Opera Saratoga announces Cast & Creative Teams for 2025 Summer Festival

Opera Saratoga is pleased to announce the creative teams for its Summer Festival 2025. The musical She Loves Me, with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and a book by Joe Masteroff, will be directed by John Matsumoto Giampietro. Jacques Offenbach’s La Vie Parisienne will be directed by Mary Birnbaum and conducted by Juliane Gallant, making her U.S. debut. Both productions feature scenic design by Krit Robinson and lighting design by Anshuman Bhatia.

The cast of She Loves Me includes Festival Artists Christine Taylor Price (Amalia Balash), Kate Morton (Ilona Ritter), Shavon Lloyd (Steven Kodaly), Michael Segura (Ladislav Sipos), Jack O’Leary (Arpad Lazlo), Wagner Pastor (Head Waiter), and Guest Artist Peter Kazaras (Mr. Maraczek). Nathan Cicero will serve as assistant conductor, with Festival Artist Paige Dirks-Jacks as assistant director. June 21, 25, 27 at 7:30 pm and June 28 & 29 at 2:00 pm at Universal Preservation Hall

La Vie Parisienne features Festival Artists Sungyeun Kim (Gabrielle), Fantine Douilly (Pauline), Chase Sanders (Baroness), Sadie Spivey (Clara), Tivoli Treloar (Metella), Kate Morton (Mme. de Folle-Verdure), Brennan Martinez (Léonie), Chuanyuan Liu (Mme. de Quimper-Karadec), Randy Ho (Gardefeu), Wagner Pastor (Gontran/Prosper), Geoffrey Schmelzer (Le Baron), Michael Segura (Urbain), Jack O’Leary (Joseph), as well as guest artists Michael Hawk (Bobinet) and César Andrés Parreño (Frick/Bresélien). Gloria Yin will serve as assistant conductor, and Zoe Lesser will be the assistant director. The book for La Vie Parisienne will be translated and updated by Tim Drucker (director of Trixie and Katya Live!) June 20, 26 & 28 at 7:30 pm and June 22 at 2:00 pm at Universal Preservation Hall

A Mass for Women in Bathrooms, the work-in-progress presentation from composer Emma O’Halloran and librettist Naomi O’Connell will feature singers Brennan Martinez, Sadie Spivey and Chase Sanders, as well as electronics by Alex Dowling and music preparation by Laurie Rogers. June 22 at 7:30 pm and June 27 at 2:00 pm at Universal Preservation Hall

In a Grove composed by Chris Cerrone with libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann will feature Chase Sanders (Leona), Chuanyuan Liu (Priest/Medium), Sadie Spivey (Leona’s Mother), Shavon Lloyd (Luther), Randy Ho (Ambrose), Wagner Pastor (Policeman), Geoffrey Shmelzer (Woodcutter). This site specific installation will feature sound design by Sam Torres and will be conducted by Luke Poeppel. May 28 at 5:00 pm, 7:00 pm, and May 29 at 5:00 pm, 7:00 pm (Rain date: May 31 at 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm) at the Ferndell Pavilion in Saratoga Spa State Park

Subscriptions to Opera Saratoga are on sale through February 1 at www.operasaratoga.org or by calling Proctors Box Office at 518-346-6204. Other special events include concerts, free family performances and a gala.

Locations:

Universal Preservation Hall

25 Washington Street

Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

Ferndell Pavilion

Spa State Park

North South Road

Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

She Loves Me is licensed by Music Theater International (MTI).

IN A GROVE is presented by arrangement with Schott Music Corporation, New York, publisher and copyright owner.

ABOUT OPERA SARATOGA:

Opera Saratoga, formerly known as Lake George Opera, began with a production of Die Fledermaus at the Diamond Point Theatre on July 5, 1962, playing to an audience of 230. The Company now calls Saratoga Springs home and performs for more than 25,000 people annually. Opera Saratoga celebrates its 60th Anniversary this season. The company serves the communities of Saratoga Springs, the Lower Adirondack and New York State Capital areas by providing access to world-class opera through the production of an annual Summer Festival, as well as year-round activities including extensive educational programs, mentorship of emerging operatic artists, and unique opportunities for the public to experience opera in both our home theater and non-traditional venues that leverage and embrace the unique cultural, historic, and natural resources of the area. To date, the company has performed 108 different fully staged works by 69 different composers, including 44 works by American composers and 15 premiere productions. Opera Saratoga’s staff includes General and Artistic Director Mary Birnbaum, Executive Director Amanda Robie and the Head of Music Staff and Festival Artist Program, Laurie Rogers. For more information, visit http://www.operasaratoga.org

ABOUT JOHN MATSUMOTO GIAMPIETRO:

John Matsumoto Giampietro is a Brooklyn based stage director of Opera and Theatre, an educator, and writer. John is a Vocal Arts Acting Faculty member and stage director at The Juilliard School where he teaches acting across all degree programs. He is also a faculty member of The Curtis Institute of Music where he teaches acting in the Vocal Studies and Opera Theater Department. He is a frequent director with Youngblood, Ensemble Studio Theater’s Obie-award-winning young writers group. At EST, John directed the NY Times acclaimed production ofYear of the Rooster by Olivia Dufault. He was the Interim and Associate Director of the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory, where he directed several operas including , The Cunning Little Vixen, Hänsel und Gretel, Le nozze di Figaro, La Boheme, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. John has directed opera and theatre at Tanglewood, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Urban Stages, Yale Opera, Vermont Shakespeare Festival, Curtis Institute of Music, The Flea Theatre, Shenandoah Conservatory and NYU Tisch School of the Arts, among others. His writing includes new English dialogue versions of Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor and The Impresario for Juilliard. His English dialogue version of Die Zauberflöte premiered at the Chautauqua Institution. His play Strength of God and other grotesques based on Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio, premiered at Joe's Pub @ The Public Theater in NYC.

ABOUT JULIANE GALLANT:

Canadian conductor Juliane Gallant is the Resident Conductor of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. She has appeared as guest conductor with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Victoria Symphony, PEI Symphony Orchestra, Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, Kingston Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony New Brunswick, and as assistant and cover conductor with many orchestras and opera companies across Canada. Initially a collaborative pianist, répétiteur, and vocal coach, Juliane began her conducting career in opera. She has led productions of Carmen, La bohème, Tosca, Eugene Onegin, La Traviata, Don Giovanni, and numerous others, both in Canada and in the UK. In 2021, she made her Royal Opera House debut in Mami Wata in collaboration with Pegasus Opera. Juliane is a graduate of the National Opera Studio, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique de Montréal, the University of Ottawa and the Université de Moncton. She is an alumna of Tapestry Opera’s Women in Musical Leadership Fellowship.

ABOUT MARY BIRNBAUM:

Mary Birnbaum is a New York based director of opera and music theater. In 2024, she directed critically acclaimed productions of Rigoletto (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Guys and Dolls (Opera Saratoga), and ÉMIGRÉ (World Premiere, New York Philharmonic). Other credits include new productions of La bohème (Santa Fe Opera), Dido and Aeneas (Juilliard, Opera Holland Park, Opéra de Versailles), L’Orfeo (Juilliard, NYTimes “Best of Classical Music 2021”), Otello (National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan), L’elisir d’amore (National Theater of Costa Rica) and many more. In demand for her skills as a collaborator on new work, Birnbaum has directed world premieres by contemporary artists including Jeremy Denk and Steven Stucky (The Classical Style at Ojai and Carnegie Hall), Frank London and Elise Thoron (Hatuey at Montclair Peak Performances), Mark Campbell and Kristin Kuster (Kept at Virginia Arts Festival). She directed the premiere of Chris Cerrone and Stephanie Fleischmann’s In a Grove at Pittsburgh Opera in 2022, which will play at the Prototype Festival in Jan 2025. On the faculty of The Juilliard School since 2011, Birnbaum serves as the Dramatic Advisor to the MMGD program. She coaches at the Lindemann Young Artists Program at The Metropolitan Opera. In 2023, she became the General and Artistic director of Opera Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, New York. A graduate of Harvard College, Mary Birnbaum trained professionally in physical theater at L’École Jacques Lecoq in Paris.

ABOUT PETER KAZARAS:

Peter Kazaras is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Music at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where he served from 2007-2024 as the Inaugural Director of Opera at UCLA. A stage director and teacher, he was also Artistic Director of the Seattle Opera Young Artists Program from 2006 to 2013. As an operatic tenor, he performed worldwide at The Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Vienna State Opera, L’Opéra National de Paris, and other venues. Recent directing assignments have taken him to Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, The Dallas Opera, the Merola Program at San Francisco Opera, and The Juilliard School. In the summer of 2018, he directed A Quiet Place for Tanglewood as part of the Bernstein Centennial celebration. Just before the pandemic shutdown, he directed a critically acclaimed new production of Samson et Dalila for Washington National Opera. Peter Kazaras has worked on numerous world premieres both as a singer and as a director. At UCLA, he directed, supervised, or produced over fifty productions, including the recent world premiere of The Grand Hotel Tartarus, with music and libretto by Richard Danielpour. A frequent panelist on the Toll Brothers Metropolitan Opera Quiz, Kazaras is also in demand as a judge for competitions, both national and international. He is working on several new operas as librettist, dramaturg, stage director, and producer.

ABOUT TIM DRUCKER:

Tim Drucker is a New York-based director, playwright and producer. With over a decade and a half of experience in tentpole comedy events, touring, and nearly a dozen Off-Broadway productions, Tim is a respected fixture in the industry. He has directed national tours across North America, entertaining audiences in major venues such as the Kirk Douglas Theater in Los Angeles, Mirvish Theatre Group in Toronto, Broadway in Chicago, and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Tim has been privileged to work with some of the funniest talents across Broadway, film, and television. He continues to develop, direct and create new properties for commercial producers in both New York, Los Angeles and Canada. Tim specializes in developing new comedic work that resonates with audiences worldwide. With Bonnie Milligan, he is penning the book to the upcoming Hallmark holiday musical stage tour.

For more about Opera Saratoga’s 2025 season, visit http://www.operasaratoga.org.