MUSIC: ORCHESTRATING A REVIVAL

CAN SUPERTENOR PLACIDO DOMINGO AND CONDUCTOR LEONARD SLATKIN TURN WASHINGTON INTO THE NATION'S CAPITAL OF CULTURE?

The city of Washington may be the epitome of political sophistication, but the capital has never quite shed its reputation as a cultural cow town. The opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1971 was supposed to change that. It gave the city an imposing performance space to rival New York City's best and the hope that greater visibility would soon follow. But bricks and mortar can do only so much. The Kennedy Center, which houses an opera house, a concert hall and theaters, did score some coups, including a dazzling visit by the Berlin Opera...

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