Opera Saratoga Announces Updated Casting And Ticket Information For 2022 Summer Festival

Opera Saratoga announces updated casting and ticket information for its innovative new festival model that embraces partnerships with multiple venues across the region.

At the heart of the 2022 Summer Festival will be performances of Rossini's Bel Canto comedy The Barber of Seville on Proctors MainStage, as well as his exquisite Petite Messe Solennelle at The Round Lake Auditorium; the deeply moving Sky on Swings by Lembit Beecher and Hannah Moscovitch at The Egg, which explores the journey of two women living with Alzheimer's disease; and Stephen Sondheim's Broadway masterpiece, Sweeney Todd, on the Amphitheater Stage of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Additional events will include Stars of Tomorrow at The Charles R. Wood Theater in Glens Falls; A Broadway Cabaretat The Mansion of Saratoga in Rock City Falls; and A Juneteenth Celebration at Proctors' GE Theater in Schenectady. In addition, the 2022 Opera Gala - Opera Under the Stars will take place on Sunday, June 5th at The Barn at French Mountain in Lake George Village. For more information, visit www.operasaratoga.org.

Tickets for Summer Festival performances are currently available through Festival Passes (previously called Subscriptions); or tickets can be purchased to individual performances, which will go on sale March 21st. This season, Opera Saratoga is offering two Festival Passes, which provide significant savings, priority ticket access, and the greatest degree of flexibility:

ALL ACCESS PASS: Opera Saratoga's All Access Pass provides the best value this summer while guaranteeing the best seats for every production and concert. Benefits include: saving 20% off tickets to Sweeney Todd, Sky on Swings, The Barber of Seville, the Petite Messe Solennelle, and A Broadway Cabaret; and FREE tickets to A Juneteenth Celebration and Stars of Tomorrow. All Access Pass holders also receive a 20% discount off any additional tickets they wish to purchase.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS PASS: Opera Saratoga's Festival Highlights Pass provides priority seating and 20% off ticketsto Sweeney Todd, Sky on Swings, and The Barber of Seville. Pass holders can then customize their Highlights Pass by adding tickets to concerts of their choice, with a 10% discount off any additional tickets purchased.

With the purchase of either Festival Pass, there is no need to deal with multiple box offices for ticket purchases, and free exchanges are available. Festival Pass holders also save on handling fees: there is a single $10 fee per order when purchasing Festival Passes; whereas there is a processing fee charged by each venue's box office on each ticket purchased that is not part of a Festival Pass.

SINGLE TICKETS: Tickets for individual events will be available online or by phone beginning March 21st, 2022through the SPAC, Proctors, and Egg Box Offices. SPAC is handling ticket sales for: Sweeney Todd (at SPAC); Stars of Tomorrow (at The Wood Theater); A Broadway Cabaret (at The Mansion of Saratoga); and performances of the Petite Messe Solennelle (at The Round Lake Auditorium). Proctors is handling tickets for: The Barber of Seville and A Juneteenth Celebration (both at Proctors); and tickets for Sky on Swings (at The Egg) will be available through The Egg.

For complete details on Festival Passes and Single Tickets, visit operasaratoga.org

Opera Saratoga's 2022 Summer Festival is made possible in part with support from the National Endowment for the Arts; and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

OPERA SARATOGA 2022 FESTIVAL PROGRAM AND CASTING

STARS OF TOMORROW

Thursday, May 26 @ 7pm

Presented by Opera Saratoga in partnership with

The Charles R. Wood Theater, Glens Falls

Start the season with our annual Stars of Tomorrow concert - featuring 22 singers from around the country who have been selected from over 1,000 applicants to be members of Opera Saratoga's prestigious Young Artist Program. One of the most popular concerts of the season, the program includes arias from over 20 different operas

PETITE MESSE SOLENNELLE

Thursday, June 2 @ 7:30pm

Friday, June 3 @ 7:30pm

Presented by Opera Saratoga in partnership with

The Round Lake Auditorium, Round Lake Village

Music by Gioachino Rossini

Rossini is remembered primarily for his extraordinary contribution to the Italian operatic repertoire, but he also wrote important pieces of sacred music that are notable, among other things, for their overtly operatic style. The Petite Messe Solennelle, written near the end of Rossini's life, is scored for four soloists and a chamber chorus, with harmonium and piano accompaniment. It was not heard in public until 1869, the year after his death. The work's title is misleading, since the Petite Messe Solennelle is neither petite nor particularly solemn. The music ranges from hushed intensity to boisterous high spirits, and the memorable tunes and rhythmic vitality for which Rossini became justly famous are abundant throughout the work.

Festival Artists from Opera Saratoga's nationally acclaimed Young Artist Program will be featured in these special performances, conducted by Laurie Rogers, at the Round Lake Auditorium. The centerpiece of the Auditorium is the historic, 1,900-pipe Ferris Tracker organ. Built in 1847, what was the second largest organ in New York City is now the oldest, largest and unaltered organ of its kind in the United States. In place of the traditionally used harmonium - a smaller scale pump organ - Opera Saratoga's performances of the Petite Messe Solennelle will feature the extraordinary Ferris Tracker organ, making these concerts a truly unique and not-to-be missed occasion.

FEATURED ARTISTS

SOPRANO SOLOIST: Angela Yam

MEZZO SOPRANO SOLOIST: Sable Strout

TENOR SOLOIST: Morgan Mastrangelo

BASS SOLOIST: Turner Staton

CONDUCTOR: Laurie Rogers

OPERA UNDER THE STARS - THE OPERA SARATOGA GALA

Sunday, June 5 @ 4pm

Gala Honoree: Martha Strohl

Gala Chair: Steve Rosenblum

Opera Saratoga returns to the Barn at French Mountain in Lake George Village for the 2022 Opera Gala - Opera Under the Stars. This wonderful venue allows us to host you outdoors in a covered tent for a cocktail reception, and to then move to their enormous open-sided barn for our seated dinner, auction, and of course - our entertainment featuring Opera Saratoga's Festival Artists.

This year, we honor Opera Saratoga's outgoing President, Martha Strohl. Martha has been a passionate advocate for Opera Saratoga for almost 20 years. Her philanthropic leadership has not only allowed Opera Saratoga to increase opportunities for emerging operatic artists to hone their talents, but has also helped to inspire greater support throughout the community; and her calm and steady hand throughout the pandemic has been a beacon of stability over the past two years.

A HUNDRED YEARS OF BROADWAY - A BROADWAY CABARET

Sunday, June 12 @ 2pm

Sunday, June 12 @ 7pm

Presented by Opera Saratoga in partnership with

The Mansion of Saratoga, Rock City Falls

Opera Saratoga returns to The Mansion of Saratoga for A Hundred Years of Broadway, featuring musical theater favorites from the 1920s to present day. Under the musical direction of Broadway conductor Laura Bergquist, the program will also include a tribute to Stephen Sondheim, who passed away at the age of 91 in December. The Mansion of Saratoga features cabaret style table seating, with a delicious menu of Broadway inspired bistro food and drink available for purchase from Cordon Bleu trained Executive Chef Rick Bieber.

A JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION WITH Sidney Outlaw

Sunday, June 19 @ 2:30pm

Presented by Opera Saratoga in Partnership with

Proctors GE Theatre, Schenectady

Opera Saratoga's second annual Juneteenth concert features baritone Sidney Outlaw, who makes his opera debut with the company later in the season as Figaro in The Barber of Seville. Sidney was the Grand Prize winner of the Concurso Internacional de Canto Montserrat Caballé in 2010 and continues to delight audiences in the U.S. and abroad with his rich and versatile baritone and engaging stage presence. His recital debut with Opera Saratoga on Juneteenth will celebrate the legacy of Black composers and writers in American song, with a program including works by Langston Hughes, Robert Owens, Claude McKay, Dorothy Rudd Moore, and Frederick Douglass.

SWEENEY TODD - THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET

A MUSICAL THRILLER

Wednesday, June 29 @ 7:30pm

Thursday, June 30 @ 7:30pm

Produced by Opera Saratoga in partnership with

Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Book by Hugh Wheeler

From an adaptation by Christopher Bond

Originally Directed On Broadway by Harold Prince

Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick

Originally Produced on Broadway by Richard Barr, Charles Woodward, Robert Fryer, Mary Lea Johnson, Martin Richards in Association with Dean and Judy Manos

Sweeney Todd was first produced in 1979 on Broadway where it won eight Tony awards including Best Musical. Widely acknowledged as Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece, Sweeney Todd tells a dark tale of vengeance and murder, leavened with ghoulish humor, in Victorian London. Returning after being wrongly imprisoned, Sweeney vows revenge on the Judge who incarcerated him, and finds an unlikely ally in Mrs. Lovett, the owner of a struggling meat pie shop who finds a good use for Sweeney's victims.

Three-time Tony nominee and Drama Desk Award Winner Carolee Carmello takes the stage as Mrs. Lovett in her Opera Saratoga and SPAC debut, alongside internationally acclaimed bass baritone Craig Colclough as Sweeney Todd. Laura Bergquist, who made her debut on the SPAC stage last summer leading Opera Saratoga's critically acclaimed production of Man of La Mancha will conduct the staged concert performances, directed and choreographed by Kyle Lang.

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

MRS. NELLIE LOVETT: Carolee Carmello

SWEENEY TODD / BENJAMIN BARKER: Craig Colclough

ANTHONY HOPE: Louis Tiemann

JOHANNA BARKER: Angela Yam

JUDGE TURPIN: Daniel Mobbs

TOBIAS RAGG: Morgan Mastrangelo

BEADLE BAMFORD: Arnold Livingston Geis

BEGGAR WOMAN: Maria De Conzo

ADOLFO PIRELLI: Brian Yeakley

CONDUCTOR: Laura Bergquist

DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER: Kyle Lang

COSTUME DESIGNER: Glenn Avery Breed

LIGHTING DESIGNER: TBA

WIG & MAKEUP DESIGNER: Sue Schaefer

Sweeney Todd is presented through special arrangement with Music Theater International (MTI). All performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com

SKY ON SWINGS

Thursday, July 7 @ 7:30pm

Saturday, July 9 @ 2pm

Produced by Opera Saratoga in Partnership with

The Egg Performing Arts Center, Albany

Music by Lembit Beecher

Libretto by Hannah Moscovitch

Sky on Swings is a riveting musical and theatrical exploration of what it feels like to live with Alzheimer's Disease, as seen through the eyes of two women at different stages in the progression of dementia: Martha, who is far gone in the disease; and Danny, who knows what is happening to her and is in frantic denial. When Martha and Danny meet, they form an unexpected bond of love and support. Through their eyes - along with the experience of their children who struggle with how to best support their mothers - a deeply moving world of discovery is revealed in memories lost.

Two of the country's most distinguished artists, mezzo sopranos Marietta Simpson and Phyllis Pancella, make their Opera Saratoga debuts in the roles of Martha and Danny in this new production, directed by Artistic and General Director Lawrence Edelson and conducted by rising star Emily Senturia.

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

MARTHA: Marietta Simpson

DANNY: Phyllis Pancella

WINNIE: Helena Colindres

IRA: Ryan Johnson

OF MEMORY / ELDER 1: Chase Sanders

OF MEMORY / ELDER 2: Raphaela Medina

OF MEMORY / ELDER 3: Arieh Sacke

OF MEMORY / ADMINISTRATOR: Spencer Reichman

CONDUCTOR: Emily Senturia

DIRECTOR: Lawrence Edelson

SCENIC DESIGNER: Julia Noulin-Mérat

COSTUME DESIGNER: Whitney Locher

LIGHTING DESIGNER: Marcella Barbeau

WIG & MAKEUP DESIGNER: Sue Schaefer

This new production of Sky on Swings is a co-production with Opera Columbus. This production has been made possible with leadership support from OPERA America's Next Stage program, supported by Gene Kaufman, Terry Eder-Kaufman, and New Vision for Opera, with additional support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE - IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA

Friday, July 8 @ 7:30pm

Sunday, July 10 @ 2pm

Produced by Opera Saratoga in Partnership with

Proctors, Schenectady

Music by Gioachino Rossini

Libretto by Cesare Sterbini

Sung in Italian with English supertitles

The Barber of Seville is the hilarious story of a love triangle involving Dr. Bartolo, Count Almaviva, and the charming Rosina. Figaro - the local barber who, in fact, does much more than cut hair - is the ultimate "wingman" for Count Almaviva, creating elaborate schemes, aliases, and disguises to help him fool Dr. Bartolo and get the girl. Rossini's madcap comedy is one of the most popular operas in the world and is guaranteed to send you out laughing and humming!

Baritone Sidney Outlaw makes his Opera Saratoga debut as the beloved barber Figaro, alongside tenor Brian Yeakley - a distinguished alumnus of Opera Saratoga's Young Artist Program - as Count Almaviva, South African mezzo soprano Siphokazi Molteno in her role debut as Rosina, and bass baritone Daniel Mobbs as Dr. Bartolo. Dean Williamson conducts the production directed by Eve Summer, another remarkable alumna of Opera Saratoga's Young Artist Program.

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

ROSINA: Siphokazi Molteno

COUNT ALMAVIVA: Brian Yeakley

FIGARO: Sidney Outlaw

DR. BARTOLO: Daniel Mobbs

BASILIO: Jeremy Harr

BERTA: Whitney Robinson

CONDUCTOR: Dean Williamson

DIRECTOR: Eve Summer

SET DESIGNER: Ken MacDonald

COSTUME DESIGNER: Dana Osborne

LIGHTING DESIGNER: TBA

WIG & MAKEUP DESIGNER: Sue Schaefer

The production and designs for The Barber of Seville were originally created by Pacific Opera Victoria for production in February 2016. Original stage director: Morris Panych. Original lighting designer: Kimberly Purtell.

To post a comment, you must register and login.