page_title: Washington National Opera
section_title: The tenure of Plácido Domingo, 1996 to 2011
hierarchical_section_title: Washington National Opera / Washington National Opera / The tenure of Plácido Domingo, 1996 to 2011
caption_attribution_description: English: Plácido Domingo speaks at the National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors on Friday, October 31, 2008 at the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, DC
context_page_description: The Washington National Opera is an American opera company in Washington, D.C.. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performances are now given in the Opera House of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
  Opera in Washington, DC had become established after World War I and it did flourish for a time as the Washington National Opera Association until the Depression and World War Two years, and into the 1960s in various outdoor opera venues. However, with the establishment of the Opera Society of Washington in 1956–57, the way was laid for a company to function in the city, especially after the opening of the Kennedy Center in 1971 and its move there in 1979.
  After making initial appearances with the company from 1986 onwards, tenor Plácido Domingo took over as general director in 1996, a post which he held until June 2011, after which the company, which was undergoing financial problems, came under the auspices of the Kennedy Center administration.
context_section_description: Plácido Domingo, general director of the company from 1996 until 2011, began an affiliation with the opera company in 1986, when he appeared in its world premiere production of Menotti's Goya, followed by performances in a production of Tosca in the 1988/89 season. After ten years, his contract was extended through the 2010-2011 season.
  During Domingo's tenure, because of "the company's solid reputation in the United States" and with the help of the opera's then-president, (Michael Sonnenreich), a bill was sponsored and passed in 2000 in the US Congress "designating the company as America's 'National Opera' ". The change of name to Washington National Opera was announced in February 2004.
caption: Plácido Domingo in 2008
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