News from the Noteworthy from The Glimmerglass Festival

Opening Night Brings Conklin's Vision to Life

On Friday, July 11, The Glimmerglass Festival opens a milestone season in celebration of 50 years of song and story by the lake. We’ve called the season “The Art of Making Art” and are celebrating the performers, dreamers, and creators who take our breath away. These often-unseen people lavish untold care and countless hours on every detail and nuance of a production—from the precise pacing of a crescendo to the color of a button to the coordination of hundreds of schedules. We’ve always invited our guests to step inside the creative process, to become part of the family. But in this 50th anniversary season, we truly celebrate those who make art.

One of those makers is John Conklin, our associate artistic director emeritus, and this season’s visionary set designer for all four productions. We lost John two weeks ago—a staggering loss for our industry and the Glimmerglass family. He was not only one of the world’s most respected theater designers, but for generations of artists at Glimmerglass and beyond, he was an artistic father—the spark igniting their future careers and ongoing fascination with our art form. For John, Glimmerglass was “home to a family of dedicated professionals who come together to learn from each other, from the operas we produce, and from the space itself.”