Washington DC's Washington National Opera has announced the lineup for its 2023-2024 season, and it's a doozy for both Broadway and opera fans.

Interspersed throughout more traditional offerings, such as Turandot and Gounod's Romeo and Juliet, are a bevy of Broadway-adjacent offerings, including two operas by Tony winner Jeanine Tesori, direction by Broadway's Michael Mayer, and a performance from Tony nominee Ramin Karimloo.

From October 28 to November 13, Tesori's opera Grounded, a co-commission between WNO and the Metropolitan Opera, will be staged. Based on the play by George Brant (who has also written the libretto), the opera centers on a a fighter pilot who is reassigned to the chair force after an unexpected pregnancy makes it unsafe for her to fly. Mezzo Soprano Emily D'Angelo will star in the drama that explores how technology affects the decision making process in war-by-proxy, with the opera utilizing massive LED screen technology for the first time in WNO's history. Additional Broadway creative talent will be utilized in Grounded, with director Michael Mayer and set designer Mimi Lien working on the production.

The Lion, The Unicorn, and Me, Tesori's 2013 family opera, will return to WNO for the holiday season from December 8 through 10, with support from the WNO Children's Chorus. Based on Jeanette Winterson's award-winning children's book, the opera features a libretto by J.D. McClatchy, and adaptation by Sandy McClathy.

Beginning March 9, 2024, Tony nominee Ramin Karimloo will appear in Songbird, a new adaptation of La Périchole by Jacques Offenbach. The operetta is transported to Prohibition era New Orleans, where two lovers struggle to stay together through Mardi Gras as poverty and corruption threaten to tear them apart. Grammy winner Isabel Leonard will star opposite Karimloo in the adaptation, which will play through March 23, 2024.

For more information on WNO's season, visit Kennedy-Center.org.