Artistic & General Director Rob Ainsley is back with this month’s edition of Rob’s Ramblings! Scroll down to read the full blog.
Before I dive into my update of this past month at the Festival, I wanted to share the sad news of our Associate Artistic Director Emeritus John Conklin’s passing on June 24. John (pictured above, working with Tosca Director Louisa Proske during Set Looks) was a force of creativity and wit who left the opera and theater world much better for his having been there. Though I only knew him for a short time, it was a true joy. His association with Glimmerglass – since 1991 – forever shaped us into the company we are today. Our 50th anniversary season, with four productions featuring his inspired scenic designs, is dedicated to his memory.
Seurat and Scarpia
All four shows – Tosca, Sunday, The Rake’s Progress, and The House on Mango Street – are now in the theater for technical rehearsals. In the meantime, our superb Resident Artists are wowing audiences all over Otsego County, from the Cooperstown Country Club to Albany’s Fort Orange Club, as well as the Richfield Springs Bandstand Concert and our very first Midday Music of the season (don’t miss the next one on July 10!)
I am grabbing a moment during our tech rehearsals for Sunday in the Park with George to paint a picture (ha!) of the season so far. There is still a long way to go before we “finish the hat,” but the process of discovery has never felt more exhilarating and joyful. That momentum is thanks to the remarkable efforts of our entire company, from administrative and artistic teams to backstage crews and technicians, as well as the full-time addition of Lyndsay Werking-Yip as Director of Development.
Our Tosca cast alone is reason to rush to the Festival this season. It is very rare to hear so many powerful and beautiful instruments in the same production – there are no weak links in this line-up. What we couldn’t have predicted is how readily they would assimilate Louisa Proske’s urgent, visceral take on this great potboiler. In our intimate house, this revelatory Tosca will make for an unforgettable opening to our 50th season.
mother), John Riddle (George), and Marina
Pires (Dot) | Photo by Kayleen Bertrand
Sunday is, in many ways, the inspiration for our entire season’s programming and for John Conklin’s overarching concept for the season. Every reference to color, light, art, and process has new meaning and magic in our beautifully transformed space, and the cast is uniformly besotted with the piece. John and Marina, our two principals, seem to be equally in love with Cooperstown – it’s a happy affair.
Progress in Every Step
We have a similarly gifted set of voices on hand for The Rake’s Progress, and it was a pleasure to discover how well they all blend and balance in their ensembles at the sing-thru. The cast includes three GGF alums who have gone on to fine careers (Adrian Kramer, Aleksey Bogdanov, and Deborah Nansteel), and they are throwing themselves at these difficult roles with real gusto. I am infinitely fascinated by this piece and enjoyed sharing some of my thoughts on its central importance in the repertoire with the cast.
My dream version of Rake’s has always been full of movement and dance – the music itself is shot through with classical forms and momentum, full of gesture and shape. I am deeply proud of how all our ensembles move, physicalize, act, and assimilate choreography.
Our steadily increasing capacity in this respect is largely due to the consistent efforts and talents of one person: our Head of Stage Movement and Choreography, Eric Sean Fogel. What I didn’t realize was just how full of dance he intended to make this challenging piece – and how game our brilliant ensemble would be to add such detailed choreography to the complexities of the score. This production will be one of the most virtuosic displays our company has attempted to date and I can’t wait to see the production come together.
Moments of Magic
Some breathtakingly beautiful moments have emerged so far during rehearsals for The House on Mango Street. Particularly, staging of the Monkey Garden scene gave me goosebumps instantly – it is a stop-time moment like few others, with Derek’s orchestration (notated bird song and a chorus of trees) and John’s scenic brilliance.
Our Director is the inimitable Chía Patiño, who possesses a furnace-like creative energy. Who better than the dynamo conductor Nicole Paiement to complement that passion? Nicole, who led our production of Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s Silent Night, brings her long experience with new work to the piece.
And of course, behind the scenes, our production teams are hard at work – building costumes, painting set pieces, focusing lights, working with puppets, stuffing mailings, building schedules, and prepping for the influx of patrons our campus will see in a few short weeks.
Photography by Kayleen Bertrand
All in all, it’s promising to be a banner season in every respect. Please be sure to bring all your friends and family to celebrate the opening night of the season on July 11!