Four in New Productions; 40th Anniversary Concert Thursday, August 13th through Sunday, August 16th

Lake Otsego with Otesaga Hotel

“Some of the most adventurous and innovative productions in “Communicative verve and thrilling beauty came together in the so - New York take place far from Manhattan, in the upstate village of Coop - prano Kathryn Lewek .” erstown. Glimmerglass is respected throughout the international NY Times review of ‘The Messiah’ at Carnegie Hall opera community for the consistently high quality of its productions.” Vanity Fair uring the past few years, Glimmerglass Festival has set an example to other summer festivals with unusually cre - The Glimmerglass Festival: “There it is, a democratic and aston - ative programs. Last summer’s choices ranged from ishingly successful Glyndebourne of sorts, nestled on a hillock outside ‘Madame Butterfly’ and ‘’ to Rogers & a quaint village primarily celebrated, until recently, as home of that DHammerstein’s ‘Carousel’, and all four of the season’s pro - all-American cultural institution, the Baseball Hall of Fame.” ductions were presented in innovative productions. Now under the Martin Bernheimer, London Financial Times leadership of the dynamic General & Artistic Director Francesca Zambello , the 2015 Festival promises to be equally stimulating. “ is breathtaking and carries us away with his mar - Maintaining the company’s proven record of refreshing stagings, velous instrument.” all of the operas will again be presented in new productions . Houston Chronicle This summer marks the four-decade mile - “American bass-baritone Eric Owens speaks to stone of the firmly established Festival. We you even in his silences . . . and shakes you when have carefully planned our busy schedule to he sings.” Chicago Sun-Times culminate with the Sunday evening 40th An - niversary Concert celebrating the com - “The soprano Melody Moore came into her pany’s achievement, to be held on the main own as a passionate, full-voiced Marta.” stage of the opera house. Wall Street Journal, review of Weinberg’s ‘The Passenger’ In order of chronology, the four new produc - tions will be Antonio Vivaldi’s early rarity, “Impressive, gentlemanlike: Thomas Michael Cato in Utica (1737); Wolfgang Amadeus Allen , an ideal Baroque tenor, dominated the Mozart’s peerless human comedy, The Magic fine ensemble.” Munich Merkur Flute (1791); Giuseppe Verdi’s towering Alice Busch Shakespearean tragedy, (revised ver - John Holiday: “A vocal instrument that Opera House, sion, 1865); and Leonard Bernstein’s brilliant 20th threatens to equal the world’s name artists in his Francesca century comedy, (1956), reflecting countertenor range” Zambello, Francesca Zambello’s commitment to the tradi - Bloomington Herald Times General and tion of great American musicals. Artistic Director 23 While accommodations are impossible to find on your own , we Early Thursday eve - have secured a four-night stay at Cooperstown’s leading Otesaga ning, August 13th, Hotel – everyone’s first choice for a visit to Lake Otesaga and dinner will be served Glimmerglass . in the hotel’s main dining room. This For the past twenty summers, Glimmerglass Festival has been will be an opportunity the primary destination of our Hudson Valley Tour and has elicited to meet other mem - unanimous approval for the high quality of the productions. More - bers of the Tour. The over, the natural scenic beauty of the landscape around Cooper - Otesaga features the stown and Lake Otsego has proven to be an unexpected discovery best large dining Eric Owens Melody Moore for many of our regular travelers from all parts of the country. In room in the area. a relatively short time, Glimmerglass has caught the attention of serious opera lovers throughout the country. Some of our friends Thursday evening at 7:30 pm, our first per - have returned to Cooperstown with us year after year, not wanting formance will be Verdi’s riveting tragedy, to miss a single new production in the idyllic setting of the Alice Macbeth . Now recognized as a major achieve - Busch Opera Theatre. ment in the Verdi canon, by virtue of his ma - ture revision completed in 1865, ‘Macbeth’ Historic Cooperstown lies on the shores of crystal-clear Lake Ot - unfolds in a series of dramatic arias, duets sego. The unusual creative standards of this company are further and ensembles which capture the demonic enhanced by the aesthetic scenic surroundings. “The Glimmer - action precipated by Shakespeare’s ambi - Solomon Howard glass Opera must be one of the nicest places in America to go to tious Macbeths. Verdi surpassed himself in the Opera.” (Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe ). You should dis - this ‘early work’ with the haunting ‘Sleepwalking Scene’ for the so - cover for yourself the many attractions of this appealing institution prano, memorable lyric arias for both Banquo and Macduff, and in - and the exhilarating experience of our open-air trolleys driving cisive psychological arias for the baritone title role (‘Mi si affaccia along the lake in anticipation of a great performance. un pugnal?’ – ‘Is this a dagger I see before me?’ – and the cathartic final-scene ‘Pietà, rispetto, amore’). The MET’s consummate bass- baritone Eric Owens returns to Glimmerglass as Macbeth, oppo - site American soprano Melody Moore as his conniving wife. Bass Solomon Howard will offer a sympathetic portrayal of the doomed Banquo whose offspring will eventually assume the throne. (Re - maining cast TBA). The new production is directed by Anne Bogart with set designs by James Schuette , and the conductor will be Joseph Colaneri . Sung in Italian with English surtitles.

On Friday morning, August 14th, a morning visit is arranged to the Fenimore Art Museum of New York history and American art which houses the extraordinary Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of Indian artifacts from all over the U.S. The fine art collection donated by connoisseur Stephen C. Clark contains Hud - son River School painters (Thomas Cole and Asher B. Durand) as well as historic portraits by Gilbert Stuart and Benjamin West. The extensive American folk art gallery includes a variety of paintings, quilts, ship figureheads and other artifacts and John Heaton’s 1733 landscape, a seven-foot-long panel considered to be one of the first Otesaga Hotel and golf course every painted in the U.S. The 1995 addition of the American Indian Wing, provided the museum with more than 800 treasures of the Thursday, August 13th, independent arrival by car, or at either the Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection, now beautifully exhibited in Syracuse or Albany, N.Y. Airports or Train Stations , where the basement of Fenimore House. This summer’s shows will in - transportation is readily available to Cooperstown, about an hour clude Marc Chagall’s Magic Flute: Highlights from the MET Opera and a half away from both cities. You should make reservations and Maxfield Parrish: The Art of Light and Illusion. You will be free for this transfer by calling either Premiere Transportation in Al - to explore the museum at your own leisure. bany (518) 459-6123, or Adonis-Avanti Limousine Service (315) 866-2011. We urge you to call early to make your transfer arrange - Friday afternoon, and most of Saturday the 15th (during the day) ments. (Or independent travel to Cooperstown. Please see our and Sunday morning the 16th are left free for a variety of independ - concluding paragraph regarding private round-trip coach ent activities in Cooperstown. The hotel offers tennis, golf, swim - transportation between Manhattan and the Otesaga Hotel. ) ming and boat rides on Otsego Lake. Cooperstown is also home of the Baseball Hall of Fame (“the ultimate experience for a Accommodations for four nights with a lavish buffet breakfast baseball fan”), the extensive outdoor Farmer’s Museum of early included at the deluxe Otesaga Hotel in Cooperstown, a fully American life, within walking distance or trolley service from the equipped resort with outdoor pool, extensive dining facilities, ten - hotel. Downtown Cooperstown is also convenient for shopping in nis courts and golf course. This famous establishment boasts an attractive boutiques and casual dining in a variety of café and gar - idyllic setting on the shore of Lake Otsego, with clear waters to den restaurants. The hotel is a short walk from the heart of town rival the mountain lakes of Switzerland. The Otesaga is expensive and historic walking tours through the village commence from the but will add immeasurably to your enjoyment of our tour. (Our con - hotel most mornings. The unobtrusive Willis Monie bookstore firmation is upgraded to ‘Lake View’ for all of the 13 rooms in our on Main Street contains a large selection of second-hand volumes contract.) of unusual interest and value. 24 Sunday, August 16th, is a busy day with two events in the opera house. Before the matinee – or between the two events, depending on timings to be determined later – we will enjoy a catered picnic on the grounds of the opera house. At 1:30 pm on Sunday, our fourth opera will be Antonio Vivaldi’s rarely encountered 18th century work, Cato in Utica . The com - plicated plot follows Pietro Metastasio’s classic tragedy in which Sean Pannikar the Emperor Caesar opposes Cato, the ruler of Utica. This new production ’s director find’s the score to be “especially enthralling with its spectacular instrumentation that feels new and edgy and always exhilarating. Complex and Thomas Cole painting, Fenimore Art Museum conflicted characters are passionately expressing their story through brilliant vocals with highly entertaining flourishes and or - Friday evening, we will return to the opera namentations. Sublime.” Featured in the demanding leading roles house for the 7:30 pm performance of The are tenor Thomas Michael Allen as Cato, countertenor John Magic Flute , one of Mozart’s supreme Holiday as Caesar, and mezzo-soprano Sarah Mesko as Emilia, achievements and widely considered the widow of the murdered Pompey. The conductor is Ryan Brown , finest example of German ‘singspiel’ operas and the scenic designs are by John Conklin . Sung in Italian with Jacqueline Echols in the entire repertoire. “A new English English surtitles. adaptation of Mozart’s classic Enlighten - ment tale takes its inspiration, in part, from the magical qualities Our final event at 5:00 pm on Sunday will be the 40th Anniver - of an unspoiled natural landscape.” (Glimmerglass). American sary Concert celebrating the company’s remarkable history. A tenor Sean Panikkar will reprise his portrayal of Tamino from program of operatic arias and ensembles will be sung by guest Opera Theatre of St. Louis last season, with American soprano artists and this summer’s participants from the Glimmerglass Fes - Jacqueline Echols in her company debut as Pamina. The Amer - tival Young Artists Program. (All details still TBA.) ican bass Solomon Howard returns from the previous night’s Monday, August 17th, in - Banquo to assume the role of the High Priest Sarastro. (Remaining dependent departures cast TBA). The conductor is Carolyn Kuan , and the new produc - from the hotel. You tion is by the team of director Madeline Sayet and designer Troy should call early to Hourie . Sung in English with English surtitles. arrange for any limo - On Saturday, August 15th, a relaxed lunch is planned at Toscana , usine service to the Al - a recent addition to the village of Cooperstown. ‘Toscana’ enjoys a bany Airport. ( Please central location on Main Street and has earned an enviable repu - note our transfer infor - tation for its Northern Italian dishes. mation earlier in this brochure. ) Thomas Michael Allen John Holiday At 8:00 pm on Saturday, our performance in IMPORTANT: We are the opera house will be Leonard Bernstein’s pleased to offer convenient private coach/van transportation from Candide . Considered by many enthusiasts our NY office location at Lincoln Center to the Otesaga Hotel on Au - to be Bernstein’s finest work for the theatre, gust 13th, and returning on August 17th, for a cost of $290 round- ‘Candide’ is based on Voltaire’s 18th century trip or $145 one-way. The roughly five-hour trip will depart at 9:30 French novel of the same title. The brilliant am on the 13th and return by 4:00 pm on the 17th, with a short score opens with the celebrated Overture snack/rest stop en route. Full details will be included with the Final which is often performed on concert pro - Itinerary one month prior to the Tour. IMPORTANT: You should in - grams and is followed by a wealth of melodic Andrew Stenson dicate NOW if you wish to use these transfers. PLEASE NOTE THAT arias, duets and ensembles. Cunegonde’s OUR VAN or SMALL BUS (depending on the number of requests) coloratura spoof ‘Glitter and Be Gay’, Can - MAY NOT BE AS COMFORTABLE AS A DELUXE COACH. How - dide’s ‘This Must be So’, and the tender final ever, we believe we should offer the most economic transfers for your duet/ensemble ‘Make my Garden Grow’ are convenience, as Cooperstown is not easily accessible from NY City the best-known numbers of this highly in - unless you choose to fly to Albany or Syracuse. ventive work. “Not only delightful as music, and for the most part blessed with excep - tional lyrics, ‘Candide’ serves the needs of The Glimmerglass Opera: Voltaire’s narrative in the way it both sends up the operatic framework and finds gen - Price per person, based on double occupancy $ 2,550* Kathryn Lewek uine humanity and power in it.” ( New Grove Single room supplement $ 485* Dictionary of Opera ). Our conductor will be Joseph Colaneri , and the large cast is headed by tenor Andrew *Our Glimmerglass Tour is more expensive than most of our long Stenson in the title role, soprano Kathryn Lewek as Cunegonde, weekends due to the high premium cost of the ‘upgraded Lake View’ mezzo-soprano Mariette Simpson as the Old Lady, and baritone rooms at the Otesaga Hotel, including their daily buffet breakfast. David Garrison as the world-weary philosopher Dr. Pangloss. After our contract of 13 rooms, ‘upgraded Lake View’ will be subject The co-production with the opera companies of Bordeaux and to availability. Toulouse is new to Glimmerglass, directed by Francesca Zam - bello with sets designed by James Noone . Sung in English with Airfare NOT included. English surtitles. 25