Soprano Leah Partridge will show off her vocal virtuosity and dramatic gifts in the Washington Concert Opera production of Donizetti’s rarely performed “Maria Padilla.” Based on a true story about the King of Spain, the opera was last performed in this country by Minnesota Opera in 2005.

Partridge says she dived into the obscure part with zest. “The moment I looked at it, I thought, why not? Donizetti’s music is captivating. When you listen to it, you think you’ve heard it before because he mixes it up with a melody that sounds like the ‘Lucia’ baritone part. It’s all about rhythms and orchestration. He sets it up in a grand way and there’s a lot of very exhaustive singing, like ‘Lucia’ on steroids.”