Opera Saratoga Will Stage LA BOHEME For 65th Anniversary
The performance is set for December 5.
By: Stephi Wild Sep. 04, 2025
To kick off a year-long celebration of Opera Saratoga/Lake George Opera Festival's 65th anniversary, Opera Saratoga announces the first holiday opera in the company's history. Opera Saratoga will produce a special 80-minute concert version of Giacomo Puccini's “La bohème” at Universal Preservation Hall 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5. The concert will be directed and accompanied on piano by Adam Nielsen (The Juilliard School, Metropolitan Opera) and directed by Mary Birnbaum, Opera Saratoga's General and Artistic Director. The Skidmore Chorus will be conducted by Floyd Ricketts and include members of the Excelsior Vocal Ensemble (Artistic Director Andrew Burger).
“We chose ‘La bohème' to honor the heritage of Opera Saratoga, formerly the Lake George Opera Festival, which began its first season 65 years ago with this beloved Puccini classic,” said Director Mary Birnbaum. “It's a magical introduction to opera —Puccini's story of young artists in love is heartfelt and accessible, especially for first-time operagoers. The opera begins on Christmas Eve and later moves to the festive streets of Paris, making it the perfect way to celebrate the holidays with our community.”
Birnbaum adds, “We hope to welcome both adults and children who have never experienced opera before and those who are seasoned opera lovers — to dazzle them with young artists performing some of the most beautiful music in the operatic repertoire.”
To add to the warm welcome, newcomers to the opera will be allowed to buy $25 tickets to the event in a special presale 12 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2. Tickets are first-come, first-served, and of limited quantity with the code: NEWCOMERS.
This concert is part of an amplified year-round presence of Saratoga's hometown opera, which historically has a world-renowned summer festival season in May and June. After closing out the summer with a performance by Nielsen and soprano Ariadne Greif, who sang “Song to the Moon” from “Rusalka,” “Marine” from “Les illuminations,” and “Part of Your World” from “The Little Mermaid,” Opera Saratoga will return with its next event: a musical pop-up and cocktail party 4-6 p.m. Sept. 11 at the new Standard Fare. Christine Taylor Price, star of last season's “She Loves Me,” will sing opera and Broadway standards, and there will be bites and signature cocktails from Phila Street's newest hotspot, which is currently fully committed through most of September.
Love Theater in Central New York? Join The Community!
Whether you've got past experience writing about theater or just starting, the BroadwayWorld Community offers a unique opportunity to become a champion for your local arts community, helping raise awareness of local offerings and adding another local voice to the conversation at a time arts coverage is shrinking in the press across the continent. Join us and become a pivotal part of the movement that celebrates and promotes the arts in the digital age.
Learn MoreVideos