The Glimmerglass Festival’s exhilarating 50th anniversary season centers artists and creators, celebrates opera and musical theater legends, and introduces a thrilling world premiere opera based on a beloved book.

Mainstage productions will include Tosca (Puccini/Illica & Giacosa), Sunday in The Park With George (Sondheim/Sondheim & Lapine), The Rake’s Progress (Stravinsky/Auden & Kallman), the World Premiere of The House on Mango Street (Bermel/Cisneros), based on the classic book. The Festival is also proud to bring former Artistic Director Francesca Zambello’s acclaimed original production of Odyssey (Moore/Rourke) to the Alice Busch Opera Theater for the first time.

Schedule

July 18, 2025

2025 Pipeline Talk

5:00pm

Join composer/librettist Derek Bermel and author/librettist Sandra Cisneros for an insightful conversation about creating The House on Mango Street. Discover how this poignant story of identity, belonging, and resilience was transformed for the stage. Bermel and Cisneros will share their creative journey, explore the opera’s themes, and discuss the collaborative process that brought this groundbreaking work to life. Enhance your experience with this behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of a modern masterpiece.

TICKETS - $50 per person

VENUE - Pavilion

The House on Mango Street

7:30pm

Music: Bermel

Libretto: Cisneros & Bermel

The House on Mango Street, a coming-of-age classic, has been acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the world. Novelist Sandra Cisneros, winner of the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature, has teamed up with Grammy-nominated composer Derek Bermel for an opera inspired by her classic book, which unfolds in a series of episodes seen through the eyes of a young girl. Through a series of interactions, which range from fascinating to funny to frightening, she comes to understand that storytelling is the medicine she can offer her community — and herself.

Conductor | Nicole Paiement

Director | Chía Patiño

Set Designer | John Conklin

Costume Designer | Erik Teague

Lighting Designer | Amith Chandrashaker

Dramaturg | Kelley Rourke

Projections Designer | Greg Emetaz

Hair & Make-Up | Tom Watson

Generously Sponsored by | Nellie and Robert Gipson

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