No doubt, some restaurant, bar and club patrons were in for a surprise when they entered their favorite establishments earlier this month. Others were in the know. But all were in a for a treat. Throughout the month of June, the Seagle Festival took its informal preview of its upcoming season, featuring young singers gamely performing tunes and arias from this summer’s productions, on the road. It’s known as Opera Shots.
This year, Opera Shots’ stops included Summit & Spice at New Vida Preserve in Jay, The Bevy at The Lodge at Schroon Lake, Bandstand Brew Works in Warrensburg, Deer’s Head Inn in Elizabethtown, the Knights of Columbus Hall in Ticonderoga and the Lake George Club in Diamond Point.
The Seagle Festival’s 2026 mainstage season begins July 8 at its Oscar Seagle Memorial Theater in Schroon Lake with Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore. The production will run July 8-11.
This summer’s production of “Pinafore,” the Seagle’s first in more than fifty years, “will be hysterical,” said Artistic Director Darren Woods. “Think: Gilbert and Sullivan meet Mel Brooks.”
The season continues with Mozart’s “Così Fan Tutte, or The School For Lovers” – traditionally viewed as a ravishing score set to the silliest of stories – from July 22-25.
“We’re setting in the Roaring Twenties, with flapper girls and movie stars. It should be a really fun rendition of Mozart’s opera of disguises, deceptions, false fronts and trapdoors,” said Woods.
Jake Heggie’s contemporary opera “Dead Man Walking” from Aug. 5-8.
“The opera “Dead Man Walking” takes the book and the movie to another level altogether, to a spiritual level. It’s about love and forgiveness,” said Woods, who has produced the opera twice before on national stages.
The season concludes with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical “The Sound of Music,” which runs Aug. 19-22 and includes an added fifth performance because of anticipated demand.
“It’s definitely the hottest ticket in town,” said Woods. “All five performances are already all but sold out.”
In addition to its mainstage productions, Seagle Festival will present a variety of concerts and special events throughout the summer.
The festival’s annual opening concert, “Old Friends & New,” is scheduled for June 27 and will feature performances by the 2026 Seagle Festival Emerging Artists. Organizers describe the event as a traditional season kickoff that regularly sells out.
Family audiences will have an opportunity to see “Little Red Riding Hood,” a musical by Seymour Barab, beginning July 11 at the Boathouse Theater in Schroon Lake. The production also will tour several Adirondack communities throughout July.
The festival’s annual gala fundraiser is set for July 18 at the High Peak Ballroom at The Lodge at Schroon Lake. This year’s honorees are Seagle Festival alumni and supporters Nathan and Elizabeth Wentworth.
Later in the season, Seagle Festival’s fall artists will perform “Life is Happiness Indeed: The Music of Leonard Bernstein” on Aug. 29 and Sept. 4 at the Oscar Seagle Memorial Theater, with an additional touring performance Sept. 3 in Blue Mountain Lake. For more information about this summer’s schedule, visit seaglefestival.org.
