"Over the past few years under Maestro [Plšcido] Domingo's leadership, Washington National Opera has achieved international acclaim," Feinberg said. "My goal in the years ahead is to solidify that international status and assure that Washington National Opera remains one of the handful of great opera companies in the world."

Feinberg served as a federal prosecutor and as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee before entering the private sector. He founded the Feinberg Group in 1993.

An expert in mediation and dispute resolution, Feinberg was given the prickly task of distributing billions of dollars of federal compensation funds to the families of people killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. While many of the families expressed frustration with the process, which assigned a value to each life lost based on potential earnings, Feinberg was generally praised for his performance.

According to Washington National Opera, Feinberg is a lover of opera and classical music, with a collection of more than 7,000 CDs.