Opera Saratoga
Encyclopedia
Opera Saratoga is a professional opera company based in Saratoga Springs, New York
. It performs an annual summer festival of three fully staged operas and operettas.
The company and its associated Lake George Opera Festival were founded in 1962 by Fred Patrick, a New York-based singer/actor and Juilliard graduate, and the husband of Jeanette Scovotti
, a soprano who sang at the Metropolitan Opera
. The original performances took place at Diamond Point on the shores of Lake George
in upstate New York and later moved to the nearby town of Queensbury
. John Balme
was the General Director from 1988 to 1992. Since 1998, Lake George Opera's performance base has been the Spa Little Theater at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center
. Conductor John Douglas
served as the company's chorusmaster and director of the LGO's young artist program from 2002 until his death in 2010.
Several well-known opera singers performed with the company in the early stages of their careers, including Catherine Malfitano
, Diana Soviero
, Eric Halfvarson and Jerry Hadley
.
The company celebrates its 50th anniverary in 2011.
Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...
. It performs an annual summer festival of three fully staged operas and operettas.
The company and its associated Lake George Opera Festival were founded in 1962 by Fred Patrick, a New York-based singer/actor and Juilliard graduate, and the husband of Jeanette Scovotti
Jeanette Scovotti
-Life and career:In 1956 she was in the ensemble of the original Broadway cast of Li'l Abner; the only Broadway production she ever appeared in. In 1959 she won the New York Singing Teachers Association contest and presented a solo recital at Town Hall. That same year she made her debut at the New...
, a soprano who sang at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
. The original performances took place at Diamond Point on the shores of Lake George
Lake George (New York)
Lake George, nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes, is a long, narrow oligotrophic lake draining northwards into Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River Drainage basin located at the southeast base of the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York, U.S.A.. It lies within the upper region of the...
in upstate New York and later moved to the nearby town of Queensbury
Queensbury, New York
Queensbury is a town in and the county seat of Warren County, New York, United States. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county. The population was 25,441 at the 2000 census. The town is named in honor of Queen Charlotte, the consort of George III of Great Britain and Ireland. It...
. John Balme
John Balme
John Balme is an American conductor, opera manager and pianist. He served as General Director of Boston Lyric Opera from 1979 to 1989 and the Lake George Opera Festival from 1988 to 1992. he was also Music Director of the Liederkranz Foundation of the City of New York with a 15-year tenure from...
was the General Director from 1988 to 1992. Since 1998, Lake George Opera's performance base has been the Spa Little Theater at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center is an amphitheater in Saratoga Springs, New York, which presents summer festivals of all kinds of music , dance, and opera, as well as a Wine & Food Festival...
. Conductor John Douglas
John Douglas (conductor)
John Douglas was an American conductor, voice teacher, vocal coach, and accompanist.-Life and career:Born in Morgantown, West Virginia, Douglas graduated from Tates Creek High School in Lexington, Kentucky in 1973...
served as the company's chorusmaster and director of the LGO's young artist program from 2002 until his death in 2010.
Several well-known opera singers performed with the company in the early stages of their careers, including Catherine Malfitano
Catherine Malfitano
Catherine Malfitano is an American operatic soprano. She is generally considered to be one of America's leading operatic sopranos...
, Diana Soviero
Diana Soviero
Diana Soviero is an American operatic soprano of international stature, a recipient of the Richard Tucker Award in 1979....
, Eric Halfvarson and Jerry Hadley
Jerry Hadley
Jerry Hadley was an American operatic tenor. He received three Grammy awards for his vocal performances in the recordings of Jenůfa , Susannah , and Candide...
.
The company celebrates its 50th anniverary in 2011.
World premieres
World premiere productions staged by the company include:- David AmramDavid AmramDavid Amram is an American composer, musician, conductor, and writer. As a classical composer and performer, his integration of jazz , ethnic and folk music has led him to work with the likes of Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Willie Nelson, Langston...
's Twelfth Night, based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (1968) - Robert Baksa's Aria da Capo (1968)
- José Bernardo's The Child, based on José MartíJosé MartíJosé Julián Martí Pérez was a Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. In his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist. He was also a part of the Cuban...
's poem La Niña de Guatemala (1974) - Alva Henderson's The Last of the Mohicans based on James Fenimore CooperJames Fenimore CooperJames Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...
's novel, The Last of the MohicansThe Last of the MohicansThe Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757 is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper, first published in February 1826. It is the second book of the Leatherstocking Tales pentalogy and the best known...
(1977) - Glenn Paxton's The Adventures of Friar TuckFriar TuckFriar Tuck is a companion to Robin Hood in the legends about that character. He is a common character in modern Robin Hood stories, which depict him as a jovial friar and one of Robin's Merry Men. The figure of Tuck was common in the May Games festivals of England and Scotland during the 15th...
(1983) - Mark Houston's Hazel Kirke (1987), based on Steele MacKayeSteele MacKayeJames Morrison Steele MacKaye was an American playwright, actor, theater manager and inventor. Having acted, written, directed and produced numerous and popular plays and theatrical spectaculars of the day, he became one of the most famous actors and theater producers of his...
's 1879 playHazel KirkeHazel Kirke is a play in four acts written by American actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye. The play was written between 1878 and 1879 in the town of Dublin, New Hampshire. MacKaye meant it to be expressly for New York City's Madison Square Theatre, which MacKaye had recently renovated and...
External links
- Opera Saratoga official website Retrieved 23 January 2011