ROBERT AINSLEY

Artistic & General Director

Ainsley began his tenure as Artistic and General Director of The Glimmerglass Festival in September 2022. Demonstrating his commitment to new works, Ainsley launched Project Pipeline, an initiative that brings a new opera to life every season, either through a youth opera or a mainstage commission. In 2024, he made his orchestral debut in Glimmerglass’ production of La Calisto with his 2013 realization of the score. 

He served as the Director of the Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artists Program and the American Opera Initiative, seeking and training the finest young American singers, composers, and librettists for international careers. Artists he has worked with have performed on the world’s leading stages, won the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, been finalists in Operalia, and performed with him at the 2018 White House State Dinner for the President of France. In 2020, he was featured in recital with world-famous soprano Renée Fleming for the Metropolitan Opera’s “Met Stars Live in Concert” series.

He is an alumnus of the University of Cambridge, Mannes College of Music, and the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera. Since then, he has been Co-founder and Principal Conductor of the Greenwich Music Festival, a guest Chorus Master at English National Opera, Associate Music Director at Portland Opera, Head of Music Staff and Chorus Master at Minnesota Opera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and a faculty member at Westminster Choir College’s CoOPERAtive Program.

He has collaborated on a string of world premieres, raved about art song in recital series of his own creation, and lectured on everything from Adams to Zemlinsky. Through it all, he has worked to inspire hundreds of young artists and thousands of audience members to share his passion.

Check out his Glimmerglass blog: Rob’s Ramblings

Joseph Colaneri

Music Director

Renowned for his versatility, musical depth, and ability to “inspire musicians”, Joseph Colaneri is recognized as a multifaceted presence on the podium. An international conductor equally adept with operatic, oratorio and symphonic repertoire, Colaneri continues to expand his relationships with orchestras and opera companies both nationally and abroad.

Colaneri first worked with Glimmerglass in 2009 as conductor for La Cenerentola, and he conducted the Festival’s new production of King for a Day in 2013. The Glimmerglass Festival appointed Joseph Colaneri as its Music Director, effective October 1, 2013. His other Glimmerglass productions include Madame Butterfly (2014), Candide and Macbeth (2015), La bohème and The Thieving Magpie (2016), and The Siege of Calais (2017).

In addition to his work with Glimmerglass, Colaneri has served as a member of the Metropolitan conducting roster since 1998. Colaneri served as Artistic Director of the West Australian Opera in Perth from 2012-2014. He also serves as Artistic Director of Opera at Mannes School of Music at The New School in New York City.

During the 2015-16 season Colaneri led productions of Puccini’s Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera during the fall and Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore in the spring. Colaneri made his conducting debut at the Metropolitan Opera with a performance of La bohème in fall 2000.

He conducted Luisa Miller in season 2001-2002 and conducted all of the popular Met in the Parks performances of Turandot with Andrea Gruber in season 2002-2003, L’Italiana in Algeri with Olga Borodina in season 2003-2004, Nabucco featuring Maria Guleghina in spring 2005 at Lincoln Center, as well as Rigoletto in the Metropolitan Opera Parks performances. In 2005-2006 he conducted Falstaff at the Metropolitan with Bryn Terfel in the title role. Continuing with the Italian repertoire, he conducted Il trittico in season 2006-2007.  In the 2007-2008 Metropolitan Opera season, Maestro Colaneri conducted two of Donizetti’s masterpieces: La Fille du Régiment with Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez and Mary Zimmerman’s new production of Lucia di Lammermoor with Miss Dessay in the title role. During the 2009-2010 season he replaced James Levine for the Metropolitan’s new Luc Bondy production of Tosca, including the worldwide HD transmission and DVD for EMI. During the 2011-2012 season he led performances of Don Pasquale.

Also in demand as an opera conductor abroad, among the distinguished companies with which Colaneri has guested are 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.

This 2019 – 2020 season, Maestro Colaneri conducts a new production of Verdi’s Aïda at San Diego Opera followed by John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of l’Opéra Royal in Versailles, France. In March, he leads Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito at the Shepherd School of Music in Houston and debuts at the Seattle Opera in May with Puccini’s La bohème. Next summer, Colaneri returns to Glimmerglass to lead Francesca Zambello’s productions of Wagner’s Die Feen and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music.

For Joseph Colaneri’s complete biography, click here.

Eric Owens

Artistic Advisor

As Artistic Advisor, Owens consults closely with Artistic & General Director Francesca Zambello and Music Director Joseph Colaneri on matters of Festival repertoire and casting and serves as an ambassador for the company.

Known for his roles of both classic works and new music, Owens’ international career has brought him to major opera houses around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera and LA Opera to Royal Opera Covent Garden, English National Opera and more.

Owens made his Glimmerglass debut in the 2001 production of Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia. Subsequent Glimmerglass roles include Stephen Kumalo in Lost in the Stars, Amonasro in Aida and the title role of Macbeth. He served as the company’s 2012 and 2015 Artist in Residence, coaching and mentoring members of the Young Artists Program, the company’s apprenticeship for rising artists. Owens also serves as Chair of the company’s Artistic Advisory Board.

In addition to his busy performance schedule, Owens has worked with young artists at the Merola Opera Program and Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program.  He also serves as a community ambassador at Lyric Opera of Chicago and on the Board of Trustees of both The Crossing Choir in Philadelphia and the Curtis Institute of Music. He was also recently announced as a visiting artist at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, where he has been coaching voice students and leading master classes during the year.

A native of Philadelphia, Mr. Owens began his musical training as a pianist at the age of 6, followed by formal oboe study at age 11 under Lloyd Shorter of the Delaware Symphony and Louis Rosenblatt of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He studied voice while an undergraduate at Temple University, and then as a graduate student at the Curtis Institute of Music. Owens was recently honored with Musical America’s 2017 “Vocalist of the Year” award and has been the recipient of many more, including the Marian Anderson Award, ARIA award, second prize in the Plácido Domingo Operalia Competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions finalist, and the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition.

For his complete biography, click here.

Staff

During regular working hours, you may reach the staff members listed below by dialing (607) 547-0700 and then the extension number. Generally, staff e-mail addresses consist of the first initial of a person’s first name followed by full last name @glimmerglass.org. For example, John Smith is jsmith@glimmerglass.org. If you e-mail info@glimmerglass.org, your message will be forwarded to the appropriate party.

Staff Listing

The Glimmerglass Festival Orchestra

VIOLIN
Ruotao Mao Concertmaster
Raymond Zoeckler Assistant Concertmaster
Jeremiah Blacklow Principal Second
Michael Cleveland
Elizabeth Silver
Ubaldo Valli
Ann-Marie B. Schwartz
Sasha Margolis
Jennifer Reuning Myers
Esther McMahon
Mialtin Zhezha
Benjamin Hart
Victoria Stewart
Fritz V. Krakowski
Leona Nadj

VIOLA
Katrina Smith Principal
Megan Newman Dyer
Christine Ims
Dee Dee Fancher
Sandra VandeGeijn
Christine Orio

TRUMPET
Jerry Bryant principal
Ben Aldridge

TROMBONE
Gregory Spiridopoulos principal
Guangwei Fan
Frank Meredith (Bass Trombone)

TUBA
David Saltzman principal

TIMPANI
Matthew Kibort principal

PERCUSSION
Matthew McClung principal
Jeff Grubbs

HARP
André Tarantiles principal

LUTE / GUITAR
Michael Leopold Principal