The complete lineup has been announced for the Glimmerglass Festival’s 50th anniversary season, which will run July 11–August 17, 2025, in Cooperstown, New York. The season will include five mainstage productions and a host of special events, including a one-night only concert by Broadway legend Bernadette Peters on July 31 at the Alice Busch Opera Theater.
John Riddle (Frozen, Titanique) will lead the company premiere of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Sunday in the Park with George, with Marina Pires (How to Dance in Ohio) as Dot/Marie, the role originated by Peters on Broadway. Mezzo-soprano Luretta Bybee, one of the season’s Artists-in-Residence, will play the Old Lady/Blair Daniels. The production by Ethan Heard will feature sets by John Conklin, costumes by Beth Goldenberg, lighting by Amith Chandrashaker, projections by Greg Emetaz, and hair and makeup by Tom Watson. This company premiere marks the third Sondheim work to be performed at the Festival—following Sweeney Todd in 2016, and West Side Story in 2018.
Director Chía Patiño will helm the world premiere production The House on Mango Street, based on the novel by Sandra Cisneros, who also penned the opera’s libretto along with composer Derek Bermel. Mikaela Bennett stars as Esperanza in the adaptation of the coming-of-age classic, leading a cast that also includes Samantha Sosa, Kaylan Hernandes, Taylor-Alexis DuPont, Sarah Rosales, Tshilidzi Ndou, Sergio Martínez, and Deborah Nansteel. Nicole Paiement will conduct.
Soprano Michelle Bradley will lead a production of Puccini’s Tosca, directed by Louisa Proske, alongside tenor Yongzhao Yu as Cavaradossi, and bass-baritone and Artist-in-Residence Greer Grimsley as Baron Scarpia. The cast is completed by Sergio Martínez as the Sacristan, and members of the Festival's Young Artist Program. Joseph Colaneri will conduct.
Tenor Adrian Kramer will star as Tom Rakewell in the company premiere of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, directed by Eric Sean Fogel. Baritone Aleksey Bogdanov will play Nick Shadow, the Mephistophelean figure in the modern spin on the classic Faust story. The show will feature a libretto by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman. Soprano Lydia Grindatto, mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel, and bass Marc Webster round out the principal cast.
The season will conclude with Francesca Zambello's production of Ben Moore and Kelley Rourke's Odyssey. Baritone Justin Burgess and soprano Kaileigh Riess, both members of the Festival's Young Artist Program, star in the one-hour adaptation of Homer's epic for all ages.
In addition to the five mainstage productions, the festival will also include an array of special events, including a "Pipeline Talk" with Derek Bermel and Sandra Cisneros about the creation of The House on Mango Street, and several Festival Dinners and Preview Brunches. There will also be free lunchtime concerts offered at four locations throughout Otsego County.
For more information, including ticketing, visit Glimmerglass.org.