Opera Saratoga presents La Vie parisienne: composed by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, and a new commissioned book by Tim Drucker (Trixie and Katya Live!) Offenbach’s 1866 homage to Second Empire Paris celebrates a time of freedom – of borders, love and identity – and weaves a convoluted and hilarious narrative.

After being dumped by opera singer Metella (Tivoli Treloar), bourgeois bachelors Gardefeu (Randy Ho) and Bobinet (Michael J. Hawk) reject French women and set out to score a Swedish Baroness – the only problem? Her husband! Impersonating tour guides, Bob and Garde lead the Swedes through an improvised Paris – starting with a hotel which is actually Garde’s apartment featuring his glove-maker as a war widow (Sung-yeun Kim). Will Paris reveal herself as the queen of culture and love? Or will the city of lights look too bright through the next morning’s hangover?

Offenbach’s romp has hummable tunes, fabulous parties, and champagne-fueled seductions which will have you dancing out of your seat and rolling in the aisles with laughter. Directed by general and artistic director Mary Birnbaum and conducted by Juliane Gallant (Calgary Philharmonic), the cast includes Fantine Douilly, Chuanyuan Liu, Danny Lugo, Brennan Martinez, Kate Morton, Wagner Mauricio Pastor, Chase Sanders, Geoffrey Schmelzer, Michael Segura, Sadie Spivey, Jack O’Leary. Scenic Design by Krit Robinson, Lighting Design by Anshuman Bhatia and Costume Design by Audrey Nauman and Michael Schaffner. Movement consultant Cailli Quan, speech and voice coach Annie Shikany, french coach Benedicte Jourdois and music staff Laurie Rogers and Djordje Nesic round out the team. The opera will be accompanied by the Opera Saratoga Orchestra.

Performances June 20, 26, 28 at 7:30pm and June 22 at 2pm.

For tickets, visit www.operasaratoga.org or call the Proctors Box Office at 518-346-6204. Tickets start at $33.50. With Student ID, all tickets are $10.

Location:

Universal Preservation Hall

25 Washington Street

Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

ABOUT OPERA SARATOGA:

Opera Saratoga, formerly known as Lake George Opera, began with a production of Die Fledermaus at the Diamond Point Theatre on July 5, 1962, playing to an audience of 230. The Company now calls Saratoga Springs home and performs for more than 25,000 people annually. Opera Saratoga celebrates its 60th Anniversary this season. The company serves the communities of Saratoga Springs, the Lower Adirondack and New York State Capital areas by providing access to world-class opera through the production of an annual Summer Festival, as well as year-round activities including extensive educational programs, mentorship of emerging operatic artists, and unique opportunities for the public to experience opera in both our home theater and non-traditional venues that leverage and embrace the unique cultural, historic, and natural resources of the area. To date, the company has performed 108 different fully staged works by 69 different composers, including 44 works by American composers and 15 premiere productions. Opera Saratoga’s staff includes General and Artistic Director Mary Birnbaum, Executive Director Amanda Robie and the Head of Music Staff and Festival Artist Program, Laurie Rogers. For more information, visit www.operasaratoga.org

ABOUT MARY BIRNBAUM:

Mary Birnbaum is a New York based director of opera and music theater. In 2024, she directed critically acclaimed productions of Rigoletto (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Guys and Dolls (Opera Saratoga), and ÉMIGRÉ (World Premiere, New York Philharmonic). Other credits include new productions of La bohème (Santa Fe Opera), Dido and Aeneas (Juilliard, Opera Holland Park, Opéra de Versailles), L’Orfeo (Juilliard, NYTimes “Best of Classical Music 2021”), Otello (National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan), L’elisir d’amore (National Theater of Costa Rica) and many more. In demand for her skills as a collaborator on new work, Birnbaum has directed world premieres by contemporary artists including Jeremy Denk and Steven Stucky (The Classical Style at Ojai and Carnegie Hall), Frank London and Elise Thoron (Hatuey at Montclair Peak Performances), Mark Campbell and Kristin Kuster (Kept at Virginia Arts Festival). She directed the premiere of Chris Cerrone and Stephanie Fleischmann’s In a Grove at Pittsburgh Opera in 2022, which will play at the Prototype Festival in Jan 2025. On the faculty of The Juilliard School since 2011, Birnbaum serves as the Dramatic Advisor to the MMGD program. She coaches at the Lindemann Young Artists Program at The Metropolitan Opera. In 2023, she became the General and Artistic director of Opera Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, New York. A graduate of Harvard College, Mary Birnbaum trained professionally in physical theater at L’École Jacques Lecoq in Paris.

For more about Opera Saratoga’s 2025 season, visit www.operasaratoga.org.