Summer’s not officially over yet (especially with the 150th running of the Travers Stakes this weekend), but that hasn’t stopped Opera Saratoga from looking ahead to its 2020 summer season. The local opera company, which performs at the Spa Little Theater in Saratoga Spa State Park, announced that the lineup for its 2020 Summer Festival would include new interpretations of a couple of operatic classics, as well as the New York State premiere of Sky on Swings, a hit opera that was recently nominated for Best World Premiere at the International Opera Awards.
“The 2020 Summer Festival continues Opera Saratoga’s commitment to present masterworks from the operatic canon, works that introduce audiences to the excitement of lyric theater and important contemporary works,” says Opera Saratoga’s Artistic and General Director Lawrence Edelson. “At Opera Saratoga, audiences have the opportunity to hear truly exceptional singing and theatrically compelling productions in an intimate space that creates a truly visceral experience. There are few theaters in the world where you enjoy this caliber of performance as up-close-and-personal as you can at Opera Saratoga.”
The 2020 Summer Festival will run from Friday, June 19 through Sunday, July 5 and feature new productions of two perennially popular operas: Madame Butterfly by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini and the comic operetta The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan. The Pirates of Penzance will kick off the 2020 Summer Festival on June 19 with a new, fast-paced production filled with action, dancing and fun for the entire family. As for Puccini’s masterpiece, Madame Butterfly will include the Opera Saratoga debut of award-winning Japanese director Izumi Ashizawa, who will craft a completely new production of the famous opera based on Japanese stylized physical acting techniques.
Opera Saratoga’s 2020 Summer Festival will also host the New York State premiere of composer Lembit Beecher and librettist Hannah Moscovitch’s critically acclaimed Sky on Swings. The opera, which has been receiving rave reviews since its world premiere at Opera Philadelphia in 2018, follows the lives of two women struggling with the development of Alzheimer’s Disease. This production will also be directed by Edelson. “Seeing this opera was one of the most remarkable experiences I’ve ever had in the theater,” says Edelson. “The way that Lembit and Hannah evoke not only the experience of two women living with Alzheimer’s, but also the experience of their children as they help to comfort and support their parents, is extraordinary.”
Included in next summer’s season will also be a number of concerts and public master classes, featuring members of Opera Saratoga’s talented Young Artist Program. Additionally, the Young Artist Program will cap off the 2020 Summer Festival on Sunday, July 5, with a one-night-only performance of another audience favorite, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle.
Subscriptions for next summer’s season go on sale October 1 and single tickets will become available on February 15, 2020. For more information, visit Opera Saratoga’s website.
