2023 Gala – Beginnings

Rob Ainsley & Alyson Cambridge, Co-hosts

As the Glimmerglass Festival embraces this moment of transition, we honor our past, present, and future through the unifying power of our infinitely varied artform. Join Artistic & General Director Rob Ainsley, company favorite Alyson Cambridge, and the talents of our 2023 Festival Artists for a musical journey from the very beginnings of opera into its bright future.


please join us in celEbration

tuesday, April 4

The Metropolitan Club
One East Sixtieth Street
New York, NY 10022

6:00 PM – Cocktails

7:00 PM – Performance

8:00 PM – Dinner & Auction
Auctioneer, Robbie Gordy

9:00 PM – Dessert & Dancing
DJ Martin D’Arce


Thank You to Our Lead Corporate Sponsor

 


tables of 10

single tickets

Platinum Table ︳$25,000 Silver Ticket ︳$2,500
Gold Table ︳$15,000 Bronze Ticket ︳$1,500
Young Glimmerglass Ticket ︳$500

To make a contribution, click here.
To inquire about ticket availability or to request more information,
please contact Amy Tompkins ︳(607) 547-0700 ext. 212 ︳atompkins@glimmerglass.org

First Course

Golden & Candy Cane Beets
Whipped Honey Feta, Pistachio, Dill
Citrus & Fennel Vinaigrette

Entrée*

Roasted Sea Bass
Eggplant & Sundried Tomato Farro
Smoked Tomato Vinaigrette
Micro Cilantro

Dessert

Fruit Tarts
Assorted Cookies and French Macarons
Mini Chocolate Flourless Cake
Seasonal Berries and Fresh Cream
Coffee

*Vegetarian option available upon request at the event

Glimmerglass Artistic & General Director Robert Ainsley previously served as the Director of the Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artists Program and the American Opera Initiative, where he commissioned, developed, and premiered more than 30 new works. Ainsley was Associate Music Director at Portland Opera, Head of Music Staff and Chorus Master at Minnesota Opera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, a guest Chorus Master at English National Opera, and Co-Founder and Principal Conductor of the Greenwich Music Festival. He is an alumnus of the University of Cambridge, Mannes College of Music, and the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera.


Steven Blandino has his BFA from Pace University Commercial Dance. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at Pace Commercial Dance & Musical Theater, as well as on Faculty at Steps, Broadway Dance Center, and Peridance Center. Recent performance credits include West Side Story Italy, CATS National Tour, West Side Story (Houston Grand Opera), Newsies, Mr. Saturday Night broadway (Workshop), Funny Girl Broadway (Workshop), Mamma Mia!, Phish NYE at Madison Square Garden, Weston Playhouse, Shrek the Musical, Tuacahn Center for the Arts, and many more. Steven choreographed at New York Musical Festival and was recently a 2020 Capezio ACE Award Finalist in Los Angeles. Steven also choreographed for Dance Lab New York under Josh Prince and Ellenore Scott. He is the proud founder and director of his commercial dance company treadFAST.


Dwayne Brown is from New York and trained at Vassar College with Stephen Rooks, Kathy Wildberger, Jeanne Czula, Abby Saxon and John Meehan. Dwayne was also a fellowship student at The Ailey School and a Young Artists Scholar for American Dance Festival. He has danced for Trainor Dance, Dragone Productions, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co., Reggie Wilson/Fist&Heel PG, Maija Garcia, Roger Jeffery, Anouk van Dijk, Lula Washington Dance Theater, Sean Curran Company, Connecticut Ballet, The Metropolitan Opera, Little Orchestra Society, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.


Portrait of Alyson CambridgeAmerican Soprano Alyson Cambridge is one of the most diverse and compelling vocal artists on the scene today. With a striking stage presence and affecting musical and dramatic interpretation, she has over two decades of success on the world’s leading opera and concert stages, including The Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, Washington National Opera at The Kennedy Center, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, London’s Royal Albert Hall, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Vienna Konzerthaus, and New York’s Broadway Theatre, to name a few. In addition to her operatic repertoire, Cambridge has also made successful forays into musical theater, jazz, and has worked as a producer in a variety of settings.


Renowned for his versatility, musical depth and ability to “inspire musicians”, Glimmerglass Festival Music Director Joseph Colaneri is recognized as a multifaceted presence at the podium. An international conductor equally adept with operatic, oratorio and symphonic repertoire, Colaneri has been on the Metropolitan Opera’s roster since 1998 and recently retired as Artistic Director at Mannes College—The New School for Music. He was also Artistic Director of the West Australian Opera in Perth from 2012-14. Colaneri led more than 60 performances with New York City Opera and has worked with many other distinguished companies such as Den Norske Opera, Portland Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Orlando Opera, UCLA and the San Francisco Opera Center. Orchestras with which he has guested include the Tokyo Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Chautauqua Symphony.


Renowned trumpeter Wayne J. du Maine is a thirty-year veteran of the New York City area music scene. He currently holds the principal chair with the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the American Composers Orchestra. Mr. du Maine has also led the Hartford Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and Westchester Philharmonic as conductor of educational concerts. As a trumpet soloist, he has performed with the Concordia Orchestra as well as orchestras from across the country. At Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program, he led the trumpet ensemble and was founder, music director, and conductor of the MAP Orchestra. Wayne is currently the Director of Bands at the Elisabeth Morrow School in Englewood, NJ, and dedicates his summers to performing at music festivals — most recently, the prestigious Marlboro Music Festival. He has been contracted to play many Broadway shows like Titanic, The Music Man, Man of La Mancha, and The King and I. He has served as associate conductor for Fiddler on the Roof, the Lincoln Center production of South Pacific, and The Scottsboro Boys. A major highlight of his career was having the opportunity to perform with Prince at his Paisley Park home in Chanhassen, MN, and du Maine can be heard on Prince’s Newpower Soul recording.


Taylor-Alexis DuPont is an engaging mezzo-soprano with a dynamic presence on the opera scene, most recently serving as a Baumgartner Studio Artist at the Florentine Opera. She has performed with opera companies and young artist programs including the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Teatro Regio di Torino, Ising International Young Artist Festival in Beijing and Suzhou, China, The Glimmerglass Festival, Sarasota Opera, The Prototype Festival, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Heartbeat Opera, Florentine Opera, First Coast Opera, Christman Opera, Opera NexGen, Opera Orlando and St. Petersburg Opera’s Emerging Artist Program. She received her Masters in Voice from the Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with Denyce Graves.


Headshot of Eric Sean FogelEric Sean Fogel has been with the Glimmerglass Festival for twelve seasons as the Head of Stage Movement and Choreography in addition to serving as a Guest Stage Director on staff at the Metropolitan Opera. Fogel has choreographed a number of world premiere productions and Kennedy Center performances and has also created new productions for Opera Bordeaux, Chicago Lyric Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera Kansas City, Los Angeles Opera, Metropolitan Art Museum, Milan Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week, Opera Philadelphia, Paris Fashion Week, Royal Opera of Versailles, Seattle Opera, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Théâtre du Capitole, Theater St. Gallen, and Washington National Opera. In addition to being a world-class choreographer, Fogel has an extensive background in dance, and continues to study both classical and modern forms.


Critically-acclaimed soprano Keely Futterer is a passionate interpreter of repertoire old and new. Futterer’s career highlights include the leading ladies of Elle in La Voix Humaine, the title role of Suor Angelica, Adina in L’elisir d’amore, and Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro. She received critical acclaim for her role debut of Marie in La fille du régiment at Opera Saratoga. She has performed with the Eastman Philharmonic, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, and was a young artist at Opera Saratoga, a member of Opera Memphis’ Handorf Company Artist Program, Tulsa Opera’s Filstrup Resident Artist Program, Opera Naples’ Coaching Intensive with Renata Scotto, and recently was a young artist at The Glimmerglass Festival. Her success in performance is matched by her success in competition, winning awards in the Phoenix Art Network competition, Bologna International Voice Competition in Bologna, Italy, the Friends of Eastman Opera Competition, among others.


Andrea Grant is the Director of the Glimmerglass Young Artists Program and an internationally renowned pianist and coach. Grant has served as a member of the music staff of University of Toronto Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, the Canadian Opera Company, and was the Head of Music Staff for Wexford Festival Opera, in Wexford, Ireland. She has also worked with Opera Omaha, Calgary Opera, Opera Atelier, Tapestry Opera, The Banff Centre, Soundstreams, Queen of Puddings, Mirvish Productions, Highlands Opera Studio, and Opera Academy in Busseto, Italy.


American soprano Jasmine Habersham is a versatile and dynamic performing artist. In addition to her success in opera and musical theater, Habersham has performed as a featured soloist in numerous concert productions. She has performed with organizations including the Atlanta Opera, Opera North (UK), Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Madison Opera, Minnesota Opera, Utah Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and the Dallas Symphony. Habersham has participated in several esteemed young artists programs including with The Glimmerglass Festival, Central City Opera, Kentucky Opera, and the Brevard Music Center.


Tenor Duke Kim is a second-place Winner of Operalia (2022), Grand Finals Winner of The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition (2021), a second-place Winner of the inaugural Juan Pons International Singing Competition (2022), and a recent graduate of the Cafritz Young Artist Program at Washington National Opera. Kim has performed with a number of opera companies, including the Seattle Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Florentine Opera, Opera San Antonio, The Atlanta Opera, Washington National Opera, and the Palm Beach Opera. As a young artist, Kim has trained with programs including Wolf Trap Opera’s Studio Program and Palm Beach Opera’s Benenson Young Artist Program.


Polish-American soprano Magda Kuźma is promptly establishing a name for herself in concert and operatic repertoire. Kuźma has performed with the Santa Fe Opera and San Francisco Opera, and will be singing recitals with Opera Orlando this fall. In the fall of 2023, she began her first year as a Lindemann Young Artist with The Metropolitan Opera. A passionate recitalist, Kuźma performed solo programs at the Arts Club of Washington in D.C.; NYC’s Saint John’s in the Village (NYFA); Yale University; in Paris’ iconic Galerie dorée de la Banque de France; and performed with the Richmond Symphony as the soloist in the Mahler 4 Symphony. Kuźma has won awards in numerous competitions including the SAS Performing Arts Competition, Butler International Voice Competition, and the Concert Artists Guild Competition.


Sergio Martínez is a bass from Colombia, praised nationally and internationally for his expansive and warm bass voice and stage charisma. Martinez’s most recent performances include roles like Enrico in Anna Bolena, Don Alfonso in Così fan Tutte, Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia, Colline in La Bohème, Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Ogre in El Gato con Botas by Xavier Montsalvatge and Meneses in the Cuban zarzuela Cecilia Valdés. Some of these roles were performed in the most prestigious theaters in Colombia. At the beginning of 2021, Martinez composed, produced, and performed his first opera in four acts ¡Dime!, with libretto by Bailey Merlin.


Michael Leopold is a skilled instrumentalist with particular expertise in historical plucked instruments. He has performed both as a soloist and as an accompanist throughout Europe, Australia, Japan, South America, Mexico, Canada and the United States. Leopold has played with a number of leading Italian early music groups, including Concerto Italiano, La Risonanza, La Venexiana and La Pietà de’ Turchini and several American period-instrument ensembles. He has also collaborated with several orchestras and opera companies, including Orchestra Verdi di Milano, Opera Australia, San Francisco Opera, Barcelona Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Chicago Opera Theater, Gulbenkian Mùsica, Houston Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, Cincinnati Opera and Portland Opera.


American tenor Jonathan Pierce Rhodes is making his debut with the Washington National Opera for the 2022-2023 season as a Cafritz Young Artist. Rhodes has joined The Glimmerglass Festival as a Young Artist twice, most recently in several performances in the 2022 season. Pierce has received numerous prizes including an Encouragement Award from the Houston District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, First Prize Neva Pilgrim Award in the Civic Morning Musicals Competition and is the previous recipient of the William Warfield Scholarship Award at the Eastman School of Music.


Canadian baritone Korin Thomas-Smith is a graduate of the University of Toronto Masters of Opera program, a former fellow of the Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency program at the Royal Conservatory, and is currently completing his Masters of Musical Arts in Opera at Yale University. Thomas-Smith has worked with Tapestry Opera, Against the Grain Theatre, Citadel + Compagnie and OperaQ, and has completed fellowships with the Ravinia Steans Music Festival, the Music Academy of the West, and Aspen Music Festival and School.


Hannah Zin, a New York based dancer, received her early training at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School as well as many summer programs across the country. She graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in Dance and Art History from Fordham University and The Ailey School. Amongst other professional credits, she has been most proud of her work dancing in opera. Over the past six seasons, Hannah has had the pleasure of performing with The Metropolitan Opera in productions of Guillaume Tell, Rusalka, Parsifal, Don Giovanni, and Macbeth, with Opera Saratoga in Zemire et Azor, with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in Florencia en el Amazonas, and with the Washington National Opera, originating roles in new productions of La Traviata, Carmen, Elektra, and Samson et Delilah, for which she also served as the dance captain. Most recently she had the pleasure of traveling to Italy to join the cast of Francesca Zambello’s production of West Side Story at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari.