Opera Saratoga Announces Casts for 2026 Festival Season
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Opera Saratoga recently announced casting for its 2026 festival season, marking the company’s 65th anniversary with a diverse slate of opera, musical theatre, new works, and community-centered programming. Performances will take place primarily at the Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs.
The season opens with “Happy End” by Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, and Elisabeth Hauptmann, presented in collaboration with The Glimmerglass, Seagle Festival, and Finger Lakes Opera on May 28 and 30. The production is directed by Mary Birnbaum and conducted by Robert Ainsley, with dramaturgy by Kelley O’Rourke. It features Ana Karneža and Gregory Feldmann, with additional casting to be announced.
Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love (L’elisir d’amore)” will be presented June 21-27, directed by John Giampietro and conducted by Nicolò Sbuelz. The cast includes Shelèn Hughes Camacho (Adina), Wonjin Choi (Nemorino), Dasol Lee (Dulcamara), Joseph Parrish (Belcore), and Fantine Douilly (Gianetta). The chorus will include festival artists Sarah Rachel Bacani, Maya McGuire, Christopher Kirby Saunders, Kayla Sconiers, Joshua Thomas, Minghang Wang, and Adam Wells.
Opera Saratoga will also present a fully staged production of “My Fair Lady,” with music by Frederick Loewe and book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, running June 20-28. Directed by Mary Birnbaum (with choreography by Julia Eichten and music direction by Adam Nielsen), the cast features Christine Taylor Price (Eliza Doolittle) and Bill Army (Henry Higgins), alongside Sadie Spivey, Maiya Williams, Nathan Romportl, Nazrin Azlan Alymann, Daniel Esteban Lugo, and Jack O’Leary.
New work development continues with workshop performances of “Drift,” by composer Alyssa Weinberg and librettist J. Mae Barizo, June 21 & 26. The workshop is directed by Caili Quan and conducted by Christopher Allen.
Concerts will include “Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein at the Mansion,” programmed by Laurie Rogers with buffet lunch or dinner May 31; weekly Wednesday Portrait concerts at Saratoga Arts May 20 & 27 and June 3 & 10; Opera Saratoga’s gala on June 4; and the Capital Region Composers Concert on June 27, featuring the music of composers from the Capital Region and a roster of local singers.
In addition, Opera Saratoga’s family show remixes music for the mainstage and offers kids a free interactive encounter with music theatre on June 21 & 23.
Affinity nights include Pride Night on June 24, “40 and under” night on June 25, and Opera Saratoga’s alumni weekend June 26-28.
Tickets and subscriptions for the 2026 festival season are available at atuph.org or by calling the Box Office at Proctors (518) 346-6204.