Apartment Showcase Blog

Men in tights: Following Mozart's “Così fan Tutte,“ the 2011-12 opera season continues with Rossini's “The Barber of Seville,“ which runs through April 15 at Kennedy's Terrace Theater. (Fidelio Artist via Flickr)

Apartment renters seeking a cultural outing that’s a little more highfalutin than the average ballgame, rock show or trip to the local dance club du jour are in luck to be living in Washington, D.C. (yeah, yeah, that line’s getting kinda hackneyed, but let’s see you come up with something better … I’m waiting).

And you can’t get much more high-brow than the programming at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Foggy Bottom in Northwest.

[ Related: Northwest's Kreeger Museum Takes Art Outdoors ]

Until March 29, the Kennedy Center celebrates the Music of Budapest, Prague, and Vienna. They explain it well here: “Through concerts, theater, and lectures, the Kennedy Center, under the guidance of Music Director Christoph Eschenbach, explores the themes and currents that emerged from these three great cities.”

The itinerary includes Mozart’s “Così fan tutte,” performed by the Washington National Opera, a tale of two men, two fiancés and temptation; the works of Bartók, performed by the National Symphony Orchestra; and “Eros and Freedom: The Viennese Waltz,” a lecture on the history of the dance that become popular in 19th-century Europe.

Ticket prices range from $15 up to $300 or so (ouch) depending on events and seating. Yes, the cheaper ones tend to go quickly, so all astute aesthetes should get those mouse fingers ready for action, pronto.

[ Related: All the World's a Stage at Studio Theatre in Logan Circle ]

Here’s some Mozart to get you in the mood.

The Kennedy Center is located near the Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro stop on the Blue/Orange Lines. This colossal monument to the performing arts is just another reason to make Washington, D.C., your home.

Voices carry: "Messiah" is probably Handel's most famous effort, with the "Hallelujah chorus" being a particular favorite with many listeners. (HerryLawford via Flickr)

At ApartmentShowcase.com, we’re cultural omnivores, touting lowbrow (or at least middlebrow) and high culture equally. The apartment renter in Washington, D.C., gets it all.

This month, we’ve dipped into a little of both (or all three, depending on your perspective or from what side of the mattress you arose this morning).

Definitely in the high category is Handel’s “Messiah,” which is being performed by the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Foggy Bottom (which, incidentally, may be the city’s most colorful neighborhood name, even if it is a bit racy!).

[ Related: There's Much Ado About Shakespeare at Capitol Hill's Folger Library ]

“Messiah” is running from December 15 to 18. The performance on Thursday the 15th starts at 7:00 p.m., and Friday (16th) and Saturday (17th) each feature a starting time of 8:00 p.m.; Sunday the 18th is a matinee, with a 1:00 p.m. performance.

Tickets range from $20 to $85. As always, the sooner you secure the ducats, the better.

An epic masterpiece, this oratorio – basically, a symphony with choral accompaniment – is George Frideric Handel’s most famous work about the life of Jesus Christ, first performed in Dublin, Ireland, in 1742. Conductor Matthew Halls leads soprano Kiera Duffy, counter-tenor Matthew Shaw, tenor James Gilchrist, bass-baritone Neal Davies and the University of Maryland Concert Choir in the performance.

The Kennedy Center is located a short walk from the Foggy Bottom-GWU stop on Metro’s Blue/Orange Line.

Come out and support the arts.

A night at the opera: According to the Opera America organization, "Madame Butterfly" is performed more often than any other opera in the United States. The Kennedy Center production runs through March 19. (S Baker via Flickr)

There are some people whose idea of culture is a 12-pack of Budweiser, Buffalo wings and an evening of the USA Network, where characters are welcome.

For some others, it’s a hymn sing supper and fellowshipping with other believers. Still others like their bucket of fried chicken and sweet soul music, or maybe their tacos, rice and beans topped off by a Juan Manuel Marquez title fight.

All valid pursuits, but when the aesthete thinks of culture, his or her urbane little brain conjures up musicals and plays that celebrate the Western tradition’s highbrow canon, symphony orchestras, works of art … and of course, what every man fears being dragged to sometime in his life, the opera.

All joking aside, one such opera that’s considered a highpoint in the art form would be Giacomo Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly.” Luckily for the cultured renter in Washington, D.C., the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Foggy Bottom in Northwest is currently hosting a production of “Madama Butterfly” performed by the San Francisco Opera.

[ Related: Colorful History, Upscale Amenities Give Foggy Bottom Clear Appeal ]

(And, yes, the San Francisco Opera spells it “Madama” instead of “Madame.” I think the reason is to stick it to lazy copyeditors. I don’t speak Italian, but I’m fairly certain Madama is the Italian version of Madame, which of course is the French version of Madam.)

The first performance was February 26, but it’s running until March 19 (though that particular performance is sold out). As of now, there are still tickets left for the show’s other 11 performances taking place in the Center’s Opera House.

Tickets run from $55 to $300 (what do they think this is, a Rolling Stones concert?). Come to think of it, maybe this is why all the highly-cultured individuals go to the opera: They’re the only ones who can afford it!

[ Related: National Gallery a Picture Perfect Attraction in Northwest … and It’s Free! ]

I don’t want to spoil the plot for you, but the tale concerns young American naval officer B.F. Pinkerton, who weds a naïve Japanese girl in Japan, then leaves her when his time in the country is over.

Non-aesthetes will likely recognize the name Pinkerton, for not only is it the name of the famous detective agency (now security agency Pinkerton Government Services) that hunted outlaw Jesse James and Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch, but it’s also the title of rock band Weezer’s sophomore record; “Madame Butterfly” was an inspiration for the album. Panned at first, today “Pinkerton” is generally considered a classic, much like the opera in question.

Even if you don’t live in Foggy Bottom, the Kennedy Center is easily accessible by car, bus or train.

So, come on out and live the good life.

Campus life: Several George Washington University buildings dot the Foggy Bottom area, giving the community a pronounced scholarly feel that you won't find in other Northwest neighborhoods. (dcJohn via Flickr)

If you’ve ever taken a ride on the Metro’s Blue/Orange Line and gotten off at the Foggy Bottom-GWU stop, what you see on your left – the George Washington University Medical Center – clues you into one giant fact: You’re in a college town in the middle of the city. Sorta.

The lucky apartment renter in Foggy Bottom will certainly get used to seeing college students walking around the neighborhood. This population of young, learning minds serves to counterbalance the various professional “grown-ups” who habituate the area.

[ Related: Colorful History, Upscale Amenities Give Foggy Bottom Clear Appeal ]

The George Washington University, known to locals as GW, has quite a copywriter on staff (or hired from an agency). Get a load of this bit from the About GW page: “Our University actively engages Washington, D.C., and the world. Our location in the heart of Washington places us at the core of U.S. government, policy and law.”

Now that’s what I call important. Kinda makes the community college you attended feel like small potatoes, or even your hallowed state school alma mater.

Further, the university sits “where the worlds of science, technology, media and the arts converge.” This surfeit of importance is giving me a head rush, and they pull out all the stops with this zinger: “Our students and faculty have the unparalleled opportunity to study and work alongside leaders and practitioners in every discipline, to take part in the interchanges that shape our community and the world.”

You must be thinking, “Am I worthy even to be in the presence of these kids?!”

Trust me, I’ve, let’s say, met a few of these students, and they’re just like you and me … more or less.

“OK, Apartment Showcase,” you protest. “What are you getting at? You seem to be skewering a fine institution, and I’m not gonna take it!”

Really? Settle down a mite. I’m just having some fun with you, and I feel secure writing the above because GW is a pretty impressive institution.

Created in 1821 through an Act of Congress, George Washington University is the largest school in the District. Though there are three campuses (another one in the city, and one in Ashburn, Va.), GW’s Foggy Bottom campus is the one most people surely think of when you say “GW,” and it boasts more than 42 acres of area. In total, the university teaches more than 20,000 students who hail from all 50 states, the capital itself, and more than 130 countries. In a city with an international flavor, GW fits right in.

But you don’t have to be a student to enjoy the benefits of the GW campus in Foggy Bottom.

Firstly, there’s Lisner Auditorium, which presents eclectic live music and other entertainment. Taking a look at their calendar for upcoming events, what can you say about a place that books the likes of the Trailer Park Boys (one of the few truly funny phenomena to arise in the last decade), the Laurie Berkner Band and Gal Costa? Nothing short of an epiphany, that’s what.

Secondly, there’s the basketball team. It’s true that denizens of the city and surrounding environs usually pick one of two national powerhouses to root for in college basketball: the University of Maryland or Georgetown University. But by mid-decade, another area team emerged (well, two, counting George Mason, which very nearly upset the college basketball applecart in 2006). With NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament appearances in 2005, 2006 and 2007, the George Washington Colonials briefly broke the two-team, Washington-area binary basketball system. Though they have since come back down to earth, my bet is a game at a mid-major is nearly as fun as one at Comcast Center or the Chinatown’s Verizon Center.

[ Related: Chinatown a Flashy, Fun Home for the Renter in Northwest ]

When you move here, take the kids, take a date or take your buddies to something fun for a change. The bars and restaurants will still be around for you later. We promise.

Captiongate: Though Foggy Bottom's Watergate complex may be reduced to rubble some day, you can be sure the overused "-gate" suffix – which has affixed itself to every so-called scandal from Antennagate to Spygate – is here to stay. Sigh.

Whether the neighborhood likes it or not, the thought of Foggy Bottom – located in D.C.’s Northwest quadrant – will always conjure pictures of Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal. It was one of the biggest stories of the 1970s and lives on today as the granddaddy of modern American political scandals.

While the Watergate office complex still stands (though its confusing current state would take another blog entry to explain), the neighborhood existed way before the 1970s and continues today, for the most part, like the scandal never happened.

In fact, according to The George Washington University and Foggy Bottom Historical Encyclopedia, the neighborhood’s “origin can be traced to the 18th century, when in 1765 Jacob Funk, a German immigrant, purchased a 30-acre tract of land and laid out the town of Hamburg.” Over the years, the name changed and so did the milieu.

The above encyclopedia further states that “the district began its life as one of Washington’s industrial hubs, active as a major shipping and warehousing center in the city.”

What’s this have to do with you? Well, I’m trying to teach you something for once: Places have history, and you should appreciate it.

Not everything is McDonald’s or some kind of mixed-use, greened-up, trendy spot, where people drink lattes with their pinkies in the air, decked out in designer turtleneck sweaters in a place furnished to look like a ski chalet in the middle of the freaking city.

Some people actually had it rough (still do) and physically got dirty, with their hands, and in some cases died laying the groundwork for your cushy life. OK … breathe in, breathe out, better. Enough of that. I’m as guilty as the rest of you.

Luckily, both residents and non have the Foggy Bottom Association, which takes an active interest in the neighborhood’s history, its present and, most importantly, its future.

“But what does Foggy Bottom offer me now?” you ask. Alright, alright.

First and foremost, Foggy Bottom puts you smack-dab in the city, as the neighborhood borders Georgetown, Dupont Circle and the U.S. National Mall.

[ Related: Dupont Circle Boasts Farmers’ Market in the Heart of the City ]

It’s also near downtown. The Kennedy Center is in Foggy Bottom, and so is the U.S. Department of State. K Street, the legendary haven for lobbyists, travels through Foggy Bottom as well (whether their portion of K Street is a treasure trove of lobbyists is anyone’s guess).

The neighborhood is full of restaurants and bars, including an impressive five bistros on the 2010 Washingtonian list of the area’s “100 Best Restaurants.” For meals you make yourself, there’s a Trader Joe’s nearby and a Safeway at Watergate. There’s even a FRESHFARM Market here for those of you who like fresh fruits and vegetables.

While not a hotbed of retail, Foggy Bottom does offer apartment renters the Shops at 2000 Penn (CVS, Expressions, One Stop News). I know there’s more, but it’ll be up to you to discover the retail joys of Foggy Bottom.

[ Related: Ritzy Bethesda Offers Some of the Best Shopping in the D.C. Area ]

Besides, even if you’re bereft of wheels, you’ll surely take advantage of the Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro stop on the Blue/Orange Line.

But what colors the look and feel of the neighborhood more than anything else is the George Washington University and accompanying George Washington University Medical Center. I’ve been to the former on a couple occasions – for work and play – and can say it’s rather remarkable that it blends so seamlessly into the city while being a major presence there.

So please, come check it out, and see what you think.