Festival Campaign Will Help Shape Future, Expand Audiences

COOPERSTOWN—Marking half a century of opera and musical theater in Otsego County, the Glimmerglass Festival has launched a fundraising campaign to support its future as an international destination and training ground for the next generation of performers and production professionals.

“Destined to Glimmerglass: The 50th Anniversary Campaign” has already raised $4.1 million toward the $5 million goal, officials announced in a press release issued Thursday, February 27.

“We are both moved and awestruck by the generosity that donors from across the country have committed to help usher in our visionary future,” said Robert Ainsley, artistic and general director. “There is nothing and nowhere quite like Glimmerglass. It is a destination in every sense of the word.”

“The festival is an invaluable asset to our region, the United States and the world of opera. This campaign ensures that our company can continue to lead, teach and innovate for years to come,” he added.

The fundraising effort will empower the Glimmerglass Festival—a place where lesser-known and new productions are staged alongside canonical works of opera—to expand the range of those works. Through the Youth Opera and Project Pipeline, for instance, Glimmerglass provides a stage for performances that might otherwise go unseen.

This year, the festival will produce the world premiere of “The House on Mango Street,” a musical adaptation of Sandra Cisneros’s novel of the same name.

“Glimmerglass is synonymous with collaboration and innovation,” said Ainsley. “Every year, we’re creating new opportunities and models for this industry. By incubating new works, mentoring young artists and technicians, and creating pathways for youth performers, we’re making the stage and the genre more accessible for professionals and audiences alike.”

According to officials, the campaign will support the continued development of new work as well as the festival’s renowned training and apprenticeship programs, during which “artists and technicians enjoy the space, time, mentorship, and freedom to develop their craft at the highest level.”

No one knows better the impact these programs have on opera performers and lovers than Cooperstown resident Allison Hill-Edgar, Glimmerglass Festival Board of Trustees member and campaign co-chair, and her family. Her son began participating in the youth opera at 13 and now performs on the festival’s main stage.

“I’ve gotten to see firsthand how Glimmerglass creates a nurturing space for young performers,” said Hill-Edgar. “The commitment to youth and community is a huge part of why the festival has grown both in size and influence. Our young artists have gone on to do amazing things on and behind the stages of world opera.”

“The creatives that get their start at Glimmerglass go on to influence their community, both here in Cooperstown and around the country,” she added.

This fundraising campaign will also anchor the festival’s reputation as an international destination where everyone sees their story reflected on the stage, officials emphasized.

“We are so lucky to have Glimmerglass in Cooperstown,” said Michael Young, board chair and campaign co-chair. “I feel a responsibility to support and champion this festival that has given so much to the town, the economy, and to opera lovers everywhere.”

Young said that while Glimmerglass has grown significantly since he first attended the festival, its magic has never wavered.

“There is a feeling here that I haven’t seen replicated anywhere else,” said Young. “I’m behind this campaign because we want to share the Glimmerglass experience with as many people as possible, both today and for the next 50 years.”

Tickets to the 50th anniversary season, which begins in July and includes productions of “Sunday in the Park with George,” “The Rake’s Progress,” “Tosca,” and “Odyssey,” are now on sale. To learn more, visit www.glimmerglass.org/campaign.