What could be better than to see four operas in a single weekend in the summer, in the company of compatible friends?

Transcription

1 What could be better than to see four operas in a single weekend in the summer, in the company of compatible friends? Over 40 years, Glimmerglass, the American Glyndebourne, has earned an enviable reputation for its innovative programming and for its un-stuffy, relaxed atmosphere.

2 ITINERARY AT A GLANCE Friday, 31 st July 9:00 Coach departure Lunch en route Check into the OTESAGA RESORT HOTEL Dinner and Opera Chat 7:30 pm VERDI S MACBETH Saturday, 1 st August Free morning to explore 1:30 pm BERNSTEIN S CANDIDE Dinner and Opera Chat 8:00 pm VIVALDI s CATO IN UTICA Sunday, 2 nd August Free morning to continue explorations 1:30 pm MOZART S THE MAGIUC FLUTE 4:30 pm Coach departs for home 10:30 pm - drop off at Royal York (see p. 14) 1

3 Cooperstown, known as the Village of Museums, is quite small. It has only 2,000 people. Part of the charm of the town is it allows no chain stores or franchise restaurants. The town is perhaps most widely known as the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame here since 1939 (100 years after Abner Doubleday invented baseball on a cow pasture field in the village). Lake Otsego is the source of the Susquehanna River which flows south from Cooperstown. 2

4 COOPERSTOWN NY Many of James Fenimore Cooper s (right) popular Leatherstocking novels (the most famous of which is The Last of the Mohicans ) are set around Cooperstown, a settlement founded in 1786 by his father Judge William Cooper. 3

5 Hyde Hall an elegant early 19 th c residence at the north end of the Lake, near the opera house is currently being restored internally. Kingfisher Tower on the east shore of the Lake financed by the (Singer Sewing Machine) Clark family and erected in Lake Otsego is 14.5 km long. James Fenimore Cooper called it Glimmerglass in his Leatherstocking novels 4

6 WHAT TO SEE IN COOPERSTOWN The Baseball Hall of Fame (note - Denis has his photo here, somewhere!) The Fenimore House - now an impressive Art Gallery. One of the buildings within the extensive Farmers Museum 5

7 The Hotel s challenging championship Leatherstocking Golf Course. 6,416 yards, par 72. Green fees $93 Cart $22 Plan to rent clubs? Bring your shoes? 6

8 Built in 1909, the hotel has 135 rooms and 700 ft of Lakefront. The resort has a 4 diamond rating from the AAA. THE OTESAGA RESORT Included are your Breakfast, and Dinner, all taxes and all gratuities for bellmen in and out, dining room personnel and room attendants. Jackets (but not ties) are requested for gentlemen in the Dining Room in the evening. 7

9 The 900-seat Alice Busch Theatre opened in 1987 on 43 acres of farmland donated by Tom Goodyear. Sliding walls, which allow the audience fresh air and views during intermissions, are a feature of the Theatre. 8

10 THE GLIMMERGLASS OPERA Founded in 1975, the Company produces four operas a year in a summer-only season. Like the Bayreuth and Stratford Festivals, a brass fanfare is sounded from the front balcony before each act. 9

11 Friday, 31 st July 2015 (7:30 10:30 pm) Giuseppi Verdi s M A C B E T H Eric Owens makes his role debut as the title character; Melody Moore returns as his scheming wife. The Tragedy of Macbeth is one of Western civilization s most iconic and powerful tales about blind ambition and hubris, director Anne Bogart said. William Shakespeare mined the story for its dark and powerful drama, charting the psychological and political effects of evil action." Conductor Director Joseph Colaneri Anne Bogart Macbeth Banquo Lady Macbeth Macduff Eric Owens Soloman Howard Melody Moore Michael Brandenburg 10

12 Saturday, 1 st August 2015 (1:30 4:15 pm) Leonard Bernstein s C A N D I D E Funny, fast-moving and philosophical, Bernstein's take on Voltaire's satirical novella includes such classic tunes as "The Best of All Possible Worlds" and "Glitter and Be Gay." Leonard Bernstein was one of the most gifted and erudite musicians of our time, and his love of literature and wry comedy are exuberantly combined in Candide, conductor Joseph Colaneri said. I am always touched by the life-affirming themes and lessons of this effervescent and witty score that ring true from Voltaire s 18th century right down to the present day. Conductor Director Joseph Colaneri Francesca Zambello Voltaire/Pangloss Candide Cunegonde The Old Lady/Baroness Maximilian Paquette David Garrison Andrew Stenson Kathryn Lewek Marietta Simpson Christian Bowers Kristen Choi 11

13 Saturday 1st August 2015 (8:00 10:45 pm) Antonio Vivaldi s CATO IN UTICA Passion and politics collide in Vivaldi's exquisite setting of Metastasio's poetic depiction of Cato the Younger. I love the early operas. The Vivaldi masterwork Catone in Utica is especially enthralling with its spectacular instrumentation that feels new and edgy and always exhilarating, director Tazewell Thompson said. Complex and conflicted characters are passionately expressing their story through brilliant vocals with highly entertaining flourishes and ornamentations. Sublime. Conductor Director Ryan Brown Tazewell Thompson Cato Marzia Fulvio Arbace Emilia Caesar Thomas Michael Allen Megan Samarin* Allegra De Vita* Eric Jurenas* Sarah Mesko John Holiday *Young Artist 12

14 Sunday 2 nd August 2015 (1:30 4:15 pm) Mozart s THE MAGIC FLUTE A new adaption of Mozart's classic Enlightenment tale takes its inspiration, in part, from the magical qualities of an unspoiled natural landscape. As a Mohegan and descendant of Chief Uncas, I am honored to have the opportunity to direct in a town and festival so closely associated with the words of James Fenimore Cooper, who famously fictionalized Uncas as the last, director Madeline Sayet said. What other lasts might be undone by removing the artificial barriers of myth and reality? Our Magic Flute is not a journey to a fantastical other world, but a way of looking more deeply into the real place we live in, the woods around Glimmerglass, if you only open your eyes wide enough." Conductor Director Carolyn Kuan Madeline Sayet Tamino Papageno Queen of the Night Monostatos Pamina Speaker Sarastro Papagena Sean Panikkar Ben Edquist* So Young Park* Nicholas Nestorak* Jacqueline Echols Rhys Lloyd Talbot* Soloman Howard Jasmine Habersham* *Young Artist 13

15 RETURNING FROM GLIMMERGLASS We will be home about 10:30 to 11:00, I think. We will take a short stop at a Highway Travel Plaza near Syracuse, I think we should be at the 1000 Islands Border bridge about 7 pm. Then - who knows what the Border hold-up, (if any), will be. So we ll need to call cabs on our cell phones. Here are some numbers you may wish to consider or note your favourite s number here Beck Royal Co-op Toronto Limo Park Lane Limo