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The Glimmerglass Festival has announced casting for its 2026 season, which will run July 10 through August 17, 2026, in Cooperstown, New York. The season brings together returning favorites, International Artists, and emerging talent across a slate of opera and musical theater works.
Leading the season are Shereen Pimentel and Michael Adams, who will star opposite one another as Laurey Williams and Curly McLain in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!. Pimentel makes her Glimmerglass debut following acclaimed performances on Broadway and at major regional theaters, while Adams returns to the Festival after appearing in Show Boat in 2019.
Puccini’s Madame Butterfly will feature internationally acclaimed soprano Eri Nakamura as Cio-Cio-San, joined by tenor Eric Taylor, the 2024 winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Baritone Troy Cook also returns to the Festival as Sharpless.
Mozart’s Così will be presented in a new English adaptation, with a cast led by soprano Amanda Batista, mezzo-soprano Michelle Mariposa, tenor Travon Walker, and bass-baritone Kevin Burdette, who also serves as the Festival’s 2026 Artist-in-Residence. Burdette will work closely with participants in the Festival’s Resident Artists Program and will appear onstage as Don Alfonso.
Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce’s Fellow Travelers returns as part of a national tour, starring Colin Aikins as Timothy Laughlin and Joseph Lattanzi as Hawkins Fuller. The opera is set during the 1950s Lavender Scare and follows two men navigating a relationship amid political persecution and surveillance.
The jazz-inflected satire Happy End, with music by Kurt Weill and lyrics by Bertolt Brecht, will star Ana Karneža, winner of the 2024 Kurt Weill Foundation’s Lotte Lenya Competition. The production is presented as part of a new collaborative partnership with Opera Saratoga, Finger Lakes Opera, and the Seagle Festival, with performances touring multiple venues across New York State and Western Massachusetts in addition to the Glimmerglass Pavilion.
Rounding out the season is Robin Hood, an opera for young audiences by Ben Moore and Kelley Rourke, continuing the Festival’s commitment to accessible performances for families and young people. Tickets for children 12 and under are available at no cost through generous sponsorship.
“Our casts this season are singers who understand that opera and musical theater are fundamentally about storytelling,” said Artistic & General Director Rob Ainsley in a statement. “These works ask urgent questions about who we are as individuals and as a nation, and the artists bringing them to life do so with tremendous humanity and collaboration.”
The 2026 season also includes special Pavilion events and concert presentations, expanding on the Festival’s mainstage offerings.
The Glimmerglass Festival runs July 10 through August 17, 2026, in Cooperstown, New York. Ticket packages are currently on sale, with single tickets available beginning January 26, 2026. For more information, visit glimmerglass.org or contact the box office at 607-547-2255.
