Washington National Opera previous WNO seasons ("Das Rheingold" in 2006, "Die Walküre" in 2007, and "Siegfried" in 2009), the fourth opera, "Götterdämmerung", was given in a concert performance in November 2009. During the 2007/08 season, WNO produced three rarely staged operas: William Bolcom's "A View from the Bridge", G.F. Handel's "Tamerlano", and Richard Strauss' "Elektra". During the following season Gaetano Donizetti's "Lucrezia Borgia" and Benjamin Britten's "Peter Grimes" were given, while the 2009-2010 season featured Richard Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos" and Ambroise Thomas' "Hamlet". In May 2012 the Washington premiere of Verdi's "Nabucco" took place, directed by the rising star Thaddeus Strassberger. He
Tom Grimes Tom Grimes Tom Grimes is an American novelist, playwright, and creative writing instructor. He currently teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Texas State University in San Marcos, and served as the program's director from 1996 to 2015. Grimes was a promising student at the famed Iowa Writers' Workshop while it was under the direction of Frank Conroy, author of the memoir "Stop-Time". Grimes’ own memoir, "Mentor: A Memoir" (Tin House), is largely concerned with his time in Iowa and his friendship with Conroy, who Grimes first met while writing and working as a waiter in Key West.