Opera Today

GLIMMERGLASS OPERA ANNOUNCES 2005 FESTIVAL SEASON

Four New Productions to Run in Repertory
June 30 through August 23, 2005

COOPERSTOWN, NY. Glimmerglass Opera has announced the repertory for its 2005 Festival Season. Four new productions, of works by Mozart, Donizetti, and Britten and a double bill of one-act operas by Massenet and Poulenc, will run in repertory in a total of 43 performances from June 30 through August 23 at The Alice Busch Opera Theater in Cooperstown, New York.

The season will open on June 30 with a new production of Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte, last performed by the company in 1993. Sung in Italian with English projected titles, the production will be directed by Tim Albery, with sets and costumes by Tobias Hoheisel and lighting by David Finn. Soprano Anne-Sophie Duprels, in her Glimmerglass debut, will sing Fiordiligi. Mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy is Dorabella, tenor John Tessier is Ferrando, baritone Palle Knudsen is Guglielmo, mezzo-soprano Camille Zamora is Despina, and baritone Sanford Sylvan is Alfonso. Stewart Robertson, Glimmerglass Opera's Music Director, will conduct. Eleven performances follow on July 2, 10m, 22, 26m, 30 and August 5, 8m, 14m, 16m, 20m, 22m. Cosi Fan Tutte is a co-production with Opera North, UK and New York City Opera.

Lucie de Lammermoor, Donizetti's Paris revision of Lucia di Lammermoor, opens on July 1, the first performances in America in nearly a century. To be sung in French with English projected titles, the production will be directed by Lillian Groag, with sets by John Conklin, costumes by Catherine Zuber, and lighting by Christopher Akerlind. Soprano Sarah Coburn will sing the title role, tenor Raul Hernandez is Edgard, baritone Earle Patriarco is Henri, and bass-baritone Craig Phillips is Raymond. Beatrice Jona Affron, in her Glimmerglass debut, will conduct. Eleven performances follow on July 3m, 9, 17m, 21, 29 and August 1m, 6, 11, 13m, 15m, 23m.

A double bill of two one-act operas, Massenet's rarely-performed Le Portrait de Manon and Poulenc's La Voix Humaine, opens on July 16, to be sung in French with English projected titles. Sets are by David Newell, costumes by Miranda Hoffman, and lighting by Robert Wierzel. Le Portrait de Manon will be directed by David Lefkowich and conducted by Andrew Bisantz. Des Grieux will be sung by baritone Theodore Baerg, Tiberge by tenor Bruce Reed, Jean by tenor Colin Ainsworth, and Aurore by soprano Kristine Winkler. La Voix Humaine, with soprano Amy Burton as Elle, will be directed by Sam Helfrich and conducted by Stewart Robertson. Nine performances follow on July 18m, 24m, 28, 30m and August 2m, 7m, 12, 18, 20.

Glimmerglass continues its exploration of the works of Benjamin Britten with Death in Venice, opening July 23. To be sung in English with projected titles, the new production will be directed by Tazewell Thompson, with sets by Donald Eastman, costumes by Carrie Robbins, and lighting by Robert Wierzel. Tenor William Burden is Aschenbach, bass-baritone David Pittsinger is the Traveller, and countertenor John Gaston is Apollo. Stewart Robertson will conduct. Eight performances follow on July 25m, 31m and August 4, 6m, 9m, 13, 19, 21m. Death in Venice is a co-production with New York City Opera.

Matinees (m) are on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays at 2 pm and on Saturdays at 1:30 pm. Evening performances are on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 pm. Single-ticket prices range from $35 to $110; subscriptions are available.

"The 2005 Festival Season's intriguing repertory examines love in its infinite variety: passion, obsession, betrayal, despair, exaltation," said Paul Kellogg, Glimmerglass Opera's Artistic Director. "These five works — all but one of them new to our stage — will offer extraordinary opportunities for our singing actors, in productions created by some of the world's most talented directors, designers, and conductors. We urge our patrons to make their plans now for this exciting season."

For tickets and information, contact the Glimmerglass Opera Ticket Office, P.O. Box 191, Cooperstown, NY 13326. Telephone: (607) 547-2255. Fax: (607) 547-1257. E-mail: tickets@glimmerglass.org. Website: www.glimmerglass.org.