Glimmerglass Opera Presents Orpheus-Inspired

Glimmerglass Opera will offer audiences a true festival atmosphere during its 2007 summer season with operas inspired by the myth of Orpheus, complemented by Orpheus-inspired concert performances, films and seminars.

Four new productions, including Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, the Gluck/Berlioz Orphée et Eurydice, Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, and Philip Glass' Orphée, will run in repertory from July 7 through August 28 at the Alice Busch Opera Theater in Cooperstown, New York. Each a Glimmerglass Opera premiere, the productions will be complemented by two concert performances of Haydn's L'Anima del Filosofo and screenings of award-winning films, such as Jean Cocteau's Orphée, which inspired Philip Glass' opera, and Black Orpheus, which sets the Orpheus myth in Rio de Janeiro.

"For the 2007 Festival Season, I very much wanted to explore the idea of creating a genuine festival atmosphere," said General & Artistic Director Michael MacLeod. "I felt that the themed productions, along with the accompanying films, seminars and concerts, would provide a new experience that our audiences would appreciate and enjoy enormously. Each opera, although thematically linked, will be dramatically different and, for me, one of the most intriguing aspects of the season will be to observe how five different composers, all geniuses in their own right, interpret this myth."

In mythology, Orpheus, whose musical talents have the power to conquer death, is thrown into turmoil with the death of his beautiful wife, Eurydice. Orpheus uses his passionate melodies to convince the ruler of the Underworld to allow his beloved wife to return to Earth with him. The ruler of the Underworld agrees, on the one condition that he does not look back at his wife during their journey. This mandate serves as the company's 2007 slogan: "Don't look back"¦"

The Glimmerglass Opera 2007 Festival Season will reveal five interpretations of the myth, which will feature four different conductors in their Glimmerglass Opera debuts. The season opens July 7 with Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, an operetta that takes an irreverent view of the Orpheus myth. Married to Orpheus, Eurydice is having an affair with Aristeus, who is actually Pluto, ruler of the Underworld, in disguise. Pluto lures Eurydice to the depths of the Underworld, and Public Opinion compels Orpheus to go and rescue her. Offenbach's operetta takes audiences on a topsy-turvy, comedic journey that concludes with the famous Can-Can. Tenor Kurt Lehmann will sing Orpheus and play the famous violin solo. Soprano Jill Gardner, an alumna of the Glimmerglass Opera Young American Artists Program and last seen as Madame Loiseau in the company's 2006 world premiere of Stephen Hartke's The Greater Good, will sing Eurydice. Mezzo-soprano Joyce Castle will sing Public Opinion, and baritone Jake Gardner will sing Jupiter. The production will be directed by Eric Einhorn and conducted by Jean-Marie Zeitouni, with set design by Allen Moyer, costumes by Gabriel Berry, and lighting by Shawn Kaufman. Additional performances follow on July 9m, 15m, 24m, 29m and August 2, 4m, 7m, 10, 13m, 18 and 26m. Glimmerglass Opera's 2007 production of Orpheus in the Underworld will be sung in English with projected titles and will feature the world premiere of a new English translation by Kelley Rourke, Glimmerglass' Dramaturg and Projected Titles Translator and Designer.

Orphée et Eurydice, the Berlioz version of Gluck's masterpiece, will open on July 8 and will feature the American premiere of the new Bärenreiter edition. The Glimmerglass production will feature male soprano Michael Maniaci as Orphée. An alumnus of Glimmerglass Opera's Young American Artists Program, Mr. Maniaci was seen at Glimmerglass Opera in 2004 as Tirinto in Handel's Imeneo. Soprano Amanda Pabyan, also an alumna of the Young American Artists Program and seen in Glimmerglass' production of Handel's Imeneo as Rosmene, will sing Eurydice. Conducted by Julian Wachner and directed by Lillian Groag, the production will feature set design by John Conklin, costumes by Constance Hoffman, and lighting by Robert Wierzel. Additional performances follow on July 14, 22m and August 3, 6m, 9, 11m, 19m, 25 and 28m. Orphée et Eurydice will be sung in French with projected English titles. Glimmerglass Opera's 2007 production of Orphée et Eurydice is sponsored by Elizabeth M. and Jean-Marie R. Eveillard.

In the year of Philip Glass' 70th birthday, Glimmerglass will open Orphée on July 21. Based on Jean Cocteau's 1949 film of the same name, which Glimmerglass Opera will show as a complement to this production, Philip Glass' Orphée brings an original musical voice to Cocteau's reflection on the life of the artist. A composer for both stage and film, Philip Glass' compositions can be heard in Einstein on the Beach, Akhnaten and Satyagraha, as well as The Truman Show, Kundun, The Hours and Tod Browning's Dracula. Soprano Caroline Worra, critically acclaimed for her performances as Boule de Suif in Glimmerglass Opera's 2006 world premiere of Stephen Hartke's The Greater Good, will sing Eurydice. Internationally acclaimed soprano Lisa Saffer will sing La Princesse, and tenor Jeffrey Lentz will sing Heurtebise. Conducted by Anne Manson and directed by Sam Helfrich, the production will feature set design by Andrew Lieberman, costumes by Kaye Voyce, and lighting by Aaron Black. Additional performances follow on July 23m, 31m, and August 4, 12m 16, 18m, 21m, 24 and 27m. Orphée will be sung in French with English projected titles. Glimmerglass Opera's 2007 production of Philip Glass' Orphée is funded in part by The New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

Monteverdi's L'Orfeo will open July 28 in the year of the opera's 400th anniversary. The production will travel internationally as a co-production with Opera North, UK, and Norwegian Opera and will be featured in the opening celebrations of Norwegian Opera's new Oslo opera complex in 2008. Regarded as the first great opera, the programming of this production reflects Glimmerglass Opera's ongoing commitment to early opera. Tenor Michael Slattery, a former Glimmerglass Opera Young American Artist, will sing Orfeo. Soprano Megan Monaghan, also a former Young American Artist and acclaimed for her performance as Mabel in the company's 2006 production of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, will sing Eurydice. Katherine Rohrer will make her Glimmerglass Opera debut as Messagiera and Proserpina. Matthew Garrett, an alumnus of the Young American Artists Program, will make his guest artist debut as Apollo. Antony Walker, the newly appointed music director of Pittsburgh Opera, will lead the Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra. The production will be directed by Christopher Alden, whose work was last seen in Glimmerglass Opera's 2004 production of Handel's Imeneo. Set design will be by Paul Steinberg, costumes by Doey Lüthi, and lighting by Adam Silverman. Additional performances run on July 28, 30m, and August 5m, 11, 14m, 17, 20m, 23 and 25m. L'Orfeo will be sung in Italian with projected English titles. Funding for Glimmerglass Opera's 2007 production of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo is provided in part by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.

In addition to the four fully staged productions, Glimmerglass Opera will also present two concert performances of Haydn's rarely performed L'Anima del Filosofo (or Orfeo ed Euridice) on August 5 and 19 at 11 a.m. These concert performances will feature soprano Sarah Coburn, who was critically acclaimed for her performance in the title role of the company's 2005 production of Donizetti's Lucie de Lammermoor. The performances will also feature tenor Norman Shankle in his company debut as Orpheus, members of the company's Young American Artists Program, and the Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Antony Walker will conduct Acts 1 and 2, and Anne Manson will conduct Acts 3 and 4. L'Anima del Filosofo will be sung in Italian with projected English titles.

Matinees (m) are at 2 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays; Saturday matinees (m) are at 1:30 p.m. Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. with the exceptions of August 5 and 19, when they are at 3 p.m. Subscriptions are on sale now, and single tickets go on sale January 15. All evening performances begin at 8 p.m.
The Alice Busch Opera Theater, home of Glimmerglass Opera, is located on Route 80, eight miles north of Cooperstown, New York. Early arrangement of accommodation is advised. For tickets and information contact the Glimmerglass Opera Ticket Office at (607) 547-2255 or at tickets@glimmerglass.org. For more information, visit the Glimmerglass Opera Web site at www.glimmerglass.org.

Glimmerglass Opera performances are made possible with generous support from the Clark Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Partridge Foundation, and with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency; the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; and the Otsego County Tourism Events Grant Program. Glimmerglass Opera is a member of the Otsego County Arts Alliance, which is sponsored by Otsego County Occupancy Tax Revenues and Wilber National Bank. Additional support for the 2007 season is provided by the Aaron Copland Fund for Music and the Pacificus Foundation. -- www.glimmerglass.org