Written in Stone – Washington National Opera
January 9, 2022
World Premiere
What stories do our monuments tell? What legacies do they embody? What memories do they cement?
Four iconic places. Four creative teams. Four intimate stories. Some of America’s most exciting artists, musicians, composers, and librettists assemble to create four unmissable world premieres as a jewel in the crown of the Kennedy Center 50th Anniversary season. Inspired by Washington D.C.’s iconic monuments and the ideals embodied by President Kennedy, Written in Stone is a series of interwoven short works presented together in a single evening. Creative teams Jason Moran and Alicia Hall Moran, Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang, Kamala Sankaram and A.M. Homes, and Carlos Simon and Marc Bamuthi Joseph offer intimate stories that celebrate diversity and acknowledge the struggles of today’s America.
World premier and house debut as Maria Hernandez in:
Rise
Kamala Sankaram, acclaimed composer and instrumentalist
A.M. Homes, best-selling author and essayist
Bringing to life the often forgotten 1921 Portrait Monument featuring Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony, and one face left uncarved, Sankaram and Homes give a voice to those whose stories have been left out of history.