Enjoy beverages and hors d’oeuvres with Opera Lafayette’s Artistic Director Ryan Brown, as he celebrates the 30th anniversary of the company he began right here on Capitol Hill, and prepares for his own next chapter this June, when he hands off leadership of the organization to conductor Patrick Dupre Quigley. Brown will describe what led him to found Opera Lafayette and how it has brought forgotten musical gems back to the opera stage to great acclaim, with performances in the Corcoran Gallery’s Salon Dore, the Kennedy Center, and the Lincoln Center, to tours and residencies in New Orleans, Montreal, the American Southwest, and Versailles. He will discuss how the company has produced 14 distinguished recordings and videos under the Naxos label and managed to survive and thrive, even during the pandemic, as well as share some of his favorite pieces from the rich repertoire of mostly French music that he and Opera Lafayette have championed for three decades.