The Washington National Opera Names New General Director

By Francisco Salazar
The Washington National Opera announced that Timothy O’Leary has been appointed as General Director of the Washington National Opera.
The position will be effective July 1, 2018, as O’Leary will be joining from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL), where he has served as its General Director since 2008. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of OPERA America, the national service organization for opera.
As General Director at the WNO, O’Leary will work closely with the company’s Board of Directors and Artistic Director Francesca Zambello as he provides strategic and operational oversight of the entire company.
In collaboration with Zambello, he will also ensure that the company achieves the highest artistic standards in its performances and other work throughout the community. He will also explore ways in which WNO can build on its partnership with the Center to serve audiences, the Washington, D.C. community, and the international arts community.

“It is a privilege to join the Washington National Opera and this tremendous team,” said O’Leary about his position. “I am excited, honored, and deeply grateful to the WNO board, to the Kennedy Center and Deborah Rutter, and to the whole WNO community. I am also absolutely thrilled to collaborate with Francesca Zambello. Francesca is one of the artists I admire most in this world—because of her inspiring, humane, and brilliant work. Thanks to the WNO’s amazing staff, Francesca’s artistic vision, the company’s devoted board, its generous family of supporters, and the invaluable partnership of the Kennedy Center, we have the opportunity to build on the storied WNO past to help shape the future of opera in the 21st century.”

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