Barbara Papendorp

GOOD AS HELL… WITH STRINGS Lizzo and the National Symphony Orchestra prove that pop and classical music make exhilarating partners The National Symphony Orchestra’s collaboration with Lizzo at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center proved that when classical and pop are treated as equal partners, the results can be exhilarating. Under the baton of Steven Reineke, the…

A BROADWAY BLOCK PARTY Tituss Burgess, Heather Headley, and Signature Theatre turn a summer concert into a joyous celebration of musical theater There are summer evenings at Wolf Trap that entertain, and then there are evenings that remind you why Broadway music continues to resonate across generations. Signature Theatre’s sixth annual Broadway in the Park…

COLD RAIN, HOT CLASSICS Sting ignites Wolf Trap’s summer season Sting opened the summer season with a 3-night stay at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap. On Friday, May 22, his performance easily overcame the evening’s cold and rain. If the weather threatened to dampen spirits, Sting’s two-hour Sting 3.0 set quickly warmed the crowd….

CYNTHIA ERIVO CASTS A SPELL AT WOLF TRAP Cynthia Erivo returned to the Filene Center at Wolf Trap for two performances with the kind of fire, artistry, and vocal power that turned her into one of Broadway and Hollywood’s most luminous stars. Backed by the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) under the baton of Australian conductor…

A LEGEND AT WOLF TRAP Two decades after Get Lifted announced him as a singular voice in modern R&B, John Legend is celebrating the album with a tour that feels both polished and personal. At Wolf Trap’s Filene Center, the blend of natural beauty and architectural warmth provided a setting worthy of the music. Under…

On a warm summer night in Vienna, Virginia, Wolf Trap was filled to capacity — both lawn and pavilion brimming with joyful fans of all ages. Young families, grandparents, couples on date nights, and groups of friends gathered under the stars to witness something extraordinary: Jacob Collier live in concert. And what unfolded was far…

A GLORIOUS NIGHT OF BROADWAY, FRIENDSHIP AND FEMALE ICONOGRAPHY Wolf Trap could not have conjured a more exquisite evening last night for Sutton Foster and Kelli O’Hara’s long-awaited joint concert with the blazing National Symphony Orchestra under Emil de Cou’s impeccable direction. After a relentless midsummer heatwave, the Filene Center welcomed its audience with a…

DIANA KRALL BRINGS OLD-HOLLYWOOD ELEGANCE TO WOLF TRAP On the warm evening of July 3, the Filene Center at Wolf  Trap filled nearly to capacity, its 7,028 seats glowing under the soft shimmer of vintage brass footlights. Crimson velvet curtains and old Hollywood spotlights gave the stage the feel of a bygone movie palace—setting the mood…

BROADWAY WELL-REPRESENTED IN A NIGHT OF MUSIC AND COMARADERIE From the first gleaming brass notes of Bernstein’s Candide Overture, music director Jon Kalbfleisch deftly led the Wolf Trap Orchestra through the piece’s shifting tempos and moods, setting the stage for an effervescent evening of mostly classic musical theater numbers written by Broadway’s best, including Styne, Berlin, Sondheim, and Finn….