AM***

VIENNA, Va., March 7, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts announced yesterday 35 new shows to its summer schedule at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. The 2012 season features some of the hottest in-demand acts, as well as the innovative repertoire and cast of the Wolf Trap Opera Company. Tickets are on sale now to members and go on sale Saturday, March 24 at 10am to the public.

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Must-see highlights from the latest performance additions include the National Symphony Orchestra returning to Wolf Trap as its summer home with stunning performances for the eyes and ears; a unique new production of Mozart's classic Don Giovanni by the Wolf Trap Opera Company, featuring double-casting of its two lead roles; and some of the brightest names in music making their debut or much anticipated return for entertaining summer evenings under the stars. 

NSO @ Wolf Trap Shoots for the Moon with Scores from a Star-crossed Romance, a Legendary Video Game, and a Little Help from NASA!

Wolf Trap welcomes back Emil de Cou as the NSO@Wolf Trap Festival conductor, joined by conductors Eimear Noone and Steven Reineke in guest appearances. National Symphony Orchestra performances include a screening of the iconic West Side Story, featuring the full score conducted by de Cou, and a rendition of Gustav Holst's The Planets, with captivating HD film featuring new NASA images. Reineke, one of the nation's most coveted pops conductors, will conduct the NSO in a performance with Broadway superstar Idina Menzel, a Tony Award-winner for her acclaimed roles in Wicked and Rent. Noone will conduct a spirited performance of music with footage from the legendary video game franchise The Legend of Zelda.

Wolf Trap Opera Company Presents the Country's Most Promising Opera Talents

The GRAMMY-nominated, nationally renowned Wolf Trap Opera Company (WTOC) will present its summer program featuring the finest rising talent in the field: the Filene Young Artists. The Company will present two full-length opera productions at The Barns at Wolf Trap, plus a recital and an afternoon of audience chosen aria favorites. The repertoire includes Mozart's Don Giovanni; Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress; From Bel Canto to Can Belto, a recital with GRAMMY Award-winning pianist Steven Blier, and Aria Jukebox, a Filene Young Artist Showcase of opera highlights. The Company will also join the National Symphony Orchestra and The Washington Chorus for a performance of Beethoven's 9th at the Filene Center.

Head-Turning Pop & Rock from the Finest Artists Spanning 50 Years

True to its mission, Wolf Trap delivers on presenting top-quality artists representing a diverse array of genres from pop-rock, classic-rock, Motown, country, folk, and more in an almost non-stop performance schedule from late May through September. Within these categories, the 2012 summer line-up, thus far, features the legendary Crosby, Stills & Nash performing their greatest hits and new material; award-winning classical-crossover group IL DIVO; the ultimate showman in standards singer-songwriter Barry Manilow performing for two nights at the Filene Center; country-music powerhouse Martina McBride with special guest David Nail; Bonnie Raitt with special guest Mavis Staples; Steve Winwood; and country megastar Alan Jackson. The angelic voice of Norah Jones will breeze through the open air pavilion of the Filene Center when Jones returns for her second performance at Wolf Trap. Additional featured pop and rock debuts include Barenaked Ladies, Cracker, Ben Harper, and Dead Can Dance.

Incendiary Rock from the 80's and 90's

For a trip through one of music's most identifiable decades, the hit musical ROCK OF AGES revisits chart-topping songs of the '80s from Journey, REO Speedwagon, Poison, and many other iconic bands. Leading bands of the '90s come together for the first time on the Filene Center stage for the Summerland tour featuring Everclear, Sugar Ray, Gin Blossoms, Lit, and Marcy Playground.

Wolf Trap Favorites; Something for Everyone

Additional spotlight performances coming to Wolf Trap this summer include local favorite Mary Chapin Carpenter with special guest Loudon Wainwright III; the unmatched jazz stylings of Diana Krall; Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Buddy Guy with special guest John Mayall; George Thorogood & The Destroyers with special guest Delbert McClinton; and the prog-rock double bill of The B-52s and Squeeze.

Other notables include Johnny Mathis, John Tesh, Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Gipsy Kings, the Dukes of September with Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, and Boz Scaggs, Straight No Chaser, The Clarke/Duke 4 and Boney James, Al Green, and k.d. lang and The Siss Boom Bang.

For the full summer 2012 calendar to date, visit http://www.wolftrap.org/Filene_Center.aspx. Tickets available to members now.

Tickets for Wolf Trap's 2012 performances can be purchased via the Wolf Trap Box Office located at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts at 1551 Trap Road, Vienna, Virginia; by calling 1(877)WOLFTRAP; or online at www.wolftrap.org. For more information, please call Wolf Trap at (703) 255-1868.

About The Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts
The Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Catherine Filene Shouse (1896-1994), produces and presents a full range of performance and education programs in the Greater Washington area, as well as nationally and internationally. Wolf Trap features three performance venues, the outdoor Filene Center and Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods, both located at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, and The Barns at Wolf Trap, located down the road from the park and adjacent to the Center for Education at Wolf Trap. In partnership with the National Park Service, The 7,028-seat Filene Center annually showcases an extensive list of diverse artists, ranging from pop, country, folk, and blues to classical music, dance, theater, and multimedia presentations, from May through September. The Barns operates year round, and during the summer months is home to the GRAMMY-nominated Wolf Trap Opera Company, one of America's outstanding resident ensemble programs for young opera singers. Wolf Trap's Education Programs include the nationally acclaimed Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods, a diverse array of arts education classes, scholarships, and a nationally recognized internship program that was included in Bloomberg BusinessWeek's 2009 List of "Best Places to Intern." As part of its ongoing commitment to protect and preserve the environment, Wolf Trap offers metro access and is a founding member of the Green Music Group. Terrence D. Jones is president and CEO of the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.

Visit the Wolf Trap Web site at www.wolftrap.org for more information.

SOURCE Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts