Arts & Entertainment
Of queens and minions
Washington National Opera features high-stakes and high-jinks in new season
Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role of ‘Anna Bolena.’ (Photo by Cade Martin, courtesy WNO)
‘Anna Bolena’
Washington National Opera
Sept. 15-Oct. 6
‘Don Giovanni’
Sept. 20-Oct. 13
Kennedy Center
2700 F St., NW
$25-$300
202-467-4600
kennedy-center.org
From epic royals to legendary libertines, Washington National Opera’s 2012-2013 season openers are a perfect fit for capital city audiences mired in a presidential election year.
First out of the gate is Gaetano Donizetti’s “Anna Bolena,” opening Sept. 14. Starring soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role, the 19th-century opera follows the waning days of Anne Boleyn’s reign as Queen of England before being found guilty of adultery and beheaded.
“The opera is amazing dramatically,” says Radvanovsky, “and the music on top of it is just any soprano’s dream.”
Radvanovsky made a name for herself in the dramatic soprano repertoire of Giuseppe Verdi, but in recent years, she started branching out to explore other roles. Often compared to renowned soprano Maria Callas, who revived “Anna Bolena” from near obscurity in the 1950s, Radvanovsky’s voice possess a full-blooded timbre that’s matched by a riveting acting sense, according to her director for this production, Stephen Lawless.
“The intelligence which she brings to the playing of Anna is thrilling and moving,” says Lawless, who’s gay. “She always puts her abilities to the service of the job in hand.”
The opera culminates in a heartbreaking and defiant mad scene for Anna, yet both Lawless and Radvanovsky feel this isn’t the garden-variety hysteria portrayed in other operas, including the same composer’s calling card “Lucia di Lammermoor.”
“She’s emotionally naked,” Radvanovsky says of the queen. “The easy card to put down is to play cuckoo-for-Cocoa-Puffs. Anna Bolena isn’t crazy; it’s just too much for her to handle, and I think that’s something that more people can relate to.”
“She finds inner resources that I suspect she never knew she had,” Lawless says about the doomed queen, adding that her death transforms tragedy into “something glorious.”
DESPITE THE TUDOR-ERA setting for the story, the opera’s themes bear striking relevance to today’s social and political climate. Donizetti contrasts Anna’s undoing with the ascendency of the social-climbing Jane Seymour, who has caught the eye of Henry VIII and will become queen after Anna’s decapitation. However, Anna’s betrayal of a true love from girlhood haunts her throughout out the story, reminding Jane Seymour and audiences that dreams of power can’t buy happiness.
“I started singing when I was 11,” says Radvanovsky. “When I was 18 years old, I said, ‘By the time, I’m 30, I’m going to be singing at the Met.’” This dream came true for the singer, as did her chance to sing with legendary tenor Placido Domingo. She sang with him during “Cyrano de Bergerac” on her 35th birthday, causing her to ask the older legend what she should do now that she’d accomplished her goals.
“He told me, ‘Oh, Sondra. You must go get a new dream.’”
Now in her 40s, Radvanovsky feels that anyone, from the American people trying to choose a president to a young girl aspiring to be queen of 16th-century England, needs to focus on the moment at hand instead of an unpredictable future.
“If [Anna] had lived in the moment, she would have seen that she wasn’t in love with [Henry], but she was looking a year ahead. We are looking into politics in the same way. We put so much hope in these dreams, hoping that Obama or whoever continues down the road we want.”
Lawless, a British native, sees the opera’s connection to today’s audience in a slightly darker hue, recounting how Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the United Kingdom during the recent Olympics. While there, he was asked about Pussy Riot, the female punk band who staged a protest act against Putin weeks before his recent election to the presidency.
“He said, ‘I hope the courts will be lenient with her,’” remembers Lawless, “and that’s exactly a Henry [VIII] statement. It’s that kind of abuse of power that gives this piece its ironic resonance. Henry’s abuse of power should make you as angry as the Pussy Riot thing.”
WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA’S next piece, Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” follows close on the heels of “Anna Bolena” and opens Sept. 20. The infamous womanizer of the title gets his karmic comeuppance by opera’s end, attended throughout by his long-suffering servant, Leporello, played by gay bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams.
“I have played it once before, where he was very dark,” he says of the character. “I’ve since come to realize that’s not right. It needs to be multi-layered. We need to remember that it’s a ‘dramma giocoso’ — a dark comedy.”
Paul (left) and Andrew Foster-Williams. Andrew plays Leporello in Washington National Opera’s production of Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni.’ (Photo courtesy WNO)
The singer travels the world with his partner, photographer Paul Foster-Williams, who grew into an avid opera devotee because of his 14-year relationship with Andrew.
“I didn’t come from an opera background,” Paul says. “Now, I would do anything to go and see opera. It gives you the most returns in any art form.”
Paul compares opera with baseball, a realization he came to after going to see a Nationals game while staying in D.C. last spring for Andrew’s turn in “Werther.”
“I had no idea what was going on,” Paul says, laughing. “If you go to the football or soccer game and you don’t know the rules, you might not ever go to another game. It’s the same with opera. The more you experience, the more you get it, the more you will be come absolutely addicted to it, I promise.”
“The reasons people enjoy baseball is because they understand the rules,” Andrew adds. “They learned the rules, therefore they understand the skill of the players.”
The charming British couple hastens to add that opera is performed with translation surtitles projected above the stage, so no one need sit through hours of unintelligible bellowing.
THE FOSTER-WILLIAMSES are clearly a couple who have their own rules down pat. They say they’ve had to develop particular ways of living a life that’s eternally on the road.
“We land in a place,” says Paul. “Andrew goes out and gets provisions. I try to make the apartment feel like a home. We don’t speak to each other at least for a couple of hours.”
“If you’re going to have an argument, it’s then,” Andrew concurs.
“I think some people would end up killing each other,” says Paul. “We’re very lucky. Other people go to separate jobs, and they have separate things to share. What we’re sharing is the discovery of different places together.”
Some productions settle them in a city for a couple of months, while others find them hopping four continents in one week, as it did last spring. After finishing up in D.C., they went to London, Hong Kong and finally Sydney, Australia, which was locked in the grips of winter.
“We had to buy new clothes and leave some new clothes,” Andrew says.
Despite the chaos, the couple remains passionately committed to the arts. Paul’s photography has had to take on a new character, as long-term projects are out of the question now, so he ends up photographing the artists Andrew works with as well as the city locations Paul explores during his partner’s long rehearsal hours.
“Experiencing so much music traveling with Andrew, I think I understand singers well. Singers adapt to each evening, each audience, the atmosphere that evening. It’s so organic, it’s so alive all the time.”
Andrew sums up the role of the artist as an obligation to restoring the humanity to operatic characters.
“This is about making opera real again. The fate of it rests in the hands of the artists singing it.”
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and the GenOUT Youth Chorus performed “Passports” at the Lincoln Theatre on March 15-16. Visit gmcw.org for information on future shows and events.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Drag
D.C. drag queens proudly join Trump resistance
Tatiyanna Voche’, Evry Pleasure, and Tara Hoot spoke with Blade
Since the Trump takeover of the Kennedy Center, several shows have been cancelled as a result of the current administration’s anti-LGBTQ policies. Whether it be theater companies withdrawing as a sign of solidarity or Trump himself banning drag performances and other events, the renowned venue is now experiencing a massive overhaul since the president named himself board chair.
With WorldPride coming up in June and one of the country’s highly respected stages separating itself from queer entertainment, the Washington Blade has spoken with some of D.C.’s own drag performers about the current situation.
Tatiyanna Voche’, Miss Gay America 2023 and headliner for several shows throughout the DMV, spoke with the Blade about the current state of drag in D.C.
BLADE: Since the beginning of the new Trump administration, have you ever had thoughts that your work as a drag queen would be under threat?
VOCHE’: Oh absolutely! We realized this during his first administration that if you don’t fit a certain mold whether it be the color of your skin, your religious beliefs, how you choose to identify, your sexual preference or hobby, your freedom or hobby is definitely under attack.
BLADE: How does Trump making himself the chair of the Kennedy Center and banning shows there indefinitely make you feel about the future of drag for the next four years?
VOCHE’: Sadly we have been down this road before. Being gay, or drag itself wasn’t so mainstream or cool once upon a time. So I’ll say as a community we are very powerful together. I think most of us are tired of fighting the good fight but we have to continue on the same way generations before us fought for us to be able to do what we do. I do think drag is in jeopardy over the next four years, but when there’s a will, there’s a way.
BLADE: What are your plans moving forward for your performance under the current political climate?
VOCHE’: For me personally, I will continue to spread love throughout the country wherever I go, and lift up as many community members or allies as possible. I ask questions when in a new venue to protect myself (i.e. … where the emergency exits are, always have a plan) and to just be vigilant of your surroundings. Be in groups of people in areas that you don’t feel safe, and don’t engage. We know the kind of people are on the other side of this and the true hate they have in their hearts, we are not that way and we can’t poke the bear for a lack of better words. We will win in the end.
Evry Pleasure also spoke with the Blade
She is an award-winning performer known for shows full of energy, laughter, and glamour. Evry Pleasure was voted DC’s Best Drag Queen at the 2023 D.C. Drag Awards and by the Blade.
BLADE: In times like these, how do you garner joy for yourself and the community?
EVRY PLEASURE: Focusing on my purpose. I do drag because it is a way for me to tell stories, show my creativity, connect with my community, and provide everyone who sees me with a fun time. When I focus on that purpose, and the platform I have to drive change or spread information, I find joy. There is always a way out. Times are hard, but they have been hard in the past, and we have come out of it strong.
BLADE: What do you feel like is the best way to stand up to the current pushback on queerness right now?
EVRY PLEASURE: The first thing we need to do is continue to be unapologetically and visibly queer, showing them that we have been here and will continue to be here even when they are constantly attacking us. The other thing is to find and build community. When we are organized, we can work better. We saw it in the March for Drag earlier in March here in D.C., and we have seen it all across the country. When we are together, we are stronger. We can organize and fight back stronger. Following organizations like @Qommitte can help you find more information on how to be involved and support several actions and protests around the DMV area and the country.
The last queen with whom the Blade spoke is Tara Hoot, a highly regarded performer who has been very vocal in the area’s queer scene. The Blade in 2022 voted her one of the Top 5 Drag Queens in D.C.
BLADE: How do you think World Pride will be affected by this takeover of D.C.?
TARA HOOT: So I think the world probably will be affected by the Trump administration. You know, people from around the world want to come to the United States. I mean Canada’s travel to the United States has already plummeted. Would LGBTQ people from around the world feel safe coming to Washington D.C.? That’s a big open question, so we’ll certainly need Washington D.C. and LGBTQ people from the United States to show up and show support for WorldPride and the 50th anniversary of Capital Pride.
BLADE: With opposition to queerness being a main goal of the Trump administration., do you think protests are the biggest way to push back?
TARA HOOT: I think protests are big like marches and things like that right but I also think … calling having my friends that live in states that do have representation. I think planning smaller acts of civil disobedience that make a point and show that we exist I think Is really important. Looking at ACT UP, that organization from the AIDS crisis and kind of they did things like they put a huge condom on the house of Jesse Helms who was a Republican senator who lived in Arlington. So they’re there are our ancestors before us and those who have a thought before us in the LGBTQ community kind of have given us a roadmap of kinds of things at work, things that are successful and ways that we can use civil disobedience. To bring attention to it, but also to bring joy and to bring humor I think that that’s what fascism and Republicans want to take away from us is our love our joy and our exuberance and we have to keep showing up with those things
BLADE: How are you garnering joy for yourself and the community during this administration?
TARA HOOT: So my character didn’t exist before the pandemic. It came out during the pandemic right at the end of the Trump administration, so this is the first time it’s kind of existed. When I started in the world, everybody just felt bad and I didn’t wanna be a drag queen that made people feel bad and dragged them down. I wanted to lift people up and bring some joy so that’s been my mode of operating. I describe my kind of drag characters like Mr. Rogers in address and you know I do storytime events I do bingo. I do trivia. But with my storytime, people think oh those are just for little kids, but the grown-ups are the ones that get the most out of that. They’re the ones who were tearing up and crying a little bit when I’m telling them how brave and strong they can be, how gorgeous they are. You can tell the people need to hear that and me just getting into a drag makes me happy and I can tell that it makes other people happy. That’s how I’m gonna keep bringing the joy.
Theater
New D.C. theater season offers ‘Inheritance,’ ‘Vanya,’ more
Be sure to check out Baltimore, Rehoboth, Va. venues
As the crocuses burst, here’s some of what’s happening on the spring stage.
Clear Space Theatre in Rehoboth Beach presents Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” (through March 23), the classic “where the wind comes sweeping down the plains” story about a bucolic love triangle circa 1906. This production of the always [to me] surprisingly enthralling musical makes for the perfect early spring uber gay-friendly getaway. Clearspacetheatre.org
Closer to home, try taking a break from the unpleasant everyday and see “Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue” (March 16) at Capital One Hall in Tysons, Va. Enjoy Rose, Blanche, Dorothy and Sophia, those beloved characters (here played by actors in drag) lifted from the beloved sitcom. Livenation.com
GALA Hispanic Theatre presents the world premiere of “Sucede hasta en las mejores familias (Choke)” (April 24-May 18), a timely story about an older couple and their adult daughter whose family medical crisis unleashes intergenerational conflict that mirrors the battle that they’re forced to fight against a corporation. Galatheatre.org
For one performance only, the Alden Theatre in McLean, Va., presents “Forbidden Broadway” (Sunday, March 16, 2 p.m.). Filled with Broadway talent and tunes, and off-Broadway humor, this long-running New York favorite parodies current plays and musicals. Mcleancenter.org
There’s still time to catch Sara Bareilles’s “Waitress” at Olney Theatre Center (extended through April 6). The show is headlined by the Helen Hayes Award-winning out actor, single-named MALINDA who plays Jenna, the show’s titular server/baker in this story about love and self-exploration. Staged by Tony-nominated director/choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge. Olneytheatre.org
At Arena Stage, it’s “The Age of Innocence” (through March 30). Helen Hayes-winning actor Regina Aquino (a queer-identified first-generation Filipino immigrant) plays society stalwart Mrs. Adelaide Archer in Karen Zacarias’s adaptation of Edith Wharton’s classic Gilded Age New York-set novel. Arenastage.org
Signature Theatre’s production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights” (through May 4) stars esteemed queer actor Ángel Lozada as the pulsating musical’s protagonist, the hardworking and awkwardly appealing Usnavi. Signaturetheatre.org.
Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre presents the national tour of “Shucked” (April 1-6), a queer comedy poised to deliver laughs and big talent. Its publicity reads: “What do you get when you pair a semi-neurotic, New York comedy writer with two music superstars from Nashville? A hilarious and audacious farm-to-fable musical about the one thing Americans everywhere can’t get enough of: corn.” Hilarious.
At National Theatre, there’s “Kimberly Akimbo” (May 20-June 1), the Tony Award-winning musical that portrays a quirky teen romance with a supporting quartet of queer characters. Broadwayatthenational.com
Historic Ford’s Theatre presents a staged reading of out playwright Matthew López’s Tony-winning, two-part milestone play, “The Inheritance” (May 28-June 1) inspired by E.M. Forster’s complex novel “Howards End.” López’s critically acclaimed epic explores the lives of three generations of gay men as they chart divergent paths to forge a future for themselves in an ever-changing America in the decades after the AIDS crisis. The staged reading is helmed by out director José Carrasquillo. Fords.org
Round House Theatre presents the premiere of Sharyn Rothsteins’s “Bad Books” (April 2- 27), featuring out actor Holly Twyford and Kate Eastwood Norris as opposing forces. “Twyford plays The Mother whose genuine love for and concern about her children propels her to seek out the local librarian to discuss ‘appropriate’ reading material. Norris plays The Librarian, a woman who is equally committed to her calling and profession.” Round House artistic director Ryan Rilette directs. Roundhousetheatre.org
At Constellation Theatre, it’s “Head Over Heels” (May 1-June 1). A jukebox musical featuring music of 80’s rock band The Go-Go’s. This celebration of self-discovery and queer identity, weaving together Renaissance romance and Greek comedy. The company’s artistic director Allison Arkell Stockman directs. Constellationtheatre.org
The last time I saw Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” was in 2011 at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theatre featuring Cate Blanchett in a stunning turn as Yelena, a glamorous young woman married to an older processor. And now, the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) presents the heartbreaking comedy “Uncle Vanya” (March 30-April 20) starring Hugh Bonneville from TV’s “Downtown Abbey” as Vanya, the besotted brother of the professor’s late first wife. Shakesearetheatre.org
And finally, here’s something from the department of silver linings. After Trump’s Kennedy Center cancelled “A Peacock Among Pigeons: Celebrating 50 Years of Pride,” a concert featuring the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C., the International Pride Orchestra will present the same concert at the Music Center in North Bethesda on June 5. Let’s make it sell out. Internationalprideorchestra.org
Advocacy group calls for WorldPride boycott
PHOTOS: “Passports”
Former GOP Sen. Alan Simpson, longtime supporter of LGBTQ rights, dies at 93
Doechii to headline WorldPride closing concert
D.C. drag queens proudly join Trump resistance
Survivors of sex crimes are unsung heroes
Elon Musk’s mistakes
InterPride issues advisory for transgender, nonbinary people traveling to US
Array of queer events on tap for D.C. this spring
