Songbird, a new adaptation of Offenbach’s 1868 operetta La Périchole, opens March 9 at Washington National Opera starring Tony nominee Ramin Karimloo and Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard.
The original operetta told the story of two struggling street singers in 18th-century Peru who are forced to choose between financial security and true love. When miscommunication and alcohol mix, the two lovers find themselves inadvertently and unknowingly married—to each other.
Songbird transports the action to prohibition-era New Orleans, with a libretto by Kelley Rourke and jazz-infused musical arrangements and orchestrations by James Lowe, who also conducts.
Get a first look at the production below:
Isabel Leonard and Ramin Karimloo in Songbird
Isabel Leonard and Ramin Karimloo in Songbird
Isabel Leonard and Ramin Karimloo in Songbird
Isabel Leonard in Songbird
Cecelia McKinley, Kresley Figueroa, and Teresa Perrotta in Songbird
Ramin Karimloo, Jonathan Patton, and Sahel Salam in Songbird
Edward Nelson in Songbird
A scene from Songbird
A scene from Songbird
A scene from Songbird
A scene from Songbird
Songbird also features baritone Edward Nelson as the Mayor Don Andrés, with tenor Sahel Salam and baritone Jonathan Patton as his two henchmen Panatellas and Don Pedro. Rounding out the cast are Justin Burgess, Teresa Perrotta, Kresley Figueroa, Jonathan Rhodes, Cecilia McKinley, and Taylor-Alexis DuPont.
Eric Sean Fogel directs the production, which has scenic design by James Rotondo, costume design by Marsha LeBoeuf and Timm Burrow, lighting design by Robert Wierzel, and sound design by Mark Rivet.
Performances of Songbird continue through March 23. For more information, visit Kennedy-Center.org.
