The Glimmerglass Festival is pleased to announce details of its 2024 Festival season, titled “Identity & Illusion,” including season guest artists, creative teams, and a new initiative dedicated to the support of works-in-development. Exciting highlights of the 2024 Festival include a new production of the gothic thriller Elizabeth Cree by the Pulitzer Prize-winning team, Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell; the first glimpse of The House on Mango Street, a new opera by three-time Grammy nominee Derek Bermel and librettist Sandra Cisneros; an immersive new production of the classic thriller Pagliacci from newly appointed Artistic Director of Pacific Opera Victoria, Brenna Corner, with pre-show outdoor concerts curated by the artists themselves; and a world premiere youth opera by 2022 winner of the San Francisco Conservatory’s Emerging Black Composers Project, Jens Ibsen, and Cecelia Raker.
2024 Artist-in-Residence Tara Erraught (Opera de Paris, Wigmore Hall, Metropolitan Opera) leads an international group of guest artists making their Glimmerglass debuts, including Craig Irvin (Wexford Festival Opera, Minnesota Opera), Christian Mark Gibbs (Metropolitan Opera/LCT, Washington National Opera, Camelot on Broadway), Taylor Raven (San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera), Elizabeth Sutphen (Glyndebourne, Spoleto Festival, Opera Frankfurt), and Robert Stahley (Lyric Opera of Chicago, LA Philharmonic) as well as the triumphant returns of Eve Gigliotti (Metropolitan Opera, Opera Philadelphia), Amber Monroe (Washington National Opera, Santa Fe Opera), Troy Cook (Hamburg State Opera, Covent Garden), and Schyler Vargas (Arizona Opera, Carnegie Hall), all alumni of the Glimmerglass Young Artists Program.
“The Glimmerglass family is created each season out of the special alchemy that arises when international artists at the peak of their profession work as peers alongside America’s most exciting emerging artists and apprentices,” said Artistic & General Director Rob Ainsley. “While introducing our audiences to new artists I have worked with and admired throughout my career, there will also be many familiar faces eager to make the most of their next big opportunity. I couldn’t be more excited for the excellent directors and conductors making their solo mainstage debuts with us this season. Each will bring fascinating new perspectives to their productions.”
Leading a thrilling roster of guest artists, Glimmerglass welcomes Irish star mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught as Artist-in-Residence for the 2024 season. Acclaimed worldwide, Erraught has been lauded for her “beautifully formed mezzo-soprano voice” (New York Times) and heralded as the “New Bel Canto Queen” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). Notable recent performances include her role debut of the title role in Iphigénie en Tauride at the Opéra de Paris and her role debut as Maria Stuarda at Irish National Opera, where she was described as having “a voice that inspired pity that would have moved even the stoniest of hearts” (Bachtrack). Erraught has held concerts across the globe, including at the Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall, and is a recipient of the prestigious Pro meritis scientiae et litterarum, awarded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and Art. For her debut with Glimmerglass, Erraught will star in the title role in Elizabeth Cree and provide mentorship for members of Glimmerglass’s highly competitive Young Artists Program.
Joining Erraught as Glimmerglass Festival 2024 guest artists are 2017 BBC Singer of the World finalist, baritone John Chest; baritone Troy Cook who originated the role of Father Palmer with Minnesota Opera in the world premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night; multifaceted talent of stage and screen, tenor Christian Mark Gibbs, most recently seen in the Broadway revival of Camelot (2023) at the Lincoln Center Theatre; mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti, an innovative vocal artist who infuses her performances with “finely crafted characterizations” (NY Classical Review); baritone Craig Irvin who brings a “dynamic range, a sturdy swagger, and a beautiful, smooth vocal quality” (Utah Arts Review) to his performances; 2023 winner of the George and Nora London Foundation Competition, soprano Amber Monroe; mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven, praised as a “vocal sensation” (Washington Classical Review) with a “deep range” (OperaWire); tenor Robert Stahley, known for his “richly embodied, charismatic” (Arts National) performances; soprano Elizabeth Sutphen, praised for her “exquisite” (The Guardian) coloratura soprano and “crisp comedic instinct” (Opera News); and baritone Schyler Vargas praised for his “powerful baritone” (Washington Post) and returning to Glimmerglass after his crowd-pleasing turn as Maximilian in the 2023 production of Candide.
The 2024 Glimmerglass Festival will run from July 22 through August 20, 2024, with mainstage productions including Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, Cavalli’s La Calisto, Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, and Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s Elizabeth Cree. The Festival will also feature an exciting new works initiative called Project Pipeline, curated by Artistic & General Director Rob Ainsley. Project Pipeline is a broadening of The Glimmerglass Festival’s commitment to new work and contemporary opera, designed to mobilize the Festival’s unique artistic resources to support the development of works-in-progress, give opportunities to talented emerging voices, and open a window on the creative process to the Festival’s audience.
For Project Pipeline’s inaugural season, the Festival will present a discussion about the creative process with the creative team responsible for Elizabeth Cree; the world premiere of the youth opera Rumpelstiltskin and the Unlovable Children by Jens Ibsen and Cecelia Raker; and a summer workshop of The House on Mango Street, an opera in development by composer Derek Bermel and librettist Sandra Cisneros, who was presented the National Medal of Arts in 2016 by President Barack Obama. The opera is based on Cisneros’s classic 1984 novel of the same name. The workshop will culminate in a public presentation, giving patrons the opportunity to hear an exciting work-in-progress.
The Festival is also proud to offer a variety of free events throughout the season. Preview Talks, held before every mainstage performance, offer audiences the chance to dive into the history of each production with conductors, directors, and music staff. Backstage Tours explore the Alice Busch Opera Theater and production and costume workshops and are offered before every Saturday matinee. And Changeover Talks, held between Saturday matinee and evening performances, explain the complicated process of transitioning sets from one production to another as the audience watches the magic happen on stage.
Ticket packages for the 2024 Festival are available now, with all tickets on sale on January 22, 2024. To learn more about the season or to purchase tickets, visit www.glimmerglass.org or call the Glimmerglass Festival Box Office at (607) 547-2255.
2024 GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL CASTS & ARTISTIC TEAMS
THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE | Gilbert & Sullivan
Ten performances | July 22m, 27, 30m; August 1, 4m, 9, 13m, 15, 17m, 19m
Conductor: Joseph Colaneri
Director & Choreographer: Seán Curran
Set & Costume Designer: James Schuette
Lighting Designer: Robert Wierzel
Hair & Makeup Designer: Tom Watson
Chorus Director: Katherine Kozak
Major-General Stanley: Troy Cook
The Pirate King: Craig Irvin
Frederic: Christian Mark Gibbs
Mabel: Elizabeth Sutphen
Ruth: Eve Gigliotti
Sergeant of Police: Joshua Thomas*
Samuel: Tshilidzi Ndou*
Edith: Saane Halaholo*
Kate: Alexandra Sanchez*
Isabel: Emma Sucato*
The 2024 Festival will open with Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance in a vibrant production directed by renowned choreographer Seán Curran and conducted by Glimmerglass Music Director Joseph Colaneri, featuring set and costume designs by James Schuette and lighting by Robert Wierzel.
A Gilbert & Sullivan classic, combining soaring vocal lines and slapstick comedy, returns to Glimmerglass for the first time in nearly 20 years. This colorful, family-friendly production features elegant Victorian ladies and an aristocratic band of pirates stuck in perpetual adolescence. Curran’s hit production from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis kicks it up a notch at Glimmerglass with the addition of a corps of professional dancers.
PAGLIACCI | Leoncavallo
7 Performances | July 27m, 29m; August 2, 6m, 8, 10, 18m
Conductor: Joseph Colaneri
Director: Brenna Corner
Choreographer: Eric Sean Fogel
Set Designer: James Rotondo
Costume Designer: Erik Teague
Lighting Designer: Robert Wierzel
Hair & Makeup: Tom Watson
ChorusDirector: Katherine Kozak
Canio: Robert Stahley
Nedda: Amber Monroe
Tonio: Troy Cook
Silvio: Jonathan Patton*
Beppe: Fran Daniel Laucerica*
When passions ignite among a troupe of traveling players, the offstage drama spills into the performance in this new production of Pagliacci. Ruggero Leoncavallo’s comedy/thriller, inspired by a true crime report, contains two complete and overlapping stories in one compact work: a farce performed by a troupe of “pagliacci,” or clowns, and an all-too-real drama of jealous love. Directed by Brenna Corner and conducted by Joseph Colaneri, with set designs by James F. Rotondo III, costumes by Erik Teague, and lighting by Robert Wierzel, our new production of this beloved opera adds a third frame, placing the opera within our immersive Festival, complete with a pre-opera picnic performance on our outdoor stage. What is real, and what is show?
LA CALISTO | Cavalli/Faustini
6 Performances | July 23m, 26; August 3m, 5m, 11m, 17
Conductor: Rob Ainsley
Director: Mo Zhou
Choreographer: Eric Sean Fogel
Set Designer: Charlie Corcoran
Costume Designer: Carlos Soto
Lighting Designer: Amith Chandrashaker
Hair & Makeup: Tom Watson
Calisto: Emilie Kealani*
Diana/Giove in Diana: Taylor Raven
Giunone: Eve Gigliotti
Giove: Craig Irvin
Mercurio: Schyler Vargas
Endimione: Kyle Tingzon*
Linfea: Winona Martin*
Satirino: Amanda Sheriff*
Pan: Namarea Randolph-Yosea*
Sylvano: Cameron Rolling*
Opening next is Cavalli’s La Calisto, featuring Artistic & General Director Rob Ainsley’s 2013 realization of the score, expanding Cavalli’s continuo and strings with original parts for winds and brass.
Comedy and pathos, gods and mortals, and a few rutting satyrs for good measure—this sparkling early opera, which weaves together two myths of transformation, has it all. Written at the midpoint of Cavalli’s career, La Calisto was conceived to deliver maximum entertainment to its discerning Venetian public, resulting in a hilarious caper full of mistaken identities, raunchy trysts, and celestial magic. This bold take will be conducted by Ainsley, directed by Mo Zhou, and choreographed by Eric Sean Fogel, and features set designs by Charlie Corcoran, costumes by Carlos Soto, and lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker.
ELIZABETH CREE | Puts/Campbell
6 Performances | July 28m; Aug 3, 10m, 12m, 16, 20m
Conductor: Kelly Kuo
Director: Alison Moritz
Set Designer: Edward Morris
Costume Designer: Amanda Seymour
Lighting Designer: Kate Ashton
Hair & Makeup: Tom Watson
Elizabeth Cree: Tara Erraught
Dan Leno: Christian Mark Gibbs
John Cree: John Chest
Aveline Mortimer: Elizabeth Sutphen
Doris: Emily Harmon*
Little Victor Farrell: Seiyoung Kim*
Inspector Kildare: Schyler Vargas
Uncle: Jason Zacher*
Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s modern masterpiece Elizabeth Cree rounds out the season’s mainstage roster. Not seen on the East Coast since its premiere in 2017, this new production starring 2024 Artist-in-Residence Tara Erraught is directed by Alison Moritz, conducted by Kelly Kuo, and features set design by Edward Morris, costume design by Amanda Seymour, and lighting by Kate Ashton.
Set in London in the 1880s, this highly suspenseful and theatrical opera interweaves several narratives: the trial of the titular heroine for the poisoning of her husband; a series of brutal murders committed by a Jack the Ripper-style killer; the spirited world of an English music hall; and, finally, some “guest appearances” by luminaries from the Victorian Age. Elizabeth Cree is a work that combines the factual with the fictive and the historical with the imaginary. Initially written for a small chamber ensemble, Elizabeth Cree will be performed with an expanded string complement at Glimmerglass.
*denotes member of the 2024 Young Artists Program