Opening on Friday, July 25 at Bard SummerScape: first fully staged American production of Smetana’s opera Dalibor, now starring John Matthew Myers and Cadie J. Bryan
(July 2025, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY) — Starting on Friday, July 25 at the 2025 Bard SummerScape festival, the Fisher Center at Bard presents the first fully staged American production of Bedřich Smetana’s Dalibor, “a work of great sweep and passion, interlaced with enchanting national melodies” (The New York Times) that is widely considered by fellow Czechs to be the composer’s most important opera. In a change of cast necessitated by visa challenges, John Matthew Myers and Cadie J. Bryanstar alongside the American Symphony Orchestra (ASO), Bard Festival Chorale, and festival founder and co-artistic director Leon Botstein in an original treatment by Jean-Romain Vesperini, the director behind SummerScape’s celebrated staging of Saint-Saëns’s Henri VIII. This was named one of the “Best Classical Music Performances of 2023” by The New York Times, which observed: “Botstein, and his annual opera production at Bard, seem more invaluable by the year.”
Starring in the title role is tenor John Matthew Myers, whose past credits include the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, and Carnegie Hall, where he recently headlined the American Symphony Orchestra’s concert performance of Richard Strauss’s first opera, Guntram, prompting The New York Times to marvel:
“The title role is a tour de force requiring the kind of unflagging power Strauss would later demand of his ‘Salome.’ John Matthew Myers delivered a bravura performance of astonishing resourcefulness and tonal beauty in the role. … Long monologues … are some of the most musically convincing passages, especially in Myers’s rendition, which brought a wealth of tone colors and emotional nuance to his narrations.”
He sings opposite the Milada of soprano Cadie J. Bryan, whose “stage presence and musical excellence” are “a delight, her shining, confident soprano easily seizing the moment and ravishing the ear” (Opera Today). Bryan and Myers head a strong cast. American soprano Erica Petrocelli, recently recognized with LA Opera’s Stern Artist Award, sings orphan girl Jitka; American tenor Terrence Chin-Loy, a Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions semi-finalist, is Jitka’s husband, the mercenary Vítek; Grammy-winning American baritone Eric Greene is Budivoj, commander of the castle guard; and Grammy-winning Chinese bass Wei Wu, previously seen in SummerScape’s King Arthur and Le prophète, is the jailor Beneš. Rounding out the cast as Dalibor’s King Vladislav is bass-baritone Alfred Walker, who drew rave reviews as Méphistophélès in last season’s semi-staged production of La damnation de Faust, when the Financial Times observed: “Walker is a staple at the festival, and it is easy to see why.” To master the subtleties of Dalibor’s Czech text, the cast – all making role debuts – worked in close collaboration with dramaturg and diction coach Véronique Firkusny, the daughter of pianist Rudolf Firkusny, one of Martinů’s dearest friends.
Dalibor runs for five performances in the Frank Gehry-designed Fisher Center on Bard’s idyllic Hudson Valley campus (July 25, 27, 30; August 1, 3). There will be an intermission toast on the opening night (July 25), and Maestro Botstein will lead a free “Dalibor in Depth” preshow opera talk at 12 noon before the first Sunday matinee (July 27). Chartered coach transportation from New York City will be available for two matinees (July 27 and August 3), and the third performance will stream live online(July 30) with an encore broadcast three days later (August 2).
To complete Bard’s operatic lineup this summer, Botstein, the ASO, and the Bard Festival Chorale also anchor Julietta by Bohuslav Martinů (August 17). Starring Erica Petrocelliand Aaron Blake, their semi-staged performance forms the final program of the 2025Bard Music Festival, which undertakes an in-depth examination of “Martinů and His World.” Once again, chartered coach transportation from New York City will be available for the performance, which will stream live online.
Smetana’s Dalibor at SummerScape
Bedřich Smetana (1824–84) has long been regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music, and his eight operas represent the bedrock of the Czech operatic repertory. Internationally he is best-known for the second of these, The Bartered Bride. However, in today’s Czech Republic, it is the third, Dalibor (1868), that is considered his most important. Loosely based on a historical episode of particular significance for Smetana and his 19th-century compatriots, whose homeland was still under Austrian Habsburg rule, Dalibor is the story of the eponymous 15th-century knight who defied feudal power, avenging the death of his best friend by instigating an uprising and killing the local military governor. The governor’s sister, Milada, initially demands Dalibor’s execution, but finds herself so impressed by his nobility that she falls in love with him, adopts a male disguise to infiltrate his dungeon, and plots his escape. Dalibor soon reciprocates her love, and their romance evokes that of Fidelio. Ultimately, however, Milada’s plan is a failure and their story, unlike Beethoven’s, a tragic one.
To mount the opera’s long overdue first staged American production, the Fisher Center at Bard turned to French director Jean-Romain Vesperini, whose previous credits include original productions for Paris Opera, Opera Hong Kong, and Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre, as well as for SummerScape 2023. Vesperini’s creative team comprises some of his most trusted collaborators, including three of those behind his “lovingly staged” treatment (The New York Times) of Henri VIII, with costumes by Alain Blanchot, sets by Bruno de Lavenère, and lighting by Christophe Chaupin. These will be complemented by video projections from Etienne Guiol, whose work, like de Lavenère’s, was featured in the opening ceremony for last year’s Summer Olympics in Paris.
Martinů’s Julietta at Bard Music Festival, Program 11
Like Smetana, the underrated Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959) wrote a three-act opera about an improbable romance that many consider his finest work. A psychological drama exploring the surreal intersection between dreams and reality, Julietta (1937) follows Parisian bookseller Michel on the search for a mysterious girl whose voice has haunted him for the past three years.
It was Botstein, who considers Julietta “an operatic masterpiece,” who helmed its American concert premiere in 2019, when he led “a winning cast and the American Symphony Orchestra in a vibrant concert performance” of the work at Carnegie Hall that was a New York Times “Critic’s Pick.” Now he and the ASO give a semi-staged performance of Julietta with three members of that same cast. Tenor Aaron Blakereprises his “endearing and sweet-sounding Michel, sung with youthful fervor and stamina” (The New York Times), opposite Dalibor’s Erica Petrocelli, who lends her “searing intensity” (Los Angeles Times) to the title role. Metropolitan National Council Auditions-winning bass-baritone Philip Cokorinos and Dalibor’s Alfred Walker both reprise their portrayals of multiple smaller roles, joined by Grammy-nominated tenor Rodell Rosel, the “stentorian bass” (The New York Times) of Kevin Thompson, and mezzo-sopranos Megan Marino, Krysty Swann, and Taylor Raven. Anchored by the ASOunder Botstein’s leadership, their concert performance forms the 2025 Bard Music Festival’s eleventh and final program, “The Opera of Dreams: Martinů’s Julietta” (August 17).
Round-trip bus transportation from New York City
Chartered coach transportation from New York City is available for the matinee performances on Sunday, July 27; Sunday, August 3; and Sunday, August 17. This may be ordered online or by calling the box office, and the meeting point for coach pick-up and drop-off is at Lincoln Center, Amsterdam Avenue, between 64th and 65th Streets. More information is available here.
SummerScape tickets
Tickets for mainstage events start at $25. For complete information regarding tickets, series discounts, and more, visit fishercenter.bard.edu. or call Bard’s box office at (845) 758-7900.
Opera at SummerScape 2025
Dalibor (1868)
Composed by Bedřich Smetana
Libretto by Josef Wenzig; Czech translation by Ervín Špindler
Sosnoff Theater, Fisher Center
Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Friday, July 25 at 6:30pm (Opening Night Intermission Toast)
Sunday, July 27 at 2pm (Pre-Performance Opera Talk with Leon Botstein at 12pm)
Wednesday, July 30 at 2pm
Friday, August 1 at 4pm
Sunday, August 3 at 2pm
The July 30 performance will stream live online at 2pm EDT, with an encore broadcast at 5pm EDT on August 2.
Round-trip transportation from New York City is available on July 27 and August 3.
American Symphony Orchestra
Bard Festival Chorale
Conducted by Leon Botstein
Directed by Jean-Romain Vesperini
Set design: Bruno de Lavenère
Costume design: Alain Blanchot
Lighting design: Christophe Chaupin
Projection design: Etienne Guiol
Hair and makeup design: Anika Seitu
Dramaturg and diction coach: Véronique Firkusny
Supertitle creation: Corinne Hayes
Dalibor: John Matthew Myers, tenor
Milada: Cadie J. Bryan, soprano
Vítek: Terrence Chin-Loy, tenor
Budivoj: Eric Greene, baritone
Jitka: Erica Petrocelli, soprano
Vladislav: Alfred Walker, bass-baritone
Beneš: Wei Wu, bass
Sung in Czech with English supertitles
Opera at 2025 Bard Music Festival, “Martinů and His World”
Julietta (1937)
Composed by Bohuslav Martinů
Libretto by Martinů, after Georges Neveux
Program Eleven: “The Opera of Dreams: Martinů’s Julietta”
Sunday, August 17
Sosnoff Theater
2pm: pre-concert talk
3pm: performance
American Symphony Orchestra
Bard Festival Chorale
Conducted by Leon Botstein
Julietta: Erica Petrocelli, soprano
Michel: Aaron Blake, tenor
Police chief / Clerk: Rodell Rosel, tenor
Man with helmet / Memory vendor / Beggar: Alfred Walker, bass-baritone
Man in window / Old Man Youth / Convict: Kevin Thompson, bass
Old Arab / Grandfather / Old sailor: Philip Cokorinos, bass-baritone
Young Arab / 1st man in blue / Young sailor / Bellboy: Megan Marino, mezzo-soprano
Bird seller/ 2nd man in blue / Fortune teller: Krysty Swann, mezzo-soprano
Fish seller / 3rd man in blue / Grandmother / Old lady: Taylor Raven, mezzo-soprano
This performance will stream live online on August 17 at 3pm EDT.
Round-trip transportation from New York City is available for this performance.
All programs subject to change
SummerScape 2025: other key dates
Until August 16
Spiegeltent: live music and dancing
July 11–13
Theater: Jubilee
(new SummerScape commission; work in progress)
August 8–10
Bard Music Festival: Martinů and His World
Weekend One: A Musical Mirror of the 20th Century
August 14–17
Bard Music Festival: Martinů and His World
Weekend Two: Against Uncertainty, Uniformity, Mechanization: Music in the Mid-20th Century
Lead support for the Bard SummerScape production of Dalibor has been provided by Sarah Billinghurst Solomon. The Fisher Center is generously supported by Carolyn Marks Blackwood and Gregory H. Quinn, Jeanne Donovan Fisher, the Martin and Toni Sosnoff Foundation, Felicitas S. Thorne, Andrew E. Zobler, the Advisory Board of the Fisher Center, Fisher Center members and general fund donors, The Shubert Foundation, the Smokler/Hebert Family Fund, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. The Bard Music Festival is generously supported by Helen and Roger Alcaly, Kathleen Vuillet Augustine, the Bettina Baruch Foundation, Jeanne Donovan Fisher, the Marstrand Foundation, the Naughton-Chesley Gift Trust, Denise Simon and Paulo Vieira da Cunha, Felicitas S. Thorne, the Wise Music Family Foundation, the Bard Music Festival Board, and Bard Music Festival members.