Opera General Director

Opera Saratoga serves the communities of Saratoga Springs, the Lower Adirondacks, and the New York State Capital Region by providing world-class opera. The company produces an annual Summer Festival alongside year-round activities, including extensive educational programs, the mentorship of emerging opera artists through its Festival Artist Program, and a variety of opportunities for the public to experience live performance.

Mainstage productions are hosted at the state-of-art, 450- to 600-seat Universal Preservation Hall (UPH) in downtown Saratoga Springs, supplemented by performances in non-traditional venues that leverage the unique cultural, historic, and natural resources of the area.

Opera Saratoga is in a period of exciting artistic expansion. The 2026 Summer Festival featured a dynamic range of repertoire, including Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady, Donizetti's The Elixir of Love, Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's Happy End (a first-ever collaboration with other upstate NY companies, including Gliimerglass Festival) and a workshop of a newly commissioned opera Alyssa Weinberg and J.

Mae Barizo's Drift.

Expanding its footprint beyond the summer, the company recently established a new tradition of off-festival winter programming, which launched to great success in December 2025 with Puccini’s La Bohème. This initiative continues in December 2026 with a highly anticipated production of Verdi's La Traviata.

Opera Saratoga boasts the second oldest young artist program of its kind in the country. Each year between 20 and 25 emerging artists are selected as Festival Artists, from nearly 1000 applicants, to participate in this highly regarded program. In 2027 the program will once again be led by Juilliard's Adam Nielsen.

The annual Education Tour Program brings live performance into schools across upstate New York during spring, reaching thousands of children every year. Looking ahead, the 2027 Education Tour will feature a newly created reduction of Mozart and Schikaneder's The Magic Flute, a full production of which will later serve as a cornerstone of the 2027 Summer Festival mainstage line‑up.

Through our partnership with Songs by Heart, Opera Saratoga continues to champion therapeutic interactive sing-along music programming for those living with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

Outgoing General and Artistic Director Mary Birnbaum will transition into an advisory role at the start of 2027. An acclaimed American stage director, educator, and visionary artistic leader, Ms. Birnbaum brought a new level of national recognition to Opera Saratoga. Known for her vibrant, visceral, productions, Ms. Birnbaum has carved out a distinct reputation for directing both classic operas and groundbreaking new music theater.

Under her leadership, Opera Saratoga staged its first‑ever winter programming and cultivated entirely new audiences by turning productions into community‑wide events. This era was defined by successful strategic partnerships with regional festivals and acclaimed companies, including the Glimmerglass Festival. Opera Saratoga seeks a new leader to build upon this tremendous artistic momentum.

Saratoga Springs is located in the Capital District of New York State - 3.5 hours to New York City to the south, Boston to the east, and Montreal to the north. The city is home to the oldest active thoroughbred racetrack in the United States, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), Skidmore College, and a wealth of arts and cultural attractions.

Named one of the nation’s most charming small cities, Saratoga Springs is a thriving community filled with exquisite restaurants, boutique shopping, 21 mineral springs,…