Saratoga Performing Arts Center Announces 2025 Philadelphia Orchestra Summer Season

Saratoga Performing Arts Center has announced the return of The Philadelphia Orchestra to its summer home in Saratoga for a three-week residency from August 6–August 23.

The season will feature a mix of masterworks from the classical canon alongside SPAC premieres and appearances by a diverse and international slate of today's most exciting artists and conductors.  

“Our 2025 Philadelphia Orchestra season is marked by a strong presence of today's most exciting and acclaimed female artists. From the return of Marin Alsop, one of the great conductors of our time, to the appearance of three world-class vocalists from across the sonic spectrum – Laufey, Cynthia Erivo, and Renée Fleming – we look forward to bringing the unparalleled artistry of these women to our stage,” said Elizabeth Sobol, SPAC's President & CEO. “Once again, our community can look forward to a jam-packed summer filled with iconic works that showcase the Orchestra's virtuosity alongside SPAC premieres that spotlight both contemporary pieces and rarely performed works by underrepresented composers.”  

Philadelphia Orchestra Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin (AUG 13 & 14) will return to the podium to lead two programs exclusive to SPAC. On August 13, he will conduct an evening featuring Stravinsky's Suite from The Firebird and Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for piano and orchestra with Italian pianist Beatrice Rana. The program will culminate with William Grant Still's rarely performed Second Symphony (“Song of a New Race”) in its SPAC premiere, as part of SPAC's and the Orchestra's ongoing efforts to restore and perform works by underrepresented composers. The following evening, Nézet-Séguin will lead Verdi's Requiem, marking the first time the piece has been performed at SPAC in 35 years. Called “one of the most sublime and terrifying works in the repertoire” (NPR), the masterwork will feature soprano Ailyn Pérez, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, tenor Matthew Polenzani and bass-baritone Alfred Walker alongside Albany Pro Musica.  

Highlighting the season are appearances by GRAMMY-winning female vocalists that span the sonic spectrum. Returning to SPAC following her 2024 Saratoga Jazz Festival appearance is Laufey (AUG 9), a 25-year-old Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Called a “Gen Z It Girl” by The New York Times, her album Bewitched earned her a 2024 GRAMMY Award and broke the record as the biggest debut for a jazz album on Spotify in history. Known for her songwriting inspired by jazz greats and classical masters like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Chet Baker, she possesses a point of view that could only be conveyed by a 21st-century twentysomething. Laufey (pronounced lāy-vāy) will make her Philadelphia Orchestra debut with her “Night at the Symphony” program, which premiered with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and was made into a film directed by Sam Wrench (Taylor Swift |The Eras Tour).

Making her highly anticipated SPAC debut is three-time Oscar-nominated and GRAMMY, Emmy, and Tony Award–winning actress, singer, and producer Cynthia Erivo (AUG 22). Known for her powerhouse performances on both stage and screen, she is celebrated for her transformative roles in The Color Purple, Harriet, and most recently as the star in Universal's record-breaking film adaptation of the hit musical WICKED. Joined by The Philadelphia Orchestra, Erivo will perform beloved Broadway hits, soul-stirring standards and her own original songs.

Returning for the first time since 2016 is five-time GRAMMY-winning soprano Renée Fleming (AUG 15). Known for her sumptuous voice, consummate artistry, and compelling stage presence, she will perform her signature pieces and arias alongside works from her GRAMMY Award–winning album Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene, in which Fleming explores humankind's evolving relationship with nature, accompanied by a projected film created by National Geographic.  

Kicking off the season with three performances is Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Guest Conductor Marin Alsop (AUG 6--8), returning to SPAC for the first time since 2017. She will open the residency with the popular “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” program, followed by an evening anchored by Holst's The Planets, and concluding with a program dedicated to works by Gershwin and Bernstein.

The next generation of soloists, conductors, and composers will also be featured this season, highlighted by violinist Randall Goosby (AUG 7), cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason (AUG 20), and pianists Clayton Stephenson (AUG 8) and Beatrice Rana (AUG 13). Genre-bending trio Time for Three (AUG 21) will also return by popular demand to perform a new concerto showcasing their versatility by contemporary composer Mason Bates. Led by 2022 Musical America Conductor of the Year Teddy Abrams in his SPAC debut, the program will also feature one of Aaron Copland's signature works, Appalachian Spring Suite. Philadelphia Orchestra Assistant Conductor Naomi Woo (AUG 20) will also make her SPAC debut with a program anchored by Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

Finally, the popular film nights will return to delight audiences of all ages as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in Concert (AUG 16) and Back to the Future in Concert (AUG 23) are projected on the screens in HD, while the Orchestra performs the scores live.

Tickets to “Laufey: A Night at the Symphony” will be available beginning on February 24 at 10 a.m. for members (tiered by level) and on February 28 at 10 a.m. to the general public.

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