Setting the Stage: Pre-Performance Talks with the New York City Ballet and Philadelphia Orchestra at SPAC

Saratoga Springs— Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) has announced the return of its popular pre-performance talk series with the launch of Setting the Stage, a series of engaging conversations presented in advance of select New York City Ballet and Philadelphia Orchestra performances.

 Returning for the first time since 2019, the series has been reimagined for SPAC’s 60th anniversary season and will now take place outdoors on the Charles R. Wood Stage, creating a more open and accessible experience for audiences. Free to ticket holders, the 30-minute conversations begin approximately one hour prior to performances and feature artists, conductors, choreographers, scholars, and cultural voices offering insight into the works and performances audiences will experience later that evening or afternoon.

 “We are thrilled to bring back pre-performance talks after a six-year hiatus,” said Christopher Shiley, President of Saratoga Performing Arts Center. “Setting the Stage will reimagine these talks in a way that makes them more accessible to audiences. By moving these conversations outdoors and offering them free to ticket holders, we are creating even greater opportunities for the community to connect directly with the artists and deepen their experience of the performances they are about to see.”

 The full schedule is as follows:

• July 8 @ 6:30 p.m., Jonathan Stafford (artistic director of New York City Ballet and the School of American Ballet) moderated by Jay Rogoff.

• July 9 @ 6:30 p.m., Taylor Stanley and Daniel Ulbricht (NYCB principal dancers) moderated by Jay Rogoff.

• July 10 @ 12:45 p.m., Tiler Peck (NYCB principal dancer and choreographer) moderated by Jay Rogoff.

• July 11 @ 6:30 p.m., Wendy Whelan (associate artistic director of NYCB) moderated by Jay Rogoff.

• August 6 @ 6:30 p.m., Morten Solvik (music scholar with Mahler Foundation) lecture style.

• August 7 @ 6:15 p.m., Marin Alsop (principal guest conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra) moderated by songwriter, author, and activist Janis Ian.

Co-presented with Caffè Lena

• August 12 @ 6:15 p.m., Daniele Rustioni (principal guest conductor of the Metropolitan Opera House) moderated by WMHT host Rob Brown.

• August 13 @ 6:30 p.m., Naomi Woo (Philadelphia Orchestra Assistant Conductor) moderated by WMHT host Rob Brown.

• August 20 @ 6:30 p.m., Joseph Conyers (Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Bass) moderated by SPAC CEO Elizabeth Sobol.