GLIMMERGLASS OPENS AMERICAN PREMIERE OF ‘CATO IN UTICA’ JULY 18
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. – The Glimmerglass Festival opened its third production of the 2015 season with Vivaldi’s setting of Metastasio’s poetic depiction of Cato the Younger.
“Glimmerglass made a name for itself in the world of baroque opera beginning in the 90s,” Artistic & General Director Francesca Zambello said. “Since then, Glimmerglass has produced more than a dozen new and innovative productions of early operas. In this tradition, I wanted to program a baroque piece for our 40th anniversary, and to our knowledge, Cato in Utica has never been produced in America.”
Tazewell Thompson, who has directed several productions at Glimmerglass to great acclaim including Kurt Weill’s Lost in the Stars, returns to direct the opera.
“I love the early operas. The Vivaldi masterwork Cato in Utica is especially enthralling with its spectacular instrumentation that feels new and edgy and always exhilarating,” Thompson said. “Complex and conflicted characters are passionately expressing their story through brilliant vocals with highly entertaining flourishes and ornamentations. Sublime.”
Conductor Ryan Brown, founder and Artistic Director of Opera Lafayette, joins Glimmerglass in his company debut.
“This is vibrant, colorful and inventive Vivaldi – some of his best writing,” Brown said.
Countertenor John Holiday makes his Glimmerglass debut as Caesar. Holiday earned first place in last year’s Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition and recently made his role debut as Sorceress in Los Angeles Opera’s production of Dido and Aeneas.
Sarah Mesko performs the vocally demanding role of Emilia in her first Glimmerglass appearance. The mezzo-soprano has recently performed with Washington National Opera and made her Houston Grand Opera debut last year.
John Conklin, who has designed more than 30 Glimmerglass productions, designs sets for the new production. He is joined by costume designer Sara Jean Tosetti, whose work has recently appeared in Radamisto at Juilliard Opera and The Barber of Seville at Central City Opera. Anthony Salatino, who has directed movement for productions across the country and serves as an associate professor at Syracuse University, choreographs. Robert Wierzel designs lighting.
Cato in Utica will run in repertory with Verdi’s Macbeth, Bernstein’s Candide and Mozart’s The Magic Flute. The mainstage productions will be complemented by concerts, lectures, backstage tours and question-and-answer sessions with the creative teams.
For more information on the 2015 Glimmerglass Festival and performance dates and times, call the Box Office at (607) 547-2255 or visit www.glimmerglass.org.
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The Glimmerglass Festival
