Can you imagine a time before there was Opera Lafayette? Difficult as it may seem, the nation’s oldest period instrument opera company was once only the speck of an idea in the mind of a visionary young violinist, Ryan Brown. Leading the first concert performing French Baroque chamber music in the Corcoran Gallery’s magnificent Salon Doré in 1995, Ryan Brown has built Opera Lafayette into a major cultural force, celebrated from the American shores all the way to the theatre at Versailles. This concert will focus on the music, the musicians, and the composers that Ryan Brown has championed and elevated during his 30-year tenure as Artistic Director. Help us rejoice in the rich and consequential history of The Nation’s Period Opera Company made possible through the revolutionary vision of Ryan Brown.

*This performance season is an external rental presented in coordination with the Kennedy Center Campus Rentals Office and is not produced by the Kennedy Center.