OPERA SARATOGA ANNOUNCES

COMPLETE CASTING AND PROGRAMS

FOR 2018 SUMMER FESTIVAL

DAVID ALAN MILLER CONDUCTS A 'WINNING DOUBLE BILL' FEATURING THE AMERICAN PREMIERE OF ROCKING HORSE WINNER AND 

THE WORLD PREMIERE OF A NEW EDITION OF

VINKENSPORT, OR THE FINCH OPERA

NEW PRODUCTIONS OF THE MERRY WIDOW AND THE CONSUL

CONCERTS AND SPECIAL EVENTS IN SARATOGA SPRINGS, DIAMOND POINT, BOLTON LANDING, AND ALBANY

FEATURED GUEST ARTISTS INCLUDE

CECILIA VIOLETTA LÓPEZ, MEGHAN KASANDERS, DEBORAH NANSTEEL, JENNIFER PANARA, SCOTT QUINN, TYLER NELSON, AND ANDY PAPAS

Saratoga Springs, NY - Opera Saratoga's Artistic and General Director Lawrence Edelson announced the complete casting and programming for the company's 2018 Summer Festival, which will feature new productions of four operas at The Spa Little Theater in Spa State Park, along with a wide variety of free and ticketed concert events from May 26th through July 15th at venues throughout the region. Single tickets, as well as subscription packages, are on sale now at www.operasaratoga.org.

One of the most popular operettas across the globe, THE MERRY WIDOW returns to Opera Saratoga for the first time in thirty years. Hanna Glawari, the Merry Widow, is beautiful and rich... and she's captivated every man in the country. But Hanna is looking for true love. Will she be able to find a suitor that is not only after her wealth? Will the nation of Pontevedro slip into economic collapse if she marries a foreigner? Will all those dancing girls prove too distracting for the audience?! Franz Lehár's magical score features the famous "Vilja" song, the "Merry Widow Waltz," and many more beloved melodies. The Merry Widow, which was composed in 1905, ushered in a new era of operettas in which the waltz was used for romantic plot purposes, and was danced as much as sung. Opera Saratoga's new production continues the company's Opera-in-Motion initiative, in which dance is prominently integrated into one production each summer. The Merry Widow will be directed and choreographed by John de los Santos, and conducted by Anthony Barrese, both making their company debuts. Soprano Cecilia Violetta López (Beatrice in Il Postino, 2016) returns to star in the title role, alongside the company debuts of baritone Jonathan Beyer as Danilo, tenor Scott Quinn as Camille, and the return of baritone Andy Papas as Baron Zeta.