The Classical Beat: Neighboring Venues Kick Off Summer

The summer concert season is virtually upon us.

With programs across the region, concertgoers will have panoply of classical music to enjoy in venues large and small: from solo vocal and choral to piano recitals, from chamber music to orchestral and opera - both staged and in concert performance.

This week I will showcase two long-time presenters that offer the best in chamber music, opera and musical theater.

Concerts at Tannery Pond

Concerts at Tannery Pond, the handsome, intimate and elegant series in New Lebanon, N.Y., and one of the premiere presenters of concert music in the region, started the ball rolling three weeks ago with its first late spring concert on May 23, featuring the fabulously talented violin/cello “duo Parnas” – sisters Madalyn and Cicely, joined by pianist Ran Dank.

The series presents its next program this Saturday, June 13, at 8 p.m. with the stellar baritone Tyler Duncan and collaborative pianist Pedja Muzijevic in a program of Schubert (the great Sonata No. 20 in A Major, D. 959 and Schumann (the heartrending “Dicterliebe” song cycle). For tickets call 888=820-1696 or go online at tannerypondconcerts.org.

While there, check out their summer/ fall schedule, listed below:

* July 18: The innovative Brooklyn Rider String Quartet in a program featuring Haydn, Schubert and also jazz selections;

* Aug. 1: the stunning Miró String Quartet in a program of late masterworks of Beethoven and Schubert

* Aug. 15: the phenomenal pianist Jeremy Denk performing Beethoven’s Op. 111 Sonata and Scriabin’s Sonata No. 9;

* Sept. 5: the clarinet, cello and piano trio of great performers Todd Palmer, Ed Arron and Gilles Vonsattel

* Sept. 26: the violin/piano duo of Aleksey Semenenko and Inna Firsova.

Tickets are $30 and $39. Tannery Pond is located on the grounds of Mount Lebanon Shaker Village and Darrow School, New Lebanon, N.Y., one and a half miles east of the town center on Route 20.

The Glimmerglass Festival: Opera and Musical Theatre

Located in historic Cooperstown, N.Y. – about one and a half hours from the Berkshires - the Glimmerglass Festival celebrates its 40th anniversary of innovative productions this season, which runs July 10-Aug. 23.

The excursion to Cooperstown, perhaps combined with a visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame and a stroll in the ancient country church graveyard to contemplate the resting place of James Fenimore Cooper, along with Glimmerglass, makes for a perfect day’s outing.

Additionally, Glimmerglass’ beautiful scenic lakeside grounds invite you to stroll, picnic and relax in an environment that’s dedicated to music and the arts. The unspoiled beauty of central New York’s rural landscape provides what The Sunday Times of London has called “the most magical of settings.”

This summer, The Glimmerglass Festival will present four new fully staged productions, including three operas and one work of American musical theater – all performed with orchestra, large cast and un-amplified sound. These four productions are supplemented by special performances, concerts, lectures and symposiums throughout the season. 

The repertoire features new productions of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” Verdi’s “Macbeth,” starring Artist-in-Residence Eric Owens in his role debut; Vivaldi’s “Cato in Utica” and Leonard Bernstein’s beloved and scintillating “Candide.”

All productions are staged in the magnificent Alice Busch Opera Theater. The theater’s casual elegance, beautiful surroundings and excellent acoustics provide an intimate, one-of-a-kind operatic encounter. All of the theater’s 914 seats are less than 70 feet from the stage, and every production utilizes supertitles in English projected above the stage, which is a welcome aid to the audience in understanding the sung text. 

Glimmerglass tickets for single or group performances or by subscription can be purchased at the box office at the Theatre or at 18 Chestnut St. in center Cooperstown. For telephone orders, call the box office at 607-547-2255. For more information, visit online at www.glimmerglass.org.

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