John Conklin, Glimmerglass Associate Artistic Director Emeritus, Dies at 88

Cooperstown, New York — Designer/dramaturg John Conklin passed away on June 24, 2025, in Cooperstown, NY. Conklin had come out of retirement to design four productions for the 50th anniversary season of The Glimmerglass Festival, a company with which he had been associated since 1991. “John is such an important part of our artistic legacy at Glimmerglass,” said Artistic & General Director Rob Ainsley. “Not only did he create some of the company’s most memorable productions, he created a way of working, one that lives on both in our production process and in the artists and staff whom he mentored. I knew John could help us envision a 50th anniversary season like no other, and I was eager to join the long list of theater professionals whose thinking has been elevated through collaborating with John.”

Conklin made his Glimmerglass debut shortly after Glimmerglass moved from a high school auditorium to a purpose-built opera house, with productions of Fidelio (directed by Jonathan Miller) and Il re pastore (directed by Mark Lamos). In the years that followed, John worked closely with General Director Paul Kellogg to meet the challenge — and opportunity — of the new theater and the international attention it garnered. When Kellogg was tapped to lead New York City Opera, he named Conklin Director of Productions at both companies, formalizing Conklin’s role as a key advisor. All told, Conklin designed scenery and/or costumes for more than 40 Glimmerglass productions. (A complete list of Glimmerglass productions and collaborators is below.) He also took great delight in designing the company float for the annual Springfield Fourth of July Parade, as well as devising a series of sprawling seminars and smaller-scale entertainments for a variety of venues. As his role evolved, so did his title, to Assistant Artistic Director (2000), then Associate Artistic Director (2003).

Conklin’s work was seen on stages around the world. He made his professional debut in 1958 at Williamstown Theatre Festival, where he designed more than 30 shows. A 1966 production of Dialogues of the Carmelites for New York City Opera was his first opportunity to work in an artform that had captivated him since childhood. He designed two complete Ring Cycles (for San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago) and a number of productions at The Metropolitan Opera, including the world premiere of The Ghosts of Versailles. In the United States, his opera credits include shows at San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Kennedy Center, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Seattle Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Dallas Opera, San Diego Opera, Washington National Opera, and Boston Lyric Opera, where he served as Artistic Advisor from 2009 until his death. In Europe, his designs were seen at the English National Opera (London), the Royal Opera (Stockholm), the Bastille Opera (Paris), and the opera companies of Munich, Amsterdam, and Bologna. Regional theater credits include American Repertory Theatre, the Goodman Theatre, the Long Wharf Theatre, Hartford Stage, Arena Stage, the Guthrie Theatre, Center Stage (Baltimore), and Actors Theatre of Louisville. His work on Broadway included several Circle in the Square productions, and he was nominated for a Tony Award in 1974 for set design for The Au Pair Man. He was the recipient of the 2008 Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatrical Design from the Theatre Development Fund and the 2011 NEA Opera Honors.

Conklin taught design and dramaturgy at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts for more than four decades. In addition, he served as a mentor to countless young professionals at Glimmerglass and elsewhere. “John had a way of getting everybody to be as deeply invested in the process as he was,” said Glimmerglass Director of Production Abby Rodd, who began her career as a Glimmerglass intern in 1992. “He had such a huge following among the interns, and they had so much loyalty towards him, that we could make anything happen onstage.”

“John’s process is equal parts rigor and playfulness,” said Glimmerglass Dramaturg Kelley Rourke, who began working with John in 1994. “He never stopped asking ‘What if … ?’ By the time any of his designs hit the stage, they were backed by months, if not years, of study and conversation — not to mention a lifetime of reading, listening, and thinking. And yet John always walked into tech with fresh eyes. He often talked about the moment when a production starts to tell you what it needs. It takes real presence of mind — and humility — to be able to enter that conversation, to set aside your careful plans and assumptions, and to listen to what the unfolding production is telling you. John modeled that for us, right to the end.”

When Conklin retired from his formal role at Glimmerglass in 2008, a group of friends and collaborators established the John Conklin Production Internship Fund to honor and continue his legacy. James Rotondo, the 2017 John Conklin Scenic Intern, subsequently returned to Glimmerglass to design four youth operas and two mainstage shows, including last year’s Pagliacci. This summer, he joined Conklin as Associate Scenic Designer for all four shows of the 2025 Festival: Tosca, Sunday in the Park with George, The House on Mango Street, and The Rake’s Progress.

“It felt like the perfect idea to pair Jimmy with John for this immense task,” said Abby Rodd. “Jimmy, like John, is so loved and well-respected by all the backstage artists as someone who totally understands the value of learning through experimentation. We knew Jimmy would be an ideal collaborator with John and the rest of the team.”

When Conklin was selected for the NEA Opera Honors in 2011, he spoke at length about his life’s work. “I started out, as so many people in opera do, based on the Saturday afternoon Met broadcasts. I got Opera News, with pictures of the productions, and I would make little sets based on those, little models taken from those photographs. So it was always a kind of combination of theater, which I loved, music, which I loved, and architecture … Unlike architecture or painting, it all gets thrown away at the end, which I think is so wonderful. People say, oh, isn’t it terrible? Don’t you feel terrible when the scenery or the costumes are taken away? I say no, no! It does not exist without the performance … the fact that it can exist so strongly and then it only exists in memory is to me kind of fascinating, and puts it all in the right perspective.”

John Conklin’s Glimmerglass Productions & Collaborators, 1991-2025
conductor, director, sets, costumes, lighting

1991: IL RE PASTORE (Mozart/Metastasio, American professionally-staged premiere)
Ransom Wilson, Mark Lamos, John Conklin, John Conklin, Robert Wierzel

1991: FIDELIO (Beethoven/Sonnleithner & Bouilly)
Stewart Robertson, Jonathan Miller, John Conklin, John Conklin, Robert Wierzel

1992: THE SECRET MARRIAGE (Cimarosa/Bertati)
Stewart Robertson, Jonathan Miller, John Conklin, John Conklin, Robert Wierzel

1992: THE TURN OF THE SCREW (Britten/Piper)
Stewart Robertson, Mark Lamos, John Conklin, John Conklin, Robert Wierzel

1993: LE COMTE ORY (Rossini/Scribe & Delestre-Poirson)
Daniel Beckwith, Keith Warner, John Conklin, John Conklin, Robert Wierzel

1993: WERTHER (Massenet/Blau, Milliet & Hartmann)
Stewart Robertson, Mark Lamos, John Conklin, John Conklin, Robert Wierzel

1994: L’INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA (Monteverdi/Busenello)
Jane Glover, Jonathan Miller, John Conklin, Judy Levin, Robert Wierzel

1994: ARIADNE IN NAXOS (R. Strauss/Hofmannsthal)
Stewart Robertson, Mark Lamos, John Conklin, Catherine Zuber, Robert Wierzel

1995: TAMERLANO (Handel/Haym)
Jane Glover, Jonathan Miller, John Conklin, Judy Levin, Robert Wierzel

1995: DON GIOVANNI (Mozart/Da Ponte)
Stewart Robertson, Peter Stormare, John Conklin, Judy Levin, Robert Wierzel

1996: LA CALISTO (Cavalli/Faustini)
Jane Glover, Simon Callow, John Conklin, Gabriel Berry, Mark McCullough

1996: LIZZIE BORDEN (Beeson/Elmslie)
Stewart Robertson, Rhoda Levine, John Conklin, Constance Hoffmann, Robert Wierzel

1997: L’ITALIANA IN ALGERI (Rossini/Anelli)
George Manahan, Christopher Alden, Carol Bailey/John Conklin, Gabriel Berry, Mark McCullough

1997: OF MICE AND MEN (Floyd)
Stewart Robertson, Rhoda Levine, John Conklin, Jess Goldstein, Robert Wierzel

1998: PARTENOPE (Handel/Stampiglia)
Harry Bicket, Francisco Negrin, John Conklin, Paul Steinberg, Robert Wierzel

1998: FALSTAFF (Verdi/Boito)
George Manahan, Leon Major, John Conklin, John Conklin, Pat Collins

1999: THE ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO (Mozart/Stephanie)
Stewart Robertson, Irene Lewis, John Conklin, Constance Hoffmann, Pat Collins

1999: RIGOLETTO (Verdi/Piave)
George Manahan, Rhoda Levine, John Conklin, Tracy Dorman, Robert Wierzel

2000: THE GLASS BLOWERS (Sousa/Liebling)
John DeMain, Christopher Alden, John Conklin, Gabriel Berry, Mark McCullough

2001: AGRIPPINA (Handel/Grimani)
Harry Bicket, Lillian Groag, John Conklin, Jess Goldstein, Mark McCullough

2002: ORLANDO PALADINO (Haydn/Porta)
Guido Johannes Rumstadt, James Robinson, John Conklin, Martin Pakledinaz, Mimi Jordan Sherin

2002: CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA (Mascagni/Targioni-Tozzetti & Menasci)
Stewart Robertson, Robin Guarino, John Conklin, Gabriel Berry, John Lasiter

2002: PAGLIACCI (Leoncavallo)
Stewart Robertson, Robin Guarino, John Conklin, Gabriel Berry, John Lasiter

2003: BLUEBEARD (Offenbach/Meilhac & Halévy)
Gerald Steichen, Christopher Alden, John Conklin, Kaye Voyce, Mark McCullough

2003: THE GOOD SOLDIER SCHWEIK (Kurka/Allan)
Stewart Robertson, Rhoda Levine, John Conklin, John Conklin, Robert Wierzel

2004: LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST (Puccini/Civinini & Zangarini)
Stewart Robertson, Lillian Groag, John Conklin, Constance Hoffmann, Robert Wierzel

2004: THE MINES OF SULPHUR (Bennett/Cross, American professionally-staged premiere)
Stewart Robertson, David Schweizer, James Noone, John Conklin, Kevin Adams

2005: LUCIE DE LAMMERMOOR (Donizetti/Royer & Vaëz)
Beatrice Jona Affron, Lillian Groag, John Conklin, Catherine Zuber, Christopher Akerlind

2006: THE BARBER OF SEVILLE (Rossini/Sterbini)
David Angus, Leon Major, John Conklin, David Roberts, Jeff Harris

2006: THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE (Gilbert/Sullivan)
Stewart Robertson, Lillian Groag, John Conklin, Jess Goldstein, Pat Collins

2007: ORPHÉE ET EURYDICE (Gluck/Calzabigi)
Julian Wachner, Lillian Groag, John Conklin, Constance Hoffmann, Robert Wierzel

2008: GIULIO CESARE IN EGITTO (Handel/Haym)
David Stern, Robin Guarino, John Conklin, Gabriel Berry, Robert Wierzel

2008: I CAPULETI E I MONTECCHI (Bellini/Romani)
David Angus, Anne Bogart, John Conklin, James Schuette, Christopher Akerlind

2008: DAS LIEBESVERBOT (Wagner, American professionally-staged premiere)
Corrado Rovaris, Nicholas Muni, John Conklin, Kaye Voyce, Mark McCullough

2008: KISS ME, KATE (Porter/Spewack & Spewack)
David Charles Abell, Diane Paulus, John Conklin, Anka Lupes, Jane Cox

2015: CATO IN UTICA (Vivaldi/Metastasio)
Ryan Brown, Tazewell Thompson, John Conklin, Sara Jean Tosetti, Robert Wierzel

2017: XERXES (Handel/Minato & Stampiglia)
Nicole Paiement, Tazewell Thompson, John Conklin, Sara Jean Tosetti, Robert Wierzel

2018: THE BARBER OF SEVILLE (Rossini/Sterbini)
Joseph Colaneri, Francesca Zambello, John Conklin, Lynly Saunders, Robert Wierzel

2025: TOSCA (Puccini/Illica & Giacosa)
Joseph Colaneri, Louisa Proske, John Conklin, Kaye Voyce, Robert Wierzel

2025: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (Sondheim/Lapine)
Michael Ellis Ingram, Ethan Heard, John Conklin, Beth Goldenberg, Amith Chandrashaker

2025: THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET (Bermel/Cisneros, world premiere)
Nicole Paiement, Chia Patiño, John Conklin, Erik Teague, Amith Chandrashaker

2025: THE RAKE’S PROGRESS (Stravinsky/Auden & Kallman)
Joseph Colaneri, Eric Sean Fogel, Lynly Saunders, Robert Wierzel

Our 50th anniversary season, with four productions designed by Conklin, is dedicated to his memory.