SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — In honor of its 63rd season, Opera Saratoga held a kickoff event outside of the Saratoga Arts building downtown to highlight a number of the performances that will be going on during the 2024 Summer Festival.
At the kickoff a group of performers showcased some of the talent attendees would be able to see at the Opera this summer, performing numbers from two of the upcoming shows. Accompanied by Laurie Rogers on the piano, Julia Stuart, who plays Fiordiligi, and Michael Hawk, who plays Guglielmo, performed arias from Cosi fan tutte while Maximillian Jansen, who plays Nicely-Nicely, Colin Aikins, who plays Benny Southstreet, and Kyle Dunn, who plays Rusty Charlie, performed pieces from “Guys and Dolls.” “This summer holds fun, it holds romance and adventure.
It is about uplifting optimism more than anything else because I think what the world needs right now is a space where we can all gather, listen to beautiful music and laugh with each other – and remember that there’s a lot of commonality amongst us, more pressing and important than our differences,” General and Artistic Director Mary Birnbaum said. “To combat the divisiveness in the world, and to create a space where we can all come together and disagree thoughtfully, and with compassion is my fondest wish, I think for every person right now.” This summer will mark Birnbaum’s first as a curator, director and producer with Opera Saratoga.
As a director and an educator who who tea.
