Washington National Opera is bringing back “Opera in the Outfield” on Saturday, August 28 after a three-year hiatus. The free event in Nats Park will feature a broadcast of Mo Willem’s first opera, “Elephant & Piggie present SLOPERA!: A Bite-Sized Opera,” and Rossini’s “Cinderella.”
Gates will open at 5 PM for first-come-first-served seating in the outfield grass and stands. Pre-show family entertainment (including Willem’s opera) will run until 7 PM, and lead into an HD broadcast of Houston Grand Opera’s 2015 production of “Cinderella.” Featuring Isabel Leonard in the title role, the production has been praised for its brightly-colored sets and costumes and its easy-to-follow translation.
“One of our goals at the Washington National Opera is to make opera more accessible to everyone, and what a better way to return to that commitment than to welcome opera lovers and new friends back to Opera in the Outfield,” WNO General Director Tim O’Leary and WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello said in a press release. “Our signature community event offers something for everyone where friends and families can enjoy games, food, beer, and of course, one of our favorite productions under a starry sky on the big screen…We guarantee a good time for all with a shortened 90-minute version of Cinderella.”
Jane is a Chicago transplant who now calls Cleveland Park her home. Before joining Washingtonian, she wrote for Smithsonian Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she studied journalism and opera.
