in order of vocal appearance
CAST
CHORUS
REGINALD SMITH, JR. BARITONE( AMONASRO)
GRAMMY and Emmy Award-winning baritone Reginald Smith, Jr., the 2021 U. S. representative at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, has been lauded as a“ passionate performer”( The New York Times) with a voice that is“ electric, hall-filling”( The Baltimore Sun),“ thrillingly dramatic”( Opera News) and“ one of the most exciting baritone sounds to come along in years”( Opera News).
In the 2024-25 season, Smith takes on the roles of Scarpia in Tosca at the New Orleans Opera, Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana with the Sacramento Philharmonic, and returns to the Washington National Opera as the title character Porgy in Porgy and Bess. He performs as a featured soloist in concerts with the New Jersey Symphony led by Xian Zhang, the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, the Memphis Symphony, and in a solo recital at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, South Carolina. In Spring 2025, Smith makes his Baltimore Symphony Orchestra debut as Amonasro in a staged version of Aida.
Last season, Smith made his Santa Fe Opera debut as Scarpia in Tosca and returned to the Houston Grand Opera to take on the title role in Falstaff. He sang the role of Amonasro in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’ s production of Aida immediately after jumping in for the company’ s production of Terence Blanchard’ s Champion, inspiring New City Stage to write,“ Baritone Reginald Smith Jr., who was so magnificent as the older Emile in Champion, made a chilling Amonasro in what is often a throwaway role.” In concert, he returned as the featured baritone soloist for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’ s Christmas Pops performances.
THE WASHINGTON CHORUS
The Washington Chorus is one of the foremost symphonic choruses in the nation and a cultural leader in our nation’ s capital— creating joyous and transformative choral music since 1961. TWC is noted for the superb artistry of its performances and recordings of the entire range of the choral repertoire.
A three-time nominated and two-time GRAMMY A20- voice Chorus presents performances at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Music Center at Strathmore, and the National Presbyterian Church. These programs, including the Chorus’ beloved annual production of A Candlelight Christmas, work to reimagine beloved classics, commission new works, and uncover lost or overlooked masterpieces. Since 2022, TWC has partnered with the National Philharmonic to present a yearly collaboration at Strathmore to further those efforts.
TWC also regularly performs at the invitation of the National Symphony Orchestra( NSO) and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra( BSO), and appears frequently at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, both in standalone productions and at the invitation of other arts partners. TWC is proud to have sung with the NSO in more than 300 performances, and to have performed under the direction of many of the world’ s greatest conductors, including Gianandrea Noseda, Christoph Eschenbach, Leonard Slatkin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Seiji Ozawa, Sir Neville Marriner, Kent Nagano, Marin Alsop, Gustavo Dudamel, Sir Andrew Davis, and now Jonathon Heyward. TWC has also sung for numerous prestigious events throughout its history: inaugurations, papal visits, the Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary tour, at the Kennedy Center Honors, and more.
If you would like to learn more about The Washington Chorus, as well as how to audition, visit: thewashingtonchorus. org.
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