As Interest In American Civilization Reaches Near All-Time High, Is The Washington National Opera Poised To Abdicate Its World-Class Status?

"A full year of open doors at the National Museum of American History, combined with a robust bump from the crowds in Washington for the inauguration, brought a record number of visits to the Smithsonian in 2009.

Last year, according to numbers released this week by the Smithsonian, the institution's 19 facilities received 30 million visits. The last time the Smithsonian counted that many was in 2000 and 2001 ..."

Jacqueline Trescott "Smithsonian Institution has record year in 2009, with 30 million visits" Washington Post January 7, 2010

Header credits: New covered courtyard of the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum (c) museumlab.org and Susan Biddle and the Washington Post. Copyright controlled. Not pictured: National Gallery of Art of Washington, D.C.

Washington National Opera