About

The Glimmerglass Festival is a professional non-profit summer opera company dedicated to producing new productions each season. Rob Ainsley was appointed Artistic & General Director in 2022, and the 2023 season will be his first with Glimmerglass. The company continues its tradition of four new fully staged productions, now including three operas and one work of American musical theater, performed with full orchestra, large cast and no sound amplification. These four productions are supplemented by special performances, cabarets, concerts, lectures and symposiums throughout the season. The company continues to attract an international audience to the scenic Cooperstown area, where the talent of singers, directors, designers and staff from around the world converges in the Alice Busch Opera Theater to produce world-class opera and music theater.

Produce new, lesser-known, and familiar operas and musical theater in innovative productions; Provide professional training and performance opportunities for emerging artists and Apprentices; Engage acclaimed artists who inspire the highest standards of achievement; Inspire dialogue around meaningful issues of the day through song and story; Collaborate with regional organizations, schools, and businesses to enhance life in Central New York.

Land Acknowledgement

The Glimmerglass Festival would like to acknowledge the Mohawk and Oneida, members of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy), the original stewards of this land. We take this time to pay tribute to those who were forcibly removed from their homelands due to colonial and genocidal agendas, and those who continue to inhabit the land today. To learn more about how you can act in solidarity, visit www.nativegov.org today.
(Sources: www.nativegov.org; www.native-land.ca)

Resources to visit:

http://www.mohawknation.org/
https://www.oneida-nsn.gov/
https://www.mannahattafund.org/decolonization
https://www.skanonhcenter.org/academic-collaborative/
https://www.nativeartsandcultures.org/
http://amerinda.org/main/
https://www.redhawkcouncil.org/
https://www.indigenousdirection.com/

Medical and Wellness Program

New for the 2024 season, the Festival is thrilled to unveil an unprecedented partnership with Glimmerglass Medical & Wellness, LLC., a local provider of institutional health and wellness programming and concierge primary care services. This collaboration pioneers a unique, comprehensive health and wellness program tailored for opera and theater professionals. The program is a model for the opera and theater industry, addressing the healthcare disparities and lack of access to health insurance that industry professionals with atypical schedules and inconsistent employment often face.

The innovative program features an onsite infirmary staffed by Glimmerglass Medical & Wellness practitioners. With regular weekly hours at the Glimmerglass Festival campus, the infirmary ensures easy access to healthcare services for Glimmerglass staff, Apprentices, and performers. The infirmary offers first aid, triage of illness, acute care escalation, and identification of episodic needs that a primary care provider should address, all at no cost to Glimmerglass employees. The program also includes a weekly primary care “Opera Doc” clinic led by Dr. Jeffrey Bailey, DNP/FNP-BC, founder of Glimmerglass Medical & Wellness, LLC. Services at the “Opera Doc” clinic are offered for a copay in partnership with the Bassett Healthcare Network at the Richfield Springs Clinic, further enhancing accessibility. Paired with these medical supports are weekly fitness classes, including yoga and stretching, held at the Glimmerglass campus and Herkimer College, where Glimmerglass Young Artists reside during the Festival’s summer season.

Going beyond direct healthcare benefits, the program encompasses an educational component. This includes a seminar series and weekly newsletter covering a wide range of topics, such as sleep hygiene, healthy eating, summer colds, and other wellness topics. These topics aim to enhance the overall health and well-being of the professionals brought to the region each summer as part of the Festival. The new Glimmerglass Festival Medical and Wellness program, with all services provided at low to no cost, was made possible by the generous sponsorship of Beth and Gary Glynn, ensuring the highest standard of health and wellness support is available to all Glimmerglass professionals.