Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program alums Sam Norman (Cycle 30) and current Cycle 32 student José G. Alba Rodríguez have been commissioned by WNO's American Opera Initiative WNO’s American Opera Initiative to create original 20-minute operas that will premiere in January 2024. Commissioned works use a chamber ensemble drawn from the WNO orchestra and singers from the Cafritz Young Artists. Each team of composers and librettists workshops their operas throughout the development cycle at the Kennedy Center and has the invaluable experience of witnessing their work performed on a Kennedy Center stage.
Norman and Alba Rodríguez (amongst other teams) were selected from a field of more than 130 hopefuls. Applications were reviewed by WNO artistic leaders and three industry leaders, one of whom is Program Adjunct Professor and alum Deborah Brevoort (Cycle 6) who will mentor the writing team through the development process.
AOI is a comprehensive commissioning program founded in January 2012 by Washington National Opera. The Initiative was created to stimulate, enrich, and ensure the future of contemporary American opera by providing talented emerging composers and librettists with mentorship and opportunities to write for the stage.