Glimmerglass Festival 2027: What to Know Before You Book
The Glimmerglass Festival has announced its 2027 season, and it is a strong one: a new production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, a revival of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, the company’s first-ever Rusalka, and a new production of The Little Prince with the festival’s youth chorus on stage. The season runs July 12 through August 22, 2027 at the Alice Busch Opera Theater in Cooperstown, with more than 30 mainstage performances.
Ticket packages are on sale now, with a pay-over-time option for anyone who reserves by phone before October 30, 2026, and single tickets go on sale November 2, 2026. Here is everything you need to plan the trip, plus a few things that have changed since last summer.
The 2027 season at a glance
Dates marked m are matinees, which matters more than it sounds: a matinee is comfortably a day trip, and an evening performance in Cooperstown is a drive home in the dark.
| Production | What it is | Performance dates |
|---|---|---|
| Into the Woods | Sondheim and Lapine’s fairy-tale musical, new production. Conducted by David Charles Abell, directed by Eric Sean Fogel. | July 12m, 16, 18m, 29m, 31m · August 3m, 5m, 7m, 9m, 13, 22m |
| The Barber of Seville | Rossini’s comedy, a revival of Francesca Zambello’s production, revival directed by Joshua Horowitz. Conducted by Joseph Colaneri. | July 13m, 17m · August 1m, 6, 10m, 12m, 14m, 16m, 19m, 21m |
| Rusalka | Dvořák’s water-nymph opera, a company premiere and a new co-production with Pacific Opera Victoria and Detroit Opera. Conducted by Joseph Colaneri, directed by Brenna Corner. | July 26m, 30 · August 7, 15m, 17m, 21 |
| The Little Prince | Rachel Portman’s opera of the Saint-Exupéry story, new production, directed by Brenna Corner, with the Glimmerglass Youth Chorus (ages 8 to 18). | July 27m, 31 · August 2m, 8m, 14, 20 |
There is also a workshop presentation of The Snow Queen 2.0 by composer B.E. Boykin and librettist Deborah Brevoort, a commission in development for 2028. Check the festival’s calendar for that date once it is posted.
Artistic and General Director Rob Ainsley describes the season as a set of stories “we pass down,” ones that “teach us as much about ourselves as they teach the next generation.” Read the full announcement at glimmerglass.org.
One change worth planning around: Thursday matinees
Starting in 2027, Thursday evening performances move to Thursday matinees. If you have always done the Thursday-night show and a late drive home, that pattern is gone. The upside is a better one: see the matinee, have an unhurried dinner in Cooperstown or on the way back, and sleep in a real bed instead of driving in the dark. Thursday is now the easiest festival day to build a two-night midweek stay around.
Tickets and when to book
Ticket packages are on sale now. The festival prices its packages from $64 for two shows and $100 for four. Package holders save 10% on additional mainstage single tickets and pay no exchange fees if plans change. See the festival’s ticket packages page for the current details.
Reserve a package by phone before October 30, 2026, and you can pay for it in installments, putting down 25%, 33% or 50% at purchase. The installment plan is set up only through the Box Office at (607) 547-2255, Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; packages bought online are paid in full.
Single tickets go on sale November 2, 2026.
Cooperstown lodging for the popular dates fills well before the festival opens. The hardest week is July 23 to 26, Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, which lands in the festival’s second week; our closing-weeks guide explains why late August is the calmer choice. If you want Rusalka on July 26 or The Little Prince on July 27, book your room the day you book the tickets.
Where to stay: 30 minutes from the festival, none of the Cooperstown squeeze
Grand Colonial Bed and Breakfast is in Herkimer, 30 minutes north of Cooperstown, an easy drive on Route 28. For festival guests that distance is the point: you get a quiet, well-kept Victorian with four en-suite rooms, breakfast included, free off-street parking and free WiFi, without competing for the handful of rooms in the village during Induction Week.
A few things our festival guests tend to appreciate:
- Breakfast time is arranged at check-in, so a matinee day and a late-evening day both work.
- All four rooms welcome dogs. If your dog travels with you, you do not have to leave it home to see an opera.
- Two festival days, one base. Herkimer sits between Cooperstown and the Mohawk Valley, so a day at the festival pairs naturally with the Herkimer Diamond Mines (15 minutes north), Beardslee Castle for dinner (12 minutes east) or an afternoon in Little Falls (10 minutes east).
- Midweek is easiest. Weekends book first, and in 2027 the festival gives you every reason to come midweek anyway, with matinees scattered right through the week.
Planning the day
The Alice Busch Opera Theater is an open-sided house on the shore of Otsego Lake; the sides close once the performance begins. Bring a layer for the evening shows even in August. The grounds open well before curtain and picnicking is a festival tradition, so leaving Herkimer a couple of hours ahead gives you time to eat on the lawn. For a matinee, plan an early lunch in Cooperstown or a late one afterward.
If you are pairing the festival with baseball, our Hall of Fame Induction Weekend lodging page covers the July 23 to 26 crunch, and the Dreams Park family lodging page has the 2027 tournament session dates.
Ready to book?
Check availability for your festival dates on our booking page, or call (315) 982-5004. Our Glimmerglass Festival lodging page has more on the drive, the rooms and what to do between performances.
Stay at Grand Colonial Bed and Breakfast
Make this part of a perfect Central New York getaway. Our four en-suite rooms in historic Herkimer offer a quiet base for exploring the Mohawk Valley, Cooperstown, the Erie Canalway Trail, and the Adirondacks.
