New Opera by Composer-in-Residence inti figgis-vizueta

Opera Saratoga announces a high stakes 2024 season! The summer festival features three sure bets - three new productions at Universal Preservation Hall running from June 27 to July 7. Tickets start at $30 and are available at https://www.operasaratoga.org/tickets24.

As part of the 2024 Season, Opera Saratoga proudly presents a world premiere opera, devised and composed during the summer season by Composer-in-Residence inti figgis-vizueta, "whose music feels sprouted between structures, liberated from certainty and wrought from a language we'd do well to learn" writes The Washington Post. inti's work explores the transformative power of group improvisation and play, working to reconcile historical aesthetics and experimental practices with trans & Indigenous futures. "The Festival Residency with Opera Saratoga is an incredible opportunity to explore the expressive world of contemporary opera, a first for me as a composer," figgis-vizueta says. "My highly collaborative approach to music making is a perfect match with this development-focused residency and I'm excited to organically create a work alongside a talented creative team."

"This season pays homage to Saratoga Springs' history as a pleasure-seeker's paradise and betting destination while looking to the future by pushing the definition of what opera can be - and how it can be made - forward," said Mary Birnbaum, General and Artistic Director, "We hope to tempt risk-takers to the festival by dazzling them with reinventions of two classics in addition to a totally unique creation that they can only see in Saratoga."

About inti figgis-vizueta:

NY-based composer inti figgis-vizueta (b.1993) braids a childhood of overlapping immigrant communities and Black-founded Freedom schools—in Chocolate City (DC)—with direct Andean & Irish heritage and a deep connection to the land. Recent highlights include the Carnegie Hall premiere of her string quartet concerto, Seven Sides of Fire, written for the Attacca Quartet and American Composers Orchestra, conducted by Mei-Ann Chen; performances of Coradh (bending) by the Spoleto Festival, PODIUM Festival, and Oregon Symphony; and the REDCAT premiere of her evening-length show Music for Transitions, created in collaboration with two-time Grammy Award-winning cellist Andrew Yee, praised as "thrilling" and "revolutionary" by I Care If You Listen. Upcoming projects include clay songs for Kronos Quartet's 50th Anniversary, a new Carnegie Hall-commissioned work for Ensemble Connect, continued development of Earths to Come for vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, and a new piano concerto for Conrad Tao and the Cincinnati Symphony, conducted by Matthias Pintscher.

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 106 different fully staged works by 66 different composers, including 42 works by American composers and 14 premiere productions. In 2023, the company hired its 10th Artistic and General Director, Mary Birnbaum. For more information, visit http://www.operasaratoga.org.