During her evening at the Library, Francesca Zambello, acclaimed director and Artistic & General Director of The Glimmerglass Festival, will offer a glimpse into the upcoming production of John Corigliano and William Hoffman’s The Ghosts of Versailles. This “grand opera buffa” braids together three distinct worlds: a present-day world of ghosts, an opera-within-an-opera and scenes from the French Revolution, starring the ghosts of Marie Antoinette, her favorite playwright Beaumarchais, and favorite characters like Figaro and Count Almaviva. Join us for a lively discussion about this opera filled with cultural and historical allusions, offering a look at what might have happened had history taken a different course.

For those interested in purchasing tickets to see the production (running 4-8 December 2019 at the Royal Opera at the Château de Versailles), please visit this link.

Francesca’s work has been seen at the Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, Palais Garnier, ​Opéra Bastille, ​Teatro alla Scala, the Bolshoi, Covent Garden, the Munich Staatsoper, New York City Opera, Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, English National Opera and more. She has staged plays and musicals on Broadway, at the Royal National Theatre, BAM, the Guthrie Theater, Vienna’s Raimund Theater, the Bregenz Festival, Sydney Festival, Disneyland, Berlin’s Theater des Westens and at the Kennedy Center. Francesca was Artistic Advisor to Washington National Opera, and later became Washington National Opera’s Artistic Director. She received the San Francisco Opera Medal for Artistic Excellence for her more than 30 years of artistic contributions to the company, including serving as Artistic Advisor from 2006-2011. Francesca has been awarded the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for her contribution to French culture, and the Russian Federation’s medal for Service to Culture. Her theatrical honors include three Olivier Awards, two Evening Standard Awards, two French Grand Prix des Critiques, Helpmann Award, Green Room Award, Palme d’Or in Germany and the Golden Mask in Russia. An American who grew up in Europe, she speaks French, Italian, German and Russian.

There will be a reception in Francesca’s honor at the Library after the talk. All are welcome to attend.