Glimmerglass Festival

The Festival invites you to immerse yourself in myth, mystery, and adventure as the repertory for the 2024 season explores the connection between identity and illusion.

Festival Schedule:

1:00pm: Rumpelstiltskin and the Unlovable Children

Glimmerglass is proud to present the world premiere of the youth opera Rumpelstiltskin and the Unlovable Children by Jens Ibsen and Cecelia Raker. Deep in the forest lives a gaggle of feral, unlovable children. They work their hands to the bone every day in service to the evil wizard Rumpelstiltskin…he makes them do chores! And brush their teeth regularly! And talk about their feelings! It’s the WORST. But then one day, Rumpel tells them the story of how his childhood friend, a talented businesswoman, got forced to marry the king. Suddenly all the Unlovable Children’s narratives about who they are begin to unravel. When Goldie, the eldest of them, learns that she’s actually the long-lost daughter of that Queen, she’s faced with a tough choice: go live the life she'd imagined as a princess, or stay with the unconventional family that has nurtured her true self?

MUSIC | Jens Ibsen
LIBRETTO | Cecelia Raker
SUNG IN | English
PROJECTED TEXT | English
RUN TIME | 1 hour

DIRECTOR | Joshua R. Horowitz
CHOREOGRAPHER | Amanda Testini*
COSTUME DESIGNER | Erik Teague
SET DESIGNER | James Rotondo

Tickets - $20 | Youth 12 and under - Free

6:30pm: Lyrics on the Lawn

The Glimmerglass Festival’s commitment to community continues to evolve with our brand new outdoor performance series, Lyrics on the Lawn. Offered to the public and at no cost, Lyrics on the Lawn is a series of outdoor concerts that will take place one hour before performances of Pagliacci.

Get to know the characters of Pagliacci with the help of Holly Adams, The Glimmerglass Festival’s “clown-in-residence,” as she guides audiences on a captivating journey through several scenes that will introduce the audience to traditional commedia dell’arte characters. Each performance will follow a similar story arc with the unique twist of rotating casts and music selections directly from our Young Artists.

Packed with humorous antics and lively music, you won’t want to miss your chance to witness the magic of opera in a beautiful setting! These 40-minute concerts are weather permitting. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets for seating on the lawn.

7:30pm: Pagliacci

When passions ignite among a troupe of traveling players, the offstage drama spills into the performance in this new production of Pagliacci. Ruggero Leoncavallo’s comedy/thriller, inspired by a true crime report, contains two complete and overlapping stories in one compact work: a farce performed by a troupe of “pagliacci,” or clowns, and an all-too-real drama of jealous love. Our new production of this beloved opera adds a third frame, placing the opera within our immersive Festival with a pre-opera picnic performance - Lyrics on the Lawn - on our outdoor stage. What is real, and what is show?

MUSIC | Ruggero Leoncavallo
LIBRETTO | Ruggero Leoncavallo
SUNG IN | Italian
PROJECTED TEXT | English
OUTDOOR PICNIC PERFORMANCE | 40 minutes (begins one hour before curtain)
MAINSTAGE PERFORMANCE | 1 hour and 45 minutes

CONDUCTOR | Joseph Colaneri
DIRECTOR | Brenna Corner
CHOREOGRAPHER | Eric Sean Fogel
SET DESIGNER | James Rotondo
COSTUME DESIGNER | Erik Teague
LIGHTING DESIGNER | Robert Wierzel
HAIR & MAKEUP DESIGNER | Tom Watson
CHORUS DIRECTOR | Katherine Kozak