GROBAN WITH THE FLOW

A soaring baritone meets the sweep
of the National Symphony Orchestra

There are singers who command a stage, and then there are artists who seem genuinely delighted to share it. On Saturday night at Wolf Trap, Josh Groban did both.

Backed by the National Symphony Orchestra under conductor Sean O’Loughlin, Groban brought his Stage, Screen, and Symphony tour to the Filene Center. His magnificent voice, combined with the full symphonic sound of the NSO, gave the evening its grandeur, while his willingness to share the stage with other artists became one of its defining pleasures.

Across the back of the stage, a lush white curtain gave the Filene Center the atmosphere of an old Hollywood theater, an elegant setting for a performer whose career has long moved between Broadway, film and popular music.

Groban himself was irresistible. Warm, funny, charming and remarkably self-effacing, he spoke affectionately about the teachers and artists who helped shape him. His humor and self-deprecation made the enormous Filene Center feel surprisingly intimate.

The dreamy, swooning “Pure Imagination,” by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley for Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, opened the concert. Groban’s mellifluous baritone filled the amphitheater, but he resisted overpowering the song. There was wonder and intimacy in his delivery.

“What I Did for Love,” Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban’s song from A Chorus Line, followed. During “Old Devil Moon,” by Burton Lane and E.Y. Harburg from Finian’s Rainbow, Groban recalled his first lead role in high school in that musical and the arts teachers who encouraged him. Even a performer of Groban’s stature began with someone giving a young artist a chance.

Two of his major Broadway roles supplied the next selections: Stephen Sondheim’s “The Barber and His Wife” from Sweeney Todd and Dave Malloy’s “Dust and Ashes” from Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. His connection to the theater is not simply professional; he clearly loves the material.

When Groban introduced Samia Posadas, this year’s Jimmy Awards winner, his interest in encouraging young performers came into focus. Posadas sang “On My Own” from Les Misérables with confidence and emotional maturity before joining Groban for “All I Ask of You” from The Phantom of the Opera. The pairing was particularly moving: an accomplished Broadway star sharing the stage with an emerging artist just beginning her professional career.

Phil Collins’s title song from Against All Odds brought in the Voce Chamber Singers, while Alan Menken and Tim Rice’s gorgeous “Evermore” from the live-action Beauty and the Beast closed the first portion of the concert on a sumptuous note.

Much of the evening’s enormous sound came from the interplay between the NSO and Groban’s core touring band. Longtime guitarist and music director Tariqh Akoni helped anchor the arrangements, while pianist and keyboardist Danae Greenfield moved between the piano-led numbers and the sweeping orchestral arrangements.

After intermission, Herman Hupfeld’s “As Time Goes By,” immortalized in Casablanca, found Groban’s rich, warm tones perfectly suited to the song’s old-Hollywood romance. “Remember Me,” by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez from Coco, followed.

Violinist Lucia Micarelli brought an entirely different musical voice to the evening. Her performance of John Corigliano’s The Red Violin Caprices: Main Theme & Variation was a breathtaking showcase before she joined Groban for Ennio Morricone’s “Cinema Paradiso.” The pairing of Groban’s voice and Micarelli’s violin was exquisite.

Before singing Nino Rota’s “Brucia la terra” from The Godfather Part III, Groban recalled being asked by Francis Ford Coppola to perform it for Coppola’s AFI tribute. He initially learned the song in Italian, only to be asked to sing it in Sicilian. Groban related the story with humor and humility before taking on the considerable musical challenge.

Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová’s “Falling Slowly” from Once gave Groban and Micarelli one of their most intimate moments together. Voice and violin seemed to converse rather than compete.

Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns” from A Little Night Music was followed by Elton John and Tim Rice’s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from The Lion King, with Voce adding lush choral support. Adele and Paul Epworth’s “Skyfall,” the title song from that James Bond film, brought another shift in mood, with Groban giving the song the dramatic treatment it deserves.

Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg’s “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz arrived as the encore. As Groban sang, the white curtain behind him was transformed into a rainbow of color, creating a visual finale that was almost too perfect.

By evening’s end, Groban had given us plenty of reminders of why his voice has carried him through recordings, concert halls and Broadway theaters. But what distinguished the night at Wolf Trap was his ease with everyone who joined him onstage, from a young performer at the beginning of her career to an accomplished violinist and one of the country’s great orchestras. Groban could have made the concert about the sheer power of his voice. Instead, he shared the stage.

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photos by Karl Magnuson

Josh Groban: Stage, Screen, and Symphony
National Symphony Orchestra
Filene Center at Wolf Trap, 1551 Trap Rd. in Vienna, VA
reviewed on August 22, 2026
for future shows, visit National Symphony Orchestra and Wolf Trap
tour continues; for future dates, visit Josh Groban

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