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
Peter Grimes in June 1945 the opera was hailed by public and critics; its box-office takings matched or exceeded those for "La bohème" and "Madame Butterfly", which were being staged concurrently by the company. Its American premiere was given in 1946 at Tanglewood by Koussevitzky's pupil, Leonard Bernstein. "Peter Grimes" has been produced many times at the Royal Opera House. The first was in 1947, conducted by Karl Rankl and with Peter Pears, Joan Cross and Edith Coates reprising their roles from the Sadler's Wells premiere. The most recent was in 2011 with Andrew Davis conducting, and starring Ben Heppner, Amanda Roocroft