“Some of the most important summer opera experiences in the U.S. are … at Bard SummerScape.” —Financial Times

Throughout the lockdown The Fisher Center at Bard has maintained its commitment to presenting rare operatic works by streaming free, high-quality HD recordings of SummerScape operas produced over the past decade by the Fisher Center, featuring the American Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Leon Botstein. The Fisher Center’s new virtual stage UPSTREAMING continues its summer programming in July and August with several new and encore opera releases from the Fisher Center’s archive. There will also be a special live stream conversation between conductor Leon Botstein and renowned architect Rafael Viñoly available to Fisher Center and Bard Music Festival sponsor-level members. For information please contact Kieley Michasiow-Levy at [email protected] or 845-758-7987.

In July and August The Fisher Center will stream selected operas from its archives, including the 2012 Bard production of Emmanuel Chabrier’s Le Roi Malgre Lui (The King in Spite of Himself, 1887) on July 22; Antonin Dvorak’s Dimitrij (1882) on August 5; and an exploration of works from Richard Strauss’s oeuvre, capped off by Bard’s much-lauded 2011 production of Die Liebe de Danae (The Love of Danae), composed in 1940 (details below).

Upcoming operas July/August

July 22 (new release)
Le roi malgré lui (The King in Spite of Himself), 1882
Bard SummerScape 2012
By Emmanuel Chabrier
American Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leon Botstein, music director
Directed by Thaddeus Strassberger

A contemporary of Saint-Saëns, Chabrier was an independent-minded and important innovator -- many saw him as having paved the way for French modernism. His 1887 comic opera, The King in Spite of Himself, is considered to have significantly impacted the course of French harmony. This stylish and elegant production from the 2012 Bard SummerScape features a first-rate cast and endlessly inventive and colorful sets and costumes.

Read the original program.

August 5 (new release)
Dimitrij
Bard SummerScape 2017
By Antonín Dvořák
American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein, music director
Directed by Anne Bogart

Acclaimed at its 1882 premiere for its strong dramatic moments, original melodies, and masterful choral writing, Antonín Dvořák's Dimitrij was widely regarded as one of the most significant works created for the Czech operatic stage. Marking the long overdue first fully staged American production of Dvořák’s opera, Bard’s historic 2017 presentation also featured Dimitrij’s rarely heard, full-length overture and original, brutal conclusion.

Read the original program.

August 19 (encore release)
Die Liebe der Danae (The Love of Danae)
Bard SummerScape 2011 
By Richard Strauss
American Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leon Botstein, music director 
Directed by Kevin Newbury

Rarely produced, yet considered one of Strauss’s finest operas, Danae received a landmark production in SummerScape 2011 by director Kevin Newbury with sets designed by the renowned architect Rafael Viñoly. The opera’s themes of transformation and the acceptance of life's changes are brilliantly illuminated by Strauss's orchestral mastery.

Read the original program.

ADDITIONAL ENCORE RELEASES INCLUDE:
Korngold’s The Miracle of Heliane – available through August 24
Rubinstein’s Demon – available through August 24
Weber’s Euryanthe – available August 9 through September 13
Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers – available through September 13
Taneyev’s Oresteia – available August 16 through September 27

All of these programs can be viewed here.

About UPSTREAMING, the Fisher Center’s virtual stage. Archival Discoveries and New Commissions for the Digital Sphere.
UPSTREAMING broadens the Fisher Center’s commitment to reaching audiences far beyond the physical walls of our building, and offers new ways for us to engage with artists. Launched in April 2020, UPSTREAMING has released new content, including digital commissions, virtual events, and beloved performances and rich contextual materials from the archives of the SummerScape Opera and Bard Music Festival’s 30-year history. UPSTREAMING highlights different aspects of the breadth of programming the Fisher Center offers. In August, UPSTREAMING will announce a series of major virtual commissions that will be released as part of the Fisher Center’s 2020-2021 season. 
 
New releases are announced via the Fisher Center’s weekly newsletter. To receive those updates and stay connected to UPSTREAMING, join the mailing list here.
#UPSTREAMINGFC

ABOUT THE FISHER CENTER
The Fisher Center develops, produces, and presents performing arts across disciplines through new productions and context-rich programs that challenge and inspire. As a premier professional performing arts center and a hub for research and education, the Fisher Center supports artists, students, and audiences in the development and examination of artistic ideas, offering perspectives from the past and present, as well as visions of the future. The Fisher Center demonstrates Bard’s commitment to the performing arts as a cultural and educational necessity. Home is the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, designed by Frank Gehry and located on the campus of Bard College in New York’s Hudson Valley. The Fisher Center offers outstanding programs to many communities, including the students and faculty of Bard College, and audiences in the Hudson Valley, New York City, across the country, and around the world. Building on a 159-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow’s thought leaders. 7.20.20