BINGE TIME: The true crime craze hits Saratoga *{ say cheese! scenes from the ultimate saratoga summer }
S U MMER 2 021
T HE CIT Y. T H E CULT U R E. T H E LIFE.
Free
FLIP Edition!
Owen Wilson’s Fan Frenzy an Ode to horse racing’s ‘Sunny Jim’ Fitzsimmons MARVEL AT ALL OUR LINKS TO SUPERHERO BLOCKBUSTERS
BRAVO!
60 years Of
Opera Saratoga
exclusive
trinity mouzon wofford & issey kobori SA R ATO GA ’ S YO UNGEST P OWER CO UP L E R ETURNS HOME .
by will levith saratogaliving.com | @saratogaliving
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starting gate contents | summer 2021 features 26 AFTER THE GOLDE RUSH
BY WILL LEVITH p h o t o g r a p h y by
H AN N AH KUZNIA
34 HOT TOWN
BY NATALIE MOORE p o r t f o l i o by
SA M AN T H A DECKER
40 DREAM WEAVER
BY NATALIE MOORE
42 TRUE CRIME SARATOGA
44 P OD GOALS BY ABBY T EGNELIA
46 C OLD CASE CO LLEGE BY W I LL LEVI TH
48 U N S OLVED MYSTER IES: SPA C I T Y EDI TION BY N ATALI E M OOR E
50 K I LLER BU SI N ESS PL AN BY W I LL LEVI TH
golden girl After cofounding wellness/ superfood brand Golde while living in Brooklyn, Trinity Mouzon Wofford has returned home to Saratoga with her fiancé and business partner, Issey Kobori.
52 C RI M E JU N K I E S BY ABBY T EGNELIA
54 EVERYTHING’S SUNNY IN SARATOGA
When you’re in business, sometimes you have to move quickly to make things happen. Your
BY BRIEN BOUYEA
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{
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contents | summer 2021
}
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34
First turn 15 ICYMI: Owen-mania 16 Panel: The Inside Scoop 15 17 Made in Saratoga: The American Bar and American Bankers Associations 17 The Other Saratoga: Saratoga, Wyoming 18 Power Player: Marc C. Conner 19 Anniversary: SUNY Empire State College 20 Government: The Commissioner SUMMER Public Safety DELIGHT 21 Hot Date: National Eat Your Vegetable Day 22 Pop Culture: Avengers, Assemble...in Saratoga! 24 Book Club: 3 Hot Summer Beach Reads with Cool Local Ties
SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION
82 OPERA
SARATOGA AT 60 From the pages of . . .
An Advertorial, Courtesy of Old Mill Road Media
65 66 70 73 76
Fashion: SPAC Style, Two Ways Hunger: Potato Salad Punch-out Thirst: The Spirit of Saratoga Design: AnnBritt Newey What to Do: Summertime, Unmasked
79 Horseplay Crossword: Park Place Overheard
Photo Finish 80 #TBT: Lawn Patrol
An Advertorial, Courtesy of Old Mill Road Media
THEATER COMPANIES AND MUSEUMS IN THE BERKSHIRES ARE READY AND WAITING FOR YOU BY ANASTASIA STANMEYER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE
The excitement is palatable as the summer season comes into focus. Preparations have been thoughtful and thorough—and a year in the making. It’s a whole new world as our cultural venues welcome audiences back in person to what will largely be outdoor performances, with some stunning exhibitions and shows opening indoors. And, oh, we are so ready.
SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION MAGAZINE
“There’s so much new happening this summer; it’s a time for great experimentation,” says Pamela Tatge, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival’s executive and artistic director.
All Berkshire cultural venues in neighboring western Massachusetts are going in-person (with plenty of online offerings still), and what’s even more exciting is that they’ve fully embraced the outdoors. Stages and exhibition spaces have become infinite in their physicality: the trees, the sky, the rubble, the Berkshire hills; a pathway, a barn, an expansive reflective pool, a stream all play a role in these productions.
BERKSHIREMAG.COM
MAY/JUNE
M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 1
FROM THE PAGES OF BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE
BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE
58
STAYS FRESH THRU JUNE 2021 $4.95 “Under the Trees,” Ballet Hispanico on Jacob’s Pillow’s outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage, by Christopher Duggan, courtesy of Jacob’s Pillow
berkshiremag.com
BKMJ21 COVER.indd 1
5/21/21 5:33 PM 4/26/21 1:18 PM
The Clark also is heralding the outdoors for its own summer season with Claude & François-Xavier Lalanne: Nature Transformed.
Claude Lalanne, Pomme-bouche d’Alan (Alan’s Apple-Mouth), 2009, at the Clark Art Institute.
Claude Lalanne (1924–2019) transformed familiar plants and animals into lyrical and sometimes surreal creations, while François-Xavier Lalanne (1927–2008) turned his fascination with the mysterious inner life of animals into abstracted and refined sculptural forms that often concealed a practical function. Nature Transformed is presented in the Clark’s Michael Conforti Pavilion and in The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown outdoor locations, and Nikolai Astrup: will hold one of three outdoor socially distanced world premieres for WTF. Its first Visions of Norway will open June 19. production, Row (July 13 to August 8) is Enchanted: A History of Fantasy a musical by Daniel Goldstein and Dawn Illustration, the new summer exhibition at Landes, inspired by A Pearl in the Storm the Norman Rockwell Museum in by Tori Murden McClure, the first woman Stockbridge, includes more than 100 and first American to row solo across the works of original art created by more than Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1999. Outside on Main: Nine Solo Plays by Black 50 artists. The Rockwell’s annual gala “We already know what the minimum is,” says Williamstown Theatre Festival (WTF) Artistic Director Mandy Greenfield. “It’s now more a manifestation of the expansiveness of what we are capable of doing. For us, it’s being at the Clark and being outdoors, connecting and reconnecting to the natural world.”
058-063_SL_Summer2021_StrattonSwap.indd 58
Playwrights will have their world premieres on the front lawn of the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance from July 6 to 25, with director/playwright Robert O’Hara as guest curator. An immersive theatrical experience performed around Williamstown of Alien/Nation happens July 20 to August 8. Two-time Tony® Award nominee Michael Arden will direct.
opening the show is June 12. An “Artist Symposia” Zoom programs will be on June 18, when curator, Jesse Kowalski, will give an overview of the exhibition, and June 19 is an “Epic Adventure” panel with artists Alessandra Pisano, Donato Giancola, and Gregory Manchess. There will also be in-person artist master classes through the summer, as well as “Meet the Artist” Zoom programs. The Rockwell is opening an outdoor exhibition on July 10 that will feature works inspired by the exhibition’s themes of classical and contemporary myths. Hancock Shaker Village (HSV) in Pittsfield is exhibiting James Turrell & Nicholas Mosse: Lapsed Quaker Ware, where visitors will see a body of work that manifests a new perspective on light through its absence. A simultaneous presentation of the ceramics collection is at MASS MoCA in North Adams in a contemporary setting. And in a series of pop-up installations titled Unexpected, HSV will explore the thoughts and work of some of today’s most creative designers who are influenced by the Shakers—Gary Graham, Tory Burch, and Thomas Barger. Also this summer, HSV opens a new trail buried deep in the woods, which will lead to additional archaeological remains of Shaker building foundations. Other highlights include the Back Porch concerts, beginning with singer-songwriter Sean Rowe on June 12 and Chester@ Hancock, which features three works by the Chester Theatre Company—a first for Hancock Shaker Village.
“We felt like we couldn’t take another summer away,” says Daniel Elihu Kramer, producing artistic director of Chester Theatre. “We’re committed to Chester, but it’s also possible to expand our presence and think of shoulder seasons happening elsewhere. This is an interesting chance to explore that.”
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Abby Tegnelia
BINGE TIME: The true crime craze hits Saratoga *{ say cheese! scenes from the ultimate saratoga summer }
CEO
Will Levith
THE C I TY. THE C U LTU R E . THE LI F E .
SU MM E R 2021
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Free
FLIP
Edition!
Owen Wilson’s Fan Frenzy
an Ode to horse racing’s ‘Sunny Jim’ Fitzsimmons
MARVEL AT ALL OUR LINKS TO SUPERHERO BLOCKBUSTERS
BRAVO!
60
years Of Opera Saratoga
exclusive
trinity mouzon wofford & issey kobori SARATO GA’S YO U NGE ST P OW E R CO U PLE RE T U RNS HO M E .
by will levith saratogaliving.com | @saratogaliving
ON THE COVER
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
DIRECTOR OF CONTENT SENIOR DESIGNER
SPORTS EDITOR
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
FASHION EDITOR
EDITOR AT LARGE
EDITORIAL INTERN
Trinity Mouzon Wofford and Issey Kobori, photographed by Hannah Kuznia exclusively for saratoga living. Shot on location at Kobori’s parents’ home in Stillwater, NY.
Kathleen Gates Natalie Moore Linda Gates Brien Bouyea Francesco D’Amico Katie Dobies Dori Fitzpatrick Hannah Kuznia Corinne Sausville Susan Gates Rose Merjos
WRITERS
Karen Bjornland, Tony Case, Field Horne Katie Navarra, Daniel Nester, Tom Pedulla PHOTOGRAPHERS
Kyle Adams, Terri-Lynn Pellegri Susie Raisher
Wedding Ready Booking Winter 2021 & Spring 2022
Annette Quarrier PUBLISHER
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saratoga living 422 Broadway, Suite 203 Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 Volume 23, No.3 Summer 2021 Copyright © 2021 Empire Media Network, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission from Empire Media Network, Inc. All editorial queries should be directed to editorial@saratogaliving.com; or sent to 422 Broadway, Suite 203, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. saratoga living assumes no responsibility for unsolicited submissions.
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⁄ SUMMER 2021
Anthony R. Ianniello CHAIR
Abby Tegnelia PRESIDENT/CEO
Tina Galante CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
www.saratoganationalevents.com | 518.306.2333
WHAT’S YOUR FLAVOR?
F R O M T H E e d i to r
Summer in the City s I’m sure you can tell from checking out our latest cover of saratoga living, it was photographed outside. CEO Abby Tegnelia, Director of Content Natalie Moore and I were all on hand for the shoot, and though we practiced social distancing with our cover subjects and photographer, all three of us were unmasked the entire time. It feels strange writing that, because just a few short months ago, that would have been neither safe nor acceptable. But with millions of New Yorkers vaccinated—I got my painless Pfizer double-dose in Utica—it’s now a whole new ballgame. Instead of sickness, optimism is spreading rapidly throughout Saratoga and beyond, and many of the longest-standing COVID restrictions have either been removed or loosened. My fingers are crossed that that’ll spell good news for attendance levels at Saratoga Race Course. And, at press time, it’s already allowed the Saratoga Performing Arts Center to not only host the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival and a limited run with the New York City Ballet again, but also bring back Live Nation acts like Trey Anastasio and the Dave Matthews Band. In other words, the Saratoga Summer is practically back to its old, awesome self. Let’s toast its return (and continued health) with a turmeric-matcha latte, courtesy of our cover stars Trinity Mouzon Wofford and her fiancé, Issey Kobori, Saratogians and cofounders of the über-successful superfood wellness/beauty brand, Golde (page 26). Also, we’re exploring the addictive world of true crime, highlighting some of the area’s most confounding we’ve got you covered Editorial Director Will cold cases and the investigators Levith and Golde Co-founder Trinity Mouzon Wofford working doggedly to solve at saratoga living’s cover shoot in Stillwater. them (page 42). And we landed an interview with Skidmore College’s head honcho, President Marc C. Conner, who has brought welcome change to the campus, even during a global pandemic (page 18). We’re also slinging beach reads, ice cream cones and summery cocktails, because, you know, “summer” can also be used as a verb. Remember: None of this came easy. We all had to make sacrifices to reach this much more hopeful side of the pandemic. So get out there and safely enjoy this Saratoga Summer a little more than you usually do, OK? You deserve it.
Will Levith
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
@Mediawill
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@willlevith
Your Ice Cream Shop FOR A GREAT ICE CREAM EXPERIENCE try any of our creative ice cream flavors in a cone, milkshake, sundae or float. Get a Scoop Club card at our ice cream counter and earn FREE ice cream at any Stewart’s Shop!
FROM THE CEO
Comeback Summer
N
ABBY TEGNELIA CEO @abbytegnelia
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ALYSSA SALERNO
ew York City Ballet, Trey Anastasio, Man of La Mancha—I’m loaded up with tickets already, and this summer is just getting started! Not only am I personally a lifelong fan of live anything (going all the way back to childhood and my attendance of a magnet school for the arts), but, supporting the nonprofit art scene is integral to saratoga living’s core culture as well. And, man, did this team miss going to live performances last year. Thank goodness for all of the new show announcements we’ve been getting in our inboxes! What an exciting time. Our yearly publishing of the classical season program for our partners at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) is back after last year’s hiatus, but it will look a little different—stay tuned!). It’ll also be the second year we put together a SPAC “digest,” in which we have room to cover all of the nonprofit’s important initiatives that take place throughout the rest of the year. Flip to the middle of this magazine to find a 16-page Opera Saratoga extravaganza. Not only does this amazing company perform—yup—opera, but this summer they are bringing a rousing Broadway musical to town. And this fall, they are launching a musical therapy program that is truly life-changing for families who have a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease. Opera Saratoga is the first opera company in the country to commit to offering this full time! Yet another (huge) reason to be proud to be a Saratogian. I can’t sign off without mentioning the magazine’s own parties and events. Not only are we continuing our traditional bashes (we’ll be kicking off the Saratoga Summer on June 3 at Putnam Place), but we’re starting better together CEO Abby Tegnelia a new series as well. Our first such event will bring this and Lawrence Edelson, general and artistic issue’s true crime package to life with a mini-convention director of Opera Saratoga, have teamed of sorts, on June 17, including a fast-paced live broadcast up to publish a 16-page, 60th anniversary to true crime fans across the country and a live panel opera extravaganza in this issue. of esteemed guest speakers. We’ll be doing more of these kinds of activities going forward, so make sure to sign up for our newsletter or keep your eye on our social media for more information. We all had more than enough time to rest during lockdown—let’s have a jam-packed summer! Thank you to everyone who has ever purchased a ticket to one of our events and visited our website. And especially, to you, for reading our magazine right now. These actions help support local journalism and are so appreciated by all of us at saratoga living.
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Located in the beautiful foothills of the Adirondacks, Brookhaven Golf Course is “not your ordinary walk in the woods.” The course itself has its own distinct personality and challenges, making it fun for golfers of all abilities, and the onsite restaurant, The View at Brookhaven, serves up affordable favorites such as chicken parmesan and shepherd’s pie with, you guessed it, a view.
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COPAKE COUNTRY CLUB
44 Golf Course Rd, Craryville
“Public Golf, Private Quality” is the motto of Copake Country Club, a 160-acre, 18-hole golf course nestled in the foothills of the Berkshire and Catskill mountains. Celebrating its 100th anniversary this summer, Copake features pure greens and meticulously maintained terrain, more than 15 different membership rates, weekday specials for local service workers, discounted twilight packages and a rustic-chic restaurant overlooking the fairways.
The Capital Region’s Ultimate Golf Guide
518.325.0019 | copakecountryclub.com
CRONIN’S GOLF RESORT
Golf Course Rd, Warrensburg
Cronin’s Golf Resort has proudly been serving New York’s North Country for more than 75 years. Five generations of Cronins have operated the resort, which, located on the Hudson River, is known for its breathtaking views of the Adirondacks. Spend an afternoon playing Cronin’s 18-hole, par 70 course, or stay for the whole weekend in one of the resort’s motel units or cottages.
THERE’S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT: GOLF IS SUPER-HOT RIGHT NOW. The sport owes its new life—believe it or not—to the pandemic. Last summer, while we couldn’t sit at a bar without ordering food, and we couldn’t go see our beloved musicians at SPAC or go to our county fairs, we could hit the local links and play a round of golf, all while enjoying the sunshine and being able to take our masks off! So, this summer, saratoga living and CAPITAL REGION LIVING are celebrating the courses that got us through the darkest days of quarantine, from Columbia to Warren counties. And while you’ll certainly have plenty more activities to keep you busy this year, don’t forget that you made it through lockdown, and these golf courses helped you do it. See you on the green!
518.623.9336 | croninsgolfresort.com
PIONEER HILLS GOLF COURSE
3230 Galway Rd, Ballston Spa
Nestled between the majestic pines and abundant wetlands in Western Saratoga County, Ballston Spa’s Pioneer Hills Golf Course is perfect for players of all levels. In addition to its 18-hole, par 70 course, Pioneer Hills has outdoor seating with lunch served daily and a fully stocked bar for all your beverage needs. Friday night scrambles begin at 5pm…call the pro shop at the number below to join in the fun.
518.885.7000 | pioneerhillsgolf.com
SARATOGA LAKE GOLF CLUB
35 Grace Moore Rd, Saratoga Springs
Saratoga Lake Golf Club is a par 72 public golf course located in the heart of a lush forest just outside of Downtown Saratoga Springs. It’s one of the most relaxing courses in Upstate New York; every round takes players past sparkling ponds, beautiful wetlands and views of Saratoga Lake. Post-round, golfers can enjoy drinks, snacks or dinner on the spacious patio or deck of The Hideaway, the club’s onsite restaurant.
518.581.6616 | saratogalakegolf.com
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WOLFERTS ROOST COUNTRY CLUB
120 Van Rensselaer Blvd, Albany
Conveniently located just minutes from Downtown Albany, Wolferts Roost offers unparalleled views of the Berkshire Mountains and the exciting vistas that are traditionally found in Upstate New York. Above all, Wolferts Roost is a family club that provides members with a wide variety of sporting, social and culinary experiences for all ages in a safe and luxurious environment.
518.449.3223 | wolfertsroost.com
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saratogaliving.com 13
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(filming) ALYSSA SALERNO; (farmers' market) HANDSOME COCK FARM
I
f you’re on social media and live in Saratoga, it was hard to miss the frenzy surrounding actor Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers, Marley & Me, Cars) shooting scenes for his new independent film, Paint, this past April. Members of the Facebook group “What’s Going On, Saratoga?” feverishly tracked the star’s movements, posting photos of him at Spot Coffee and James & Sons Tobacconists, speculating on where he might be at any given moment, and superimposing a photo of his face on Saratoga’s now-famous, black-and-white duck, “Panda” (the other object of the group’s obsession this past spring). Even Wilson’s manager took notice of the coverage, procuring a local teen and self-proclaimed Owen superfan an autograph from the star. The plot of the comedy follows Carl Nargle (Wilson), a Bob Ross–like character straight out of the ’70s, who has hosted Vermont’s No. 1 painting show on public television for 27 years. As his station’s ratings drop and a young, better painter threatens to edge him out, hilarity ensues. A release date has yet to be announced, but it’s probably safe to say that when the movie does come out, the premiere at Saratoga’s Bow Tie Criterion Cinemas will be nothing short of a packed house.
ICYMI
Owen-mania! SARATO GA WATC H ED — Q UIT E INT ENT LY— AS A- L IST ER OW EN W IL S O N F IL MED S C ENES AL L OVER T H E S PA C IT Y F O R H IS L AT EST MOVIE, AND S ERVED UP A D O S E O F H O L LY WO O D G L AM IN T H E P RO C ES S .
paint rush (clockwise, from left) Actor Owen Wilson at James & Sons Tobacconists on Broadway; filming a scene for Paint at the intersection of Division Street and Railroad Place; Wilson at the Spa City Farmers’ Market with Stephanie Marotta (left) and Lisa Mitzen.
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{ first turn } PANEL
The Inside Scoop
1
2
3
LOCA L ICE CREAM TI TA N S TE LL AL L.
4
M ADE IN SARATOGA
Our Power of Associations
QUESTIONS What is your go-to order at your ice cream shop? What is your favorite other place to get ice cream?
SARATO GA WAS T H E B IRT H PL AC E O F NOT O NE, B UT T WO IMPO RTANT NAT IO NAL PRO F ES S IO NAL O RGANIZ AT IO NS . n BY NATAL IE MO O RE
T
What is your least favorite ice cream flavor?
urns out Saratoga is all about health, history, horses…and associations. The American Bankers Association, founded here in 1875, provides critical support to US banks as they perform their vital role in energizing the economy and helping communities thrive. And the American Bar Association, established in the Spa City three raising the bar years later, has become the largest voluntary The American Bar and association for lawyers in the world, serving as American Bankers the legal profession’s national mouthpiece. associations got their By no means did 19th-century Saratoga start in Saratoga in have an overly concentrated population of the 1870s. lawyers and bankers. Instead, the associations’
What is your favorite ice cream– related story?
Annette Osher,
founders chose our resort town to host their inaugural meetings because of Saratoga’s sprawling convention centers, which were constructed during the post–Civil War era; grand hotels, which could accommodate massive numbers of conventiongoers; proximity to and ease of travel from metropolitan areas such as New York City, Boston and Philadelphia; and, of course, the city’s mineral springs, racetrack and social scene. “There is something to come here for besides the American Bar Association,” said Henry Wilbur Palmer, Pennsylvania’s attorney general from 1879-83, “and the meeting of the Association affords a very convenient excuse to come to Saratoga.” Sure, both associations were able to coax myriad professionals from all corners of the country to join, thanks to the prize that is the Spa City. But sorry, Mr. Palmer, you got one thing wrong: You most certainly don’t need an excuse to come to Saratoga.
FARMER’S DAUGHTERS’ DRIVE-IN 1 Death By Peanut Butter Sundae 2
Brenda Jennings, HUMPTY DUMPTY ICE CREAM & SUBS
A chocolate cone dipped in chocolate 1
I don’t really go much of anyplace else except Stewart’s, in the wintertime. 2
My least favorite is coffee, but that’s one of our customers’ favorites. 3
During the night, the soft serve machine goes on a stand-by cycle, so it keeps the mix cold but not frozen. We got broken into one time, and before we could get there, the police officer pulled down on the handle to get an ice cream cone, and the liquid sprayed all over him. 4
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THE OTHER SARATOGA
5 Things to Know About Saratoga, Wyoming
Stewart’s
There is none. I make 40 homemade flavors, so I have to taste them all. I don’t sell flavors I don’t like. 3
People show up on Mother’s Day to tell me, in tears, that they’ve just come from the cemetery and had to stop in because their best memory as a child was their mom, who is no longer with them, bringing them to get ice cream here.
4
Saratoga is located between the Sierra Madre and Snowy mountain ranges, making it a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts. The North Platte River, known for its blue-ribbon trout fishing, passes right through town and features several public access fishing spots.
4
Gary Dake, STEWART’S SHOPS 1
Vanilla malt
Osteria Danny has some delicious, restaurantmade gelatos. 2
Cotton Candy. It’s too sweet for me! 3
I had some chili pepper ice cream made for a Cinco de Mayo party at my house. Everybody tried it, but few finished it! 4
1
To get to the town of Saratoga, WY from the state capital of Cheyenne, you travel about two hours west-northwest through Albany County.
2
The town’s name was derived from the Iroquois word Sarachtoue, which translates to “place of miraculous water in the rock,”
and for good reason: It’s home to multiple public and private mineral hot springs.
3
For more than 30 years, Saratoga was home to a quarter-mile horse racing event that featured two-horse teams pulling chariots (think harness racing, but with two horses). In 2017, the town discontinued the event, and
present tents Saratoga Hot Springs Resort offers guests the option of soaking in tepeecovered hot pools or the 70-foot-long mineral hot springs pool. a new equine sporting event took its place: the Saratoga Skijoring Races, which involve a skier being pulled around a course by a horse.
5
Other annual events include Saratoga’s Ice Fishing Derby (held on Saratoga Lake), the Woodchopper’s Jamboree and Rodeo (yes, woodchopping and a rodeo), and the Steinley Cup Microbrew Festival (the winning microbrewery goes home with the coveted Steinley Cup). The Upper North Platte River Valley, in which Saratoga is located, is known as the “Good Times Valley.”
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{ first turn } conner role “A campus is a microcosm of the country and of the globe, and diversity is the world that we live in,” says Skidmore College President Marc C. Conner, who has been a longtime advocate for diversity and inclusion on college campuses. “Diversity is how we learn.”
many of which spilled onto campuses, and a polarizing presidential election in November, and you had nothing short of an academic powder keg. For Marc C. Conner, the chaos also marked his few months on the job as president of Skidmore College.
Change Agent
M A R C C. CONNER BECAME PRESIDEN T O F SKI DM O R E DURING ONE OF ITS MOST TUMULTUOUS YEARS IN HISTORY– A N D HIS WORK DESERVES NOTH ING SH O RT O F 4 . 0. BY N ATA LIE MOORE photo g r a p h y by FRANCESCO D’AM I C O
L
ast spring was a doozy, to say the least. The pandemic hit in March, forcing thousands of college students in the State of New York to work the remainder of their semesters remotely—and
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seniors, to graduate via Zoom. With no students on campus for a spell and pundits calling into question the value of higher education-via-iPad, colleges took a financial beating. It would’ve been a difficult time for any administrator to navigate on any campus. Add in social justice protests,
Conner, a native of Tacoma, WA, was first hired as an assistant professor of English at Virginia’s Washington & Lee University in 1996, where he’d work for the next two plus decades, rising to the post of provost and chief academic officer by 2016. Last year, he packed up and moved north to Skidmore in time for his first day on July 1, 2020. The following month would not only be the beginning of Conner’s first academic year as a first-time college president, but also his and his wife’s first as empty nesters (Conner and his wife, Barbara, who met in junior high school and married in 1989, had just sent their youngest of three sons to the University of Richmond). Despite all of the personal and worldwide upheaval, Conner hit the ground running as soon as he arrived on campus, unveiling a mission that
INSTAGRAM/SUNY EMPIRE STATE COLLEGE
P OWER PL AYER
“In the wake of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor... [we] put our effort into action steps, things that [would] make a palpable, noticeable difference in the community now.”
spoke directly to his strengths and the times. A longtime advocate for on-campus diversity and inclusion and founder of Washington & Lee’s African American Studies program, Conner quickly implemented a yearlong Presidential Initiative for Racial Justice that, to date, has established a Board of Trustees Committee on Diversity; has overseen the hiring of two new diversity-related positions; and brought speakers, workshops and bias training sessions to campus. “I was not going to arrive and say we needed a year of listening before we took action,” Conner says. “I said, ‘In the wake of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor— where we’re at in the summer of 2020—we’re going to put our effort into action steps, things that will make a palpable, noticeable difference in our community now.’” Of course, Conner was doing all this while simultaneously preparing the college to reopen following the initial statewide lockdown. Safely reopening for in-person instruction required a lot of creativity. (For example, the college set up nine outdoor tents in which professors could hold socially distanced classes.) And it wasn’t cheap; to date, Skidmore has also spent more than $3 million on COVID testing alone. Seemingly against all odds, though, Skidmore managed to pull off an academic year that had some semblance of normality, at least for those students who chose to return to campus. And it did so without too many setbacks: Between August and May, the college administered 80,000 COVID tests that resulted in just 94 positives. While COVID certainly taught Conner and the Skidmore faculty what a successful virtual model looked like, it also reinforced how important the college’s in-person, hands-on learning model has been. “[If you’re going to] a small college, it’s all about community,” says Conner. “We need to get off of these screens and be able to sit across from each other. That’s going to be wonderful.”
by th e n u mb e r s: SU N Y E mp ir e Stat e Col l ege
89,000 Degrees awarded since Empire State College’s inception in 1971
50
Percentage of the student body that works full time
35
Percentage of the student body that works part time
40 Percentage of the
student body that is a first-generation college student
67
Percentage of the student body who is between the ages of 25-49
400
Current students that serve on active duty as members of the US armed forces
empire state of mind SUNY Empire State College offered remote learning opportunities for students long before the internet existed.
ANNIVERSARY
College, Reinvented
CELEBRATING SUNY EMPIRE STATE COLLEGE’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY IN 50 WORDS.
N
early 50 years before the COVID-19 pandemic forced colleges to go virtual, SUNY Empire State College, a Saratoga Springs–headquartered pioneer in accessible higher education, welcomed its first remote students. Today, the college still offers affordable, individualized, hybrid online/in-person degree programs to students at any stage of life or learning.
“This may be precisely the time to start such a new college—a non-campus institution— that would not depend on the rigidity of the calendar or class schedule but on the creativity of the student, with faculty serving not as academic managers but as mentors.”
—SUNY Chancellor Ernest L. Boyer, founder of Empire State College, speaking in 1970
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{ first turn } GOVERNMENT
Commissioner of Public Safety
THE HE A D OF SARATOGA’ S LARGEST MU N I C I PA L D E PA RTM E N T H AD ADDED PRESSURE T H I S T E R M . BY N ATA LIE M OORE
E
ver since the City of Saratoga Springs voted to keep its commission form of government in November 2020, saratoga living has been homing in on the duties of each of the city’s five commissioners. In this issue, we’re getting to know the commissioner of public safety.
The Public Safet y Commissioner runs: • The Police Department • The Fire Department • Emergency Management • Traffic Control • Animal Control • Code Enforcement The Public Safet y Commissioner oversees: • Approximately 200 employees (compared to the mayor’s department, which has 30 employees)
robin’s hood Current Commissioner of Public Safety Robin Dalton with Saratoga Police Chief Shane Crooks (left) and Fire Chief Joe Dolan.
• A budget of about $26 million (compared to the mayor’s department, which has a budget of $2.57 million) In a t ypical ye ar, the Public Safet y Commissioner… • Works on particular safety issues at hand and the initiatives he or she campaigned upon During COVID, the Public Safet y Commissioner als o… • Had the daunting task of implementing the city’s COVID response and emergency management plan
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26% ower Caulifl
any of you have been forced to sit at the table until you’ve eaten every last one of your peas… and it shows, at least in the results of saratoga living’s latest Instagram poll. In advance of National Eat Your Vegetables Day on June 17, we polled our 27,000 followers about their favorite veggies and the ones that caused them the most childhood mealtime pain. Here’s what they said:
y 19% Celer
M
Sar atoga’ s Top 1 0 L e ast Favor ite Vege tab l e s 1. PEAS 2. MUSHROOMS
ts 81% Carro
ini zucch
67%
h 33%
squas
h 79%
spinac 1%
kale 2
7% uts 5
Spro ssels
Bru
3% agus 4
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{ first turn }
Summer inSaratoga
MICKEY ROURKE, a Schenectady
native and Oscar nominee, plays Ivan Vanko, the electric whip–wielding Russian antagonist in Iron Man 2.
Shop our Equestrian Jewelry Collection at www.dJoriginals.com/equestrian on the scene (from top) A scene from The Punisher shot in Albany; the Avengers’ Upstate New York facility; Black Widow may make an appearance in Albany in her upcoming film.k
ZAZIE BEETZ
ZAZIE BEETZ, who portrays the P OP CULTURE
Avengers, Assemble… in Saratoga!
extraordinarily lucky superhero Domino in Deadpool 2, cut her teeth onstage at Skidmore College (she’s graduated in 2013).
O UR RE G ION ’S MANY CONNECTI ONS TO T H E M A RV E L CIN E MATI C UNIVERSE. n BY N ATA LI E M O O R E
Y
ou don’t need to be a genius like Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man) to know that Marvel Studios struck gold when it began adapting its popular superhero comic books into interconnected blockbuster films and streaming TV series. But it doesn’t hurt to have a friendly, neighborhood magazine like saratoga living to key you in on all of Marvel’s connections to Saratoga and the greater Capital Region.
fantastic three Schenectadian Mickey Rourke and former Skidmore students Zazie Beetz and Jon Bernthal all play characters in the MCU.
MICKEY ROURKE
The Actors
Any fictional world as large as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is going to need to employ myriad actors and actresses to portray all of its superheroes, villains and sidekicks. Not one, not two, but three actors with Capital Region ties have found their way into the MCU.
JON BERNTHAL
JON BERNTHAL turned heads in the Skidmore theater department (so what if he didn't graduate?)—and then bashed a few in as tough guy Frank Castle (a.k.a. the Punisher), first on Daredevil, then The Punisher, both of which were Marvel/Netflix series. The SCENES
The Capital Region has hosted many a film crew throughout the years—see Seabiscuit and Salt, for example—and is often portrayed, in theatricals set in New York City, as this far-flung, otherworldly place “upstate.” Marvel’s crews have gotten in on the action, too. • Speaking of The Punisher, the series filmed scenes for its second and final season in Albany in 2018. • In several MCU films, characters visit an Avengers facility in Upstate New York. Its location is such a secret that scenes at it weren’t actually filmed upstate. • Rumor has it that sure-shot summer blockbuster Black Widow, which stars Scarlett Johansson and hits movie theaters July 9, will
feature a cameo by the Albany Police Department—though it’s unclear whether it’ll be our Albany Police Department or that of the same-named Georgia city, near which the scenes were filmed. True fans will have to wait until the end credits to find out.
The ProDucer
Maybe the strongest connection between Marvel and the Capital Region comes courtesy of a sensational Saratogian. Former Marvel Studios Founding Chairman David Maisel, a Saratoga native, played a major role in launching the MCU itself, serving as executive producer for a string of original MCU movies, including Iron Man (and its sequel), The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. Maisel also has some superpowers of his own: He helped grow Marvel from a company worth a reported $400 million in 2003 to the one purchased by Disney for $4 billion just six years later. david and goliath Producer David Maisel helped make Marvel the massive, multibillion-dollar company it is today.
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{ first turn } BOOK CLUB
3 Hot Summer Beach Reads with Cool Local Ties G RAB YOUR TOWEL, SUIT AN D T H E SE GR E AT B O O KS F R O M SA R ATO GA AU T H O RS . BY WI LL LE V I T H
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All Girls by Emily Layden Layden, a Saratoga High School grad and the daughter of an awardwinning author—has published a real summer page-turner about nine young women navigating life at a prestigious New England prep school whose administration is in the process of covering up a scandal. In other words, Gossip Girls meets Big Little Lies.
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Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad
Between Two Kingdoms is a heartbreaking work of staggering genius by Saratoga native Jaouad, who survived leukemia, lived to tell the harrowing tale, and went on a lifeaffirming journey afterwards. Have that packet of Kleenex at the ready.
Letters to a Future Champion: My Time with Mr. Pulver by Dottie Pepper Find out how a star was born. Famed LPGA golf great and Saratogian Pepper penned this book about the time she spent learning from her late mentor, local golf legend George Pulver, Sr.
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what’s in a name? Trinity gets her middle name, “Mouzon,” from her grandmother Mia’s surname. The Mouzon House, which is now a restaurant, was purchased by Wofford's great-grandmother in 1919 and was one of the houses where Trinity lived, growing up in Saratoga.
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after the golde rush E N T R E P R E N E U R S T R I N I T Y M O U Z O N WO F F O R D A N D I S S E Y KO B O R I H AV E R E T U R N E D H O M E T O S A R AT O G A A F T E R C O N Q U E R I N G T H E WO R L D O F A F F O R D A B L E W E L L N E S S . W H AT ’ S N E X T ?
BY W I L L L E V I T H p h oto c r a p h y by
HANNAH KUZNIA
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he story of Golde begins with love. If you she says. “She was was ahead of her time, being all-organic can believe it, 28-year-old Trinity Mouzon and focusing on nonprocessed foods. One of my earliest Wofford and her same-aged fiancé, vocabulary words was ‘partially hydrogenated fats,’ so I’ve Issey Kobori, met for the first time in a been [reading] labels on packages for most of my life.” Saratoga Springs preschool. Of course, The future couple wound up at separate high schools— this was almost a quarter century before Wofford at Saratoga, Kobori at Schuylerville—and didn’t the would-be engaged couple would formally meet again until their senior year. That happened at cofound wellness and beauty brand New Visions, a one-year, quasi-pre-pre-med program for high Golde, which in a little over three years, has transformed schoolers who hope to someday break into the medical field them into Millennial superstar entrepreneurs, landing them (they both wanted to be doctors). Upon graduation, Wofford on Forbes’ coveted “30 Under 30” list and eventually getting went off to New York University (NYU), while Kobori attended their products on the shelves of Target. Union College. But he quickly became restless being so While the couple technically launched their business in close to home and transferred to NYU. “Trinity actually Brooklyn, where both lived for years before recently returning didn’t want me to come there,” he says, half-jokingly. “She home, their success story is indelibly connected to Saratoga— was having a great time, but it was either that or Columbia, and puts a big red checkmark next to and I liked downtown more.” Though two of the city’s unofficial buzzwords: they were initially worried they might “history” and “health.” Both Wofford turn into that couple—you know, the and Kobori grew up here; Kobori, who one that follows each other around was born in Japan, landed here when everywhere like puppy dogs—in he was two and his family settled on the end, it was the right decision. the west side, while Wofford, born in New York City was the perfect fit. Florida and here since she was two as well, lived mainly on the east side. nd the City is where they Even as toddlers, the two had a lot stayed, post-graduation, in common: For starters, they both living together in a onegrew up in artsy households that bedroom apartment in Brooklyn’s emphasized healthy living and eating. trendy Williamsburg neighborhood and Kobori’s dad worked at Four Seasons’ picking up their first day jobs, Wofford longtime Phila Street location (#RIP), in internet marketing, Kobori at an while the Woffords, both musicians— artisanal tableware company and then her mom, a singer-songwriter, her dad, at a menswear startup he launched. a bassist and former member of jazz But nothing sustains a budding young love Trinity Mouzon Wofford (third entrepreneur’s motivation quite like fusion group Spyro Gyra—frequented row, far right) and Issey Kobori (second row, personally experiencing a need you the health food shop, becoming second from left) first met in preschool. think you can meet. Wofford’s mom regulars there. Later on, Wofford’s was suffering from an autoimmune disorder called rheumatoid mom and aunt even opened their own natural goods store, arthritis, which causes excruciating joint pain. After regularly Eco Verde, on Broadway. While Kobori spent his childhood seeing a holistic physician, she saw great improvement, but on Division Street—his parents later relocated to a sprawling the staggering costs were simply unaffordable. And a light property nestled in the countryside of the Stillwater area— bulb went off for Wofford and Kobori: They would create a Wofford says some of her fondest memories are from living wellness brand that anyone could have access to and afford. in one of Saratoga’s most historic, iconic houses. “A significant Golde was launched in 2017, their first product a latte blend amount of my childhood was spent at 1 York Street, which is made with turmeric, a type of superfood her mom had been now the Mouzon House,” says Wofford. “My great-grandmother using to curb her inflammation and that is also known to have purchased it in 1919, and she lived there until her death. My skin rejuvenation and pro–gut health qualities. “I was really grandparents then lived there, and my mom and I lived there thinking about this place of accessibility within the wellness for a time, so that was a really special place for me.” Speaking space,” says Wofford of her tonic, which retails for only $26 of her late grandmother, Mia Mouzon—hence Trinity’s middle for a 30-day supply. “That’s really critical. I was looking at the name—she was an I-am-woman-hear-me-roar pioneer herself; wellness space and feeling that it was speaking to a narrow in 1947, she became the first woman of color to graduate from perspective, especially given that so many of these incredible Skidmore College, and was a true inspiration to Wofford, superfoods were coming from cultures outside of the west, especially when it came to cofounding her business. “She and there’s really not a whole lot of awareness. As a business imparted a lot of wisdom to me about health and wellness,"
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ISSEY KOBORI
ISSEY KOBORI
a
6 questions
for golde’s co-founders
Trinity Mouzon Wofford and Issey Kobori talk summer in Saratoga Springs.
1
Are you planning on hosting a postpandemic wedding in Saratoga? Issey: It’s all up in the air now; we saw so much incredible growth in our company in 2020 that the wedding planning just got pushed to the side. But we’re both getting pretty tired of the word “fiancée/fiancé.”
2
How are you planning on spending your Saratoga Summer? Trinity: We have a big gardening project going on at my mom’s house on Caroline Street. We’ve been out in the backyard clearing things out, building walls, and we’re about to plant a vegetable garden.
3 What’s your Spa City guilty pleasure?
Trinity + Issey: Soft serve from Humpty Dumpty, Roma’s Italian subs and lemon bars from Putnam Market.
4
When you’re working on Golde, which artists tops off your playlist? Trinity + Issey: Jazz artists Pat Matheny and Lee Morgan, and Zamrock (an eclectic Zambian genre that merges psych rock, garage rock, R&B and a number of other types of music)
5
If you could change one thing about Saratoga, what would it be? Trinity: There should be a walking path from Downtown Saratoga to Yaddo, and it should run all the way out to Saratoga Lake.
6
golde standard “We weren’t really aiming to become a massive company overnight,” says Golde cofounder Issey Kobori. “We were just focused on getting our stuff out there, growing in a sustainable way and moving forward.”
What’s the first thing you’ll do when COVID is finally over? Trinity: I’ll get on a plane and go somewhere international again. Our last trip was to Southern Italy in October 2019, when we got engaged.
that was started by two people of color, we wanted to make sure we were building a brand through that lens.” Kobori, who serves as Golde’s creative director, says that in the early years of the brand, he and Wofford were designing and packaging everything themselves. They were also “pounding the pavement,” getting their products placed in like-minded, independent retail shops and cafes in the City, while also selling them directly to consumers on their website. “We weren’t really aiming to become a massive company overnight,” he says. “We were just focused on getting our stuff out there, growing in a sustainable way and moving forward. I don’t think we ever felt any pressure to succeed.” Their early business plan took a page out of Kobori’s parents’ own company’s playbook—his mom and dad own the Schuylerville-based Kobo Candles—which focused more heavily on getting their products on store’s shelves versus solely having an e-commerce presence. Of course, as children of the digital/social age, Wofford and Kobori had the latter wrapped up early on, as well as a blackbelt in social media, but they wanted customers to actually see their products in the wild. “From an early point,” Wofford says, “folks had this sense that they were finding us everywhere.”
t
he couple has since expanded the Golde line to include everything from wellness-specific products (a matcha powder additive for lattes and smoothies; and superfood blends like the whimsically titled Shroom Shield, which features cacao and two types of mushrooms and acts as a dietary supplement) to beauty-minded ones (Golde sells a Papaya Bright Face Mask and Green Detox Kit). Wofford and Kobori work with a range of manufacturers across the country and source their superfoods from vendors all over the world. Their matcha, for instance, comes from the Uji region in Japan, known, historically, as being a hub for the plant’s production. The beauty business, on the other hand, evolved out of the wellness one in a completely organic way, explains Wofford. “I was dealing with breakouts on my skin and was truly desperate to find [a solution],” she says. “So I ended up [exploring] Golde’s product development cabinet of superfood powders and started putting stuff on my skin, and it was one of those early combinations that made a difference.” It was a fortuitous moment, too, because by late 2018, beauty behemoth Sephora came calling, inking a deal with the couple and making Wofford the youngest Black woman to launch a beauty line there in its history. Golde has also forged partnerships with major retailers such as Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters and as of January, its biggest-get yet, Target. “The most magical moment of the whole process was going to our local Target and seeing Golde on the shelves for the first time,” says Wofford. “It’s displayed with a nice little shelf-topper with a picture of my face on it. I think the girl stocking the shelves heard me audibly yelp and
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“the most magical moment of the whole process was going to our local target and seeing golde on the shelves for the first time. the girl stocking the shelves heard me audibly yelp and just walked away.”
just walked away.” (Golde’s products are currently in 460 Targets across the country, including the Clifton Park location; keep your eye out for Saratoga placement in the future.) There’s no denying that the pandemic has helped put wellness front of mind for many folks, which was helpful to Golde. This year alone, they’ve launched four new products with a top-secret fifth one— a powder-based natural beauty booster, says Wofford—set to be unveiled just days after this story hits newsstands in early June. So far, the couple have chosen not to work with outside investors, and instead expand at a pace that’s organic to them.
on Zoom with would-be business owners. She’s clearly proud of having made it through the startup phase and doesn’t mind showing off her scars: She didn’t take a salary for the first three-and-a-half years Golde was in business. “I think that transparency is something that’s missing from the entrepreneurship space,” she says. “The sexiness around female entrepreneurs in the past 10 years was very glamorous and was really about seeing these women posed up on these magazines with their arms folded, looking like bosses. That’s great, but I’ve found that I wanted to go one step deeper, because when I was starting my business and that was all I had to see as a blueprint, there was no talk of what really happened t’s not lost on the couple to get from point A to B. And that was that their story is a relatively what I really wanted to talk about.” uncommon one today, Like countless other US brand especially given the color of their leaders, Wofford and Kobori have also skin. “There are always challenges been faced with the particularly difficult doing this as a woman, young person, task of addressing, head on, timely and person of color and a Black person,” sensitive subjects such as the murder says Wofford of her place in the of George Floyd last May and the rise world of entrepreneurship. “But there in hate crimes against Asian people. are also just challenges to doing it. I The pandemic itself, too, was a tough think that I’ve always known to just nut to crack. “We have approached these conversations the same way push through those things, whatever we have approached everything that challenge was and whyever it matcha, man Wofford and Kobori want in our business: with transparency, happened to be impacting me.” She their products—like their Matcha Turmeric authenticity and humility,” says Wofford. takes that a step further. “In the new Superfood Latte Blend—to be accessible to That has come in the form of personal climate that we’re seeing with this and affordable for everyone. notes to customers, as well as the movement to support Black-owned brands, there are more retailers reaching out [to us], more founders helping to raise thousands of dollars for the NAACP customers on our website and more press pieces. With that, Legal Defense Fund. “I think that is really what the modern I think it’s this balance of leaning into the opportunities but consumer is looking for from the brand that they support,” also being thoughtful about which ones feel meaningful and says Wofford. “They expect brands to act as if there were real intentional, and which ones aren’t looking to fill a quota.” people behind them, because there are.” Now that Golde has gone national, Wofford feels she For most businesses, getting a product or product line in has a responsibility to mentor prospective BIPOC/female a retailer like Nordstrom or Target would be a pot-of-gold-atentrepreneurs, who might be looking for their breakthrough the-end-of-the-rainbow goal. So what happens when you’ve moment, too. “I felt that growing up and being one of the few already realized that dream? “We’ve done a tremendous people of color graduating from my high school,” says Wofford. amount of work to redefine what wellness looks like for the “There was always this pressure to be representative, and next generation,” says Wofford. “Before we started, there were now there is this added layer of how I can pass that forward. no wellness brands talking about inclusivity or accessibility. And now we see that as a pillar across the industry, and I I’ve tried to do that as much as I can for entrepreneurs in think we can continue to push the category forward. I think general, really.” Case in point: Wofford has a free business we can have our products in every American household.” mentorship video series on her Instagram, searchable by the In other words, look out, world. hashtag #office_hrs, and also hosts private Mentor Mondays
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ISSEY KOBORI
i
Portfolio
Hot Town M I D D L E S C H O O L T E AC H E R A N D P H OTO G R A P H E R
sun’s out, tongues out Fireworks over Saratoga Springs on the Fourth of July; (inset) retired racehorses Red Down South (left) and Zippy Chippy at Old Friends at Cabin Creek.
SAMANTHA DECKER CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF THE SARATOGA SUMMER. BY N ATA L I E M O O R E
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T
CREDIT
here’s something special— some would say magical—about summer in Saratoga. The Congress Park ducks carelessly stopping traffic on Broadway, the possibility of winning big on a $2 bet at the track, singing along to Dave Matthews Band at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), cutting a rug on the Miller Lite–soaked dance floor at The Horseshoe... summer lovin’ it all comes together to (clockwise, from top) create an electric energy “I love walking up and down that’s somehow, at once, Broadway and capturing both exciting and relaxed. the cars driving by with There’s so much to do, the historic buildings in but no one is in a rush to the background,” says do it. It’s almost as if, when photographer Samantha you’re in Saratoga, the city Decker; the gardens at happens to you, and you’re Yaddo; the Spirit of Life just along for the ride. statue in Congress Park; That’s the feeling sunrise over the Reflecting Pool at the Spa State Park; Saratogian Samantha SPAC from above. Decker (@samintoga) expertly captures in her
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photography. Her secret weapon: She loves a Saratoga summer as much as anybody. A middle school French teacher by day—or should we say winter, spring and fall— Decker has the summers off. “I love walking up and down Broadway and capturing the cars driving by with the historic buildings in the background, and then heading to Congress Park,” she says. “The state park is like its own universe with so many areas to explore, and the track gives me a chance to work on my action photography. But my favorite place to shoot is actually the Oklahoma Training Track. I go there in the morning to photograph the horses and exercise riders, and it’s so quiet and peaceful, save for the sound of hooves on the track.” Decker also shoots horses away from the track, too, at Old Friends at Cabin Creek in Greenfield Center and Nipper Knolls Equine Center in Granville. When she sells a print of a horse from either nonprofit, she donates 100 percent of her profits to the organization. That’s another thing about summer in Saratoga: The city has so much to offer, but its residents? They’re always ready to give right back.
day at the spa (clockwise, from top left) One of Saratoga’s mounted police officers on Broadway; the carousel in Congress Park; Saratoga Race Course, as seen from a helicopter; Saratoga Lake, from Waterfront Park; exercise riders at the Oklahoma Training Track; seats in the SPAC amphitheater; the Spit and Spat fountain in Congress Park; Decker working on her action photography at Saratoga Race Course; the SPAC amphitheater; an old car on Broadway.
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artisan
Dream Weaver S C O U T WOV E N ’S M O RG A N FA R R E N TA K E S F I B E R A R T T O T H E N E X T L E V E L . B Y N ATA L I E M O O R E hen Morgan Farren was pregnant with her daughter, Scout, she searched long and hard for a statement piece for the nursery. The Queensbury resident couldn’t find anything that she absolutely loved, so she ended up taking matters into her own hands. After watching a few online tutorials, Farren created her very first piece of fiber art—a woven wall hanging—and with that, Scoutwoven was born. Farren produces her Scoutwoven weavings on a loom—the Niskayuna native has upwards of 20 of them in all different sizes—and implements an array of techniques to produce different patterns using fibers such as yarn, velvet and jute (a rough fiber normally used to make twine or rope). When the weaving part is complete, Farren attaches the finished product to a wooden rod and adds fringe to the bottom. A lot of fringe. “I’d definitely say I’m known for my fringe,” she says. “It’s something people see, and they know it’s me. Velvet and fringe are my big things.” So where can people see Farren’s wares? Mostly on Instagram, where her account, @scoutwoven, has more than 20,000 followers. (Weaving is huge on the social network; the hashtag #weaversofinstagram has more than 756,000 posts.) In addition to creating custom pieces for her clients, Farren also sells colorful fibers to other weavers online. “During the coronavirus, people were home and looking for something to do,” she says. “My shop exploded.” There’s no question that Farren has “made it” in the world of weaving, but does her first creation, the one she hung in her now 4-year-old daughter’s room, still make the cut? Well, does a warp yarn run longitudinally on a loom? Yes, the answer is yes.
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leave it to weaver Morgan Farren’s daughter, Scout, with the wall hanging her mother made for her nursery; (opposite) Farren has sold her woven wall hangings at pop-up shops in West Elm’s Albany and Brooklyn locations.
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POD S L A GO ince fewer traditional newspapers can afford to have full-time investigative teams spending months on long-lead stories (remember the Oscar-winning movie Spotlight?), podcasts have taken over to indulge our sweet tooth a good whodunit. And nowhere is this more prevalent than in the super-popular, -addicting genre of true crime, which has a major presence right here in Saratoga Springs and the Capital Region. Podcasters have become this generation’s super-sleuths, spending months and sometimes years digging into cases, many of which have long
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podcast of characters (clockwise from top left) Podcasters Phoebe LaFave of Upstate Unsolved, Lance Reenstierna and Tim Pelleri of Crawlspace, and Josh Hallmark of True Crime Bullsh** have dug up some major Capital Region cold cases.
gone ice cold. Audio episodes can then be listened to on demand in your car or on your smartphone while you toil away in the kitchen or stay up late on a Saturday night. By turning the heat back on a case, not only does it honor a longforgotten victim’s memory, but also could lead to new clues or even real-life arrests. Enter the cases of Sheila Shepherd,
the victim of Saratoga’s only unsolved homicide, which took place in 1980, and Suzanne Lyall, a SUNY Albany student who was born in Saratoga and disappeared in 1998. Shepherd’s case was the subject of a seven-part series by the popular podcast Crawlspace (it garners between 400,000 and 500,000 downloads a month), while True Crime Bullsh** (more than 600,000 downloads a month), which focuses on the infamous serial killer Israel Keyes, puts together a fascinating two-parter on the likelihood that he’s responsible for Lyall’s disappearance. “Podcasting is a different way to shine a spotlight on a case,” says Lance Reenstierna, who co-hosts Crawlspace with partner Tim Pilleri. “It’s not TV, where a three-hour interview is cut down to a seven-minute news segment. We do a full deep dive, pushing the envelope while being respectful and responsible.” Josh Hallmark of True Crime Bullsh** feels that same duty to not sensationalize any of these stories, instead toiling away doing exhaustive research on missing persons (many of whom are from right here in the Capital Region) while also forging relationships with some of their families. “Consuming true crime as a medium has some ethical gray areas,” he says. “I want to talk about these things, tell a story and investigate a case, rather than just read off facts. If we can find one missing person or find out what happened to someone’s loved one, that’s amazing.” Phoebe LaFave couldn’t agree more. Her first 10-episode season of Upstate Unsolved, which aired on iHeartRadio’s WGY, was entirely dedicated to Lyall’s case and earned her the Outstanding Podcast award from the New York State Broadcasters Association. (She has since moved on to a job in the communications department at SUNY Adirondack.) “Even though I’ve moved on from broadcasting, I’ll never move on from Suzy’s story,” LaFave says. “I know this case will be solved. My podcast will always be there. Ten years from now, someone could find it and listen, and maybe remember something that leads to a tip. That’s why the medium is so important.”
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case studies Dr. Christina Lane (left) teaching a class at The College of Saint Rose’s Cold Case Analysis Center; (inset) the FBI’s “Missing Person” poster for Saratogian Suzanne Lyall, who disappeared in 1998.
who serves as an advisor. “The center gives students a learning platform outside of the classroom, where they can work on real, live cases and [gain] experience working side by side with police agencies,” says Dr. Kunkle. In some instances, the program can reap major rewards, as was the case with the unsolved mystery of Catherine Blackburn, a 50-year-old Albany woman the time, manpower or resources to who was found murdered, sexually follow up on every single case. Add in assaulted and mutilated in 1964. “We 250,000 unsolved murders, a number identified evidence in that case that we that increases by 6,000 every year, and used new technology on to extract DNA you have countless lifetime’s worth of from,” says Dr. Kunkle. unsolved mysteries. The team was then able But thanks to the threeSUZANNE G. LYALL to create two new DNA year-old Cold Case profiles that have since Analysis Center at The been uploaded to CODIS College of Saint Rose in (or the Combined DNA Albany—the only one of its Index System), a national kind in New York State and database. If either ever one of just six nationally— gets a hit, it could blow the Lyall’s and other area cold case wide open. cases have been given Of course, the program new hope of being solved. is not a total free-for-all: They’re being The center is the brainchild of Dr. supervised and guided by Dr. Lane. But it Christina Lane, a criminal behavior and n March of 1998, I was a isn’t anything like normal coursework. “It’s criminology professor at Saint Rose, senior at Saratoga Springs not a class, there’s no textbook; students’ who serves as its director; and Dr. High School, counting down expectations are ever-changing to Christopher Kunkle, a veteran forensic the months until graduation. what’s needed,” she says. “It’s like, now psychologist and criminal investigation That’s around the time the it’s time for you to take everything you’ve consultant, now based in South Carolina, news broke about the disappearance learned in criminal justice and forensic of fellow Saratogian Suzanne science and apply it. You’re working Lyall. On the night of March 2, here; you’re not a student.” Lyall, who was a student at SUNY Now, if you’ve ever binge-watched Albany and just a year older than CSI, you know that most of the fictional me, left her job at Crossgates Mall, cases get solved by the end of the hopped on a CDTA bus and was show. Unfortunately, that’s not how never seen or heard from again. reality works. “Many people ask me, Sadly, more than two decades ‘Well, have you solved a case yet?’ later, Lyall still hasn’t been found, and I’m like, ‘That’s not the purpose and it has become infinitesimally more difficult to find her given [of the program],’” says Dr. Lane. “We the annual statistics: a staggering can’t dream up how to solve a case 600,000-plus people go missing like Sherlock Holmes. The main thing doctor whodunit The College of Saint Rose’s every year in the US. Though is for students to feel useful in the Cold Case Analysis Center is the brainchild of many are located right away, community and feel like they can Drs. Christina Lane and Christopher Kunkle. local investigators don’t have make a difference.”
D L O C CASE GE E L L O C
March 2, 1998 Albany, New York
DESCRIPTION
Date(s) of Birth Used: April 6, 1978 Hair: Light brown with highlights
Height: 5'3" Sex: Female
Place of Birth: Saratoga, New York
Eyes: Blue
Weight: 175 pounds Race: White
REMARKS
Suzanne Lyall has a light brown birthmark on her left calf, a mole on her left cheek beneath her ear lobe, and a surgical scar on her left foot. Lyall was last seen wearing a long black trench coat, a black shirt, and blue jeans. She was carrying a black book bag or tote bag. Lyall was known to be an avid computer user and enjoyed spending time conversing online.
DETAILS
Suzanne Lyall was last seen on the evening of March 2, 1998, at approximately 9:20 p.m., as she departed her place of employment at the Crossgates Mall in Guilderland, New York. Lyall was known to have boarded a Capital District Transit Authority bus heading to Collins Circle at the State University of New York (SUNY), at Albany, New York, where she was a student. It is believed that she exited the bus at Collins Circle at approximately 9:45 p.m. and has not been seen since that time. If you have any information concerning this person, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.
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and scene The 1980 crime scene from the Sheila Shepherd murder; (inset) Sheila Shepherd.
scene makes sense.” Callahan is now the lead investigator on Shepherd’s murder case, Saratoga’s only unsolved homicide to date. “The detective division was looking to have somebody take a fresh look at it,” he says, “and I just happened to know the case from my parents talking about it, so I volunteered.” That was seven or eight years ago, per Callahan’s recollection. Since then, he’s examined all the case files left by the original investigators in the ’80s, interviewed leads and even got the case on the popular true crime podcast Crawlspace in an
omething that makes Saratoga Springs such an appealing place to live in is its low violent crime rate, with one devastating exception. On November 25, 1980, 22-year-old mother Sheila Shepherd was found gagged and tied to her bedframe in her Church Street apartment. There were no marks on her body that indicated a struggle had taken place, except for a stab wound in her stomach that was determined to have occurred at least 30 minutes after Sheila died. Forty-one years later, Investigator Chris Callahan of the Saratoga Springs Police Department is still trying to make sense of it all. “The way that she’s left, the way that we think the killer would chris craft Saratoga Police investigator have accessed the residence, Chris Callahan has been working to solve the the sheer number of suspects…” 41-year-old Sheila Shepherd cold case. starts Callahan. “Nothing in the
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effort to reach a broader audience of listeners. “You hear about these cold cases,” Callahan says, “where the new investigator opens it up, and there’s some glaring hole in the investigation, and you’re like, ‘Eureka!’” These [investigators] didn’t have that. There was really no stone left unturned.” There are some holes in the investigation, but by no fault of the original detectives. For starters, one of the last places Sheila is thought to have been seen alive was in Downtown Saratoga on a Saturday night— and witnesses (of questionable sobriety) were hard-pressed to remember if they’d seen her that night or the night before or the weekend before that. Also, the video surveillance and DNA-testing technology available in 1980 were nowhere near as effective as they are today. For Callahan, the investigation is even more difficult, given the decades that have passed since the crime. “It’s by far the most challenging case that I’ve ever worked on,” he says. “When you first start looking at people you want to interview, a lot of them are no longer living. And people’s memories are hazy.” But despite the fact that more than 40 years have passed, people haven’t forgotten Shepherd. “I’ve gotten to know Sheila’s remaining family members and her loved ones from the time,” Callahan says. “There are still a lot of interested parties, and I feel an obligation to at least give the case my best shot and hopefully get some closure for everyone.” If you have information regarding the death of Sheila Shepherd, please contact the Saratoga Springs Police Department at (518) 584-8477.
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strand and deliver Prior to founding DNA Investigations in Saratoga, Tobi Kirschmann worked on the Golden State Killer case in California.
R E L L KI S S E N I S U B N A L P
ttention local crime scene investigators: Want to thaw out some decadesold cold cases and maybe solve a few in the process? Saratoga has just the woman for you: veteran criminalist/forensic scientist and owner of the new company DNA Investigations, Tobi Kirschmann. What makes her qualified to be our area’s real-life Catherine “CSI” Willows? Kirschmann spent nearly a decade in California’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) unit, working on the notorious Golden State Killer case. Her and countless others’ work eventually ended in the apprehension and life sentencing of Joseph James DeAngelo, a former police officer who admitted to killing 13 people and committing 50 rapes in the ’70s and ’80s. By the time DeAngelo was cuffed in April 2018, however, Kirschmann had already moved eastward to Saratoga, ready to share her expertise with Capital Region
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law enforcement and citizens alike. Without, er, splitting hairs, California investigators had used a cutting-edge process called genetic genealogy, which involves comparing forensic evidence collected at a crime scene to the growing public database of DNA information that companies like Ancestry.com and 23andMe.com have harvested from people like you and me. Putting the infamous Golden State Killer behind bars made the case’s lead investigator, Paul Holes, a superstar in some circles, and the writer who gave the criminal his moniker, Michelle McNamara, received posthumous fame via her book and HBO miniseries, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark. “This field,” Kirschmann says, “is moving forward like wildfire.” Kirschmann was so intrigued by the new science that she immediately took a genetic genealogy class at Boston University, then wound up doing a yearand-a-half-long stint at the Forensic Investigation Center in Albany—though, at the latter, no one was using anything close to the modern techniques involved in genetic genealogy to solve cold cases. So Kirschmann started a thinktank there on the subject, but when COVID hit, priorities shifted away from it. That was when Kirschmann decided to take matters into her own hands. Despite genetic genealogy being a potential Rosetta Stone for cold cases across the US, it hasn’t really caught on yet. “No state has this brand-new way of looking at DNA,” notes Kirschmann. This is due to all the usual suspects: governmental red tape, education problems and budgetary constraints. Paradoxically, she says, it’s also the speed with which genetic genealogy helps solve crimes that makes it difficult for states to swallow. Many have long, drawn-out protocols that investigators need to follow in order to close a case,
gene genie Veteran criminalist and forensic scientist Tobi Kirschmann has launched Saratoga’s DNA Investigations to put her genetic genealogy skills into practice.
and this is basically the law-and-order equivalent of Monopoly’s “go directly to jail” card. “It’s overwhelming for them,” says Kirschmann. “They’re going to have to build all of the teams to go get these [perpetrators],” she says. And quick, because it would likely take investigators only a few months to track them all down using genetic genealogy. At press time, Kirschmann was facing an uphill battle; she was still looking for her first private client in Saratoga. (In addition to her potentially enormous contributions to law enforcement, she also does adoption research, background checks and genealogy reports for civilians.) But she’s not sitting around idly waiting for business to hit her inbox: At press time, she had sent out a letter to every county in New York State, pitching her genetic genealogy consultancy, and had already heard back from Saratoga County District Attorney Karen A. Heggen. What Kirschmann’s trying to sell states on isn’t bunk: Ohio’s Cuyahoga County, for example, recently launched its Genetic Operations Linking DNA (GOLD) unit, which is using genetic genealogy to hunt down its most wanted cold case rapists. In other words, if you’ve been on the run for committing a crime and unwittingly left DNA evidence at the scene of the crime, your days of freedom are numbered, punk. Tobi Kirschmann will see to that.
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club meddle The Saratoga True Crime Club, which boasts 120 members, gets together to talk about cold cases and other true crime– related topics.
ateline and America’s Most Wanted go back a lot longer than COVID-19, of course, but there’s no question that true crime exploded during lockdown, as millions of bored TV watchers around the world discovered the addictive nature of a juicy true crime docu-series. Meanwhile, a tiny but mighty group here in Saratoga was way ahead of the game. These citizen sleuths could recognize Keith Morrison’s voice anywhere and feel no embarrassment fan-girling over top true crime podcasters. These guys (OK, mostly gals) are the real deal.
True crime is so popular these days that a lot of cities have sprouted groups that listen to a favorite podcast (looking at you, My Favorite Murder) and have happy hours to “discuss” it (but really just have drinks with like-minded folks). The Saratoga True Crime Club, however, has leveled up so much that it boasts members (meetings have been online since the beginning of lockdown) as far away as the Midwest and Canada. They’ve made appearances on live broadcasts, signed NDAs for a still-top secret research project, and brought in actual homicide detectives, all in the name of keeping victims’ memories alive–and scratching a certain problemsolving itch that’s hard to explain to the uninitiated. “Everybody watches Netflix at home, or listens to podcasts alone in the car, so it’s good to have a space to talk about
murder inc. Saratoga True Crime Club Founder Marcella Hammer also serves as “Resident Unicorn” for the Palette co-working space.
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it with others,” says Marcella Hammer, founder of the club, which boasts 120 members, about 20 of whom don’t ever miss a meeting. “People can get nerdy and awkward when talking about these topics–how do you talk about a serial killer without feeling uncomfortable? But when you watch these shows, you’re learning something cool, and with a little guidance you can go even deeper.” The club came about simply because people really like true crime. As Resident Unicorn (her actual title) at the Palette co-working space, Hammer is in charge of member programming, and she started the group because so many new members mentioned their love of true crime in their on-boarding survey. (Non-members have never had to pay to attend meetings, although that could change in the future.) To give you a taste of what some meetings are like, one of the club’s most well-attended evenings featured Detective Chris Callahan, the investigator on Saratoga’s only unsolved homicide case. Family members of the victim, Sheila Shepherd, showed up at the last minute, too. “Callahan is an incredibly good person who really wants to solve the case,” Hammer says. “I think he was nervous with Sheila’s family members there. Sheila’s Aunt Terrie [Boisseau] has been instrumental in keeping the case in the news, and it was incredible to have her there. It helped bring home the humanity of who Sheila was.” Hammer doesn’t hide the fact that she herself is a victim of a violent crime, and thus feels passionately about crime awareness and keeping women safe. “I want to know about the people, the victims,” she says. “How do we make sense of all of this?”
Tim Pilleri & Lance Reenstierna from CRAWLSPACE Josh Hallmark from TRUE CRIME BULLSH**
DNA SPECIALIST Tobi Kirshmann Dr. Christina Lane & Dr. Christopher Kunkle from the COLD CASE ANALYSIS CENTER at the College of St. Rose
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legend
EVERYTHING’S
SUNNY I N S A R AT O G A ‘SUNNY JIM’ FITZSIMMONS R AC I N G H O N O R S T H E L E G AC Y O F A H A L L O F FA M E T R A I N E R .
fox and friend Trainer James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons with 1930 Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox at Saratoga.
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BY B R I E N B O U Y E A
ack Fitzsimmons wanted to find a way to both honor his famous grandfather and have a little fun in the Thoroughbred racing game, and maybe even win a few races along the way. Then just like that, the idea of “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons Racing was born. Founded in 2012 in honor of the late Hall of Fame trainer James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons, the Saratoga Springs–based racing partnership has been everything Jack hoped it would be. “Not everyone has a knowledge of what my grandfather accomplished and what he meant to racing, especially as more time continues to pass,” says Jack, one of Sunny Jim’s 17 grandchildren and the managing partner of the syndicate. “The racing partnership was a way to keep his name in the sport. That was the first motivation, and it was important to me. He loved racing so much, and he’s such a big part of its tradition. We’ve been able to introduce some new people to the game, and all the experiences so far have been very positive for us.” Born in New York City in 1874, Sunny Jim was one of the most accomplished and beloved trainers in American history. After spending about a decade as a jockey, he went on to win a documented 2,275 races as a trainer, including 13 Triple Crown races (a record since surpassed by D. Wayne Lukas and Bob Baffert). The popular trainer was also the first to train two Triple Crown winners, sweeping the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes with Gallant Fox in 1930 and Omaha in 1935 (only Baffert has since won the Triple Crown twice). At Saratoga Race Course, Sunny Jim set records for the most wins in both the Saratoga Cup (10) and Alabama Stakes (eight) and won just about every other major race at the Spa, including two editions of the Travers.
jack’s pop “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons (right) with his grandson, Jack, the managing partner of the syndicate, “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons Racing.
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In 1958, Sunny Jim was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Still ranking among the elite trainers in the Sport of Kings when he retired in 1963, he served as grand marshal for the centennial celebration parade of Saratoga racing’s founding that summer. He died three years later at the age of 91. “Summer in Saratoga has always been a big tradition for the family,” says Jack. “We’ve always had about 10 houses on Lake Desolation near Saratoga with all the aunts and uncles and everybody coming together there for big gatherings every year, and of course, we love being at the track.” The racing partnership was a natural extension of those family traditions. Jack worked at Saratoga Race Course during the summers of his college years while attending the University of Notre Dame. He drove tractors between races, painted fences and barns, and learned other aspects of the sport along the way. Later, while stationed at Fort Lewis near Seattle during his time in the Army, Jack also worked as a clerk at Longacres Racetrack. When he attended law school, he doubled as a security guard at Maryland tracks Bowie, Pimlico and Laurel. And although he went on to spend 28 years as an attorney for State Farm, Jack also held a trainer’s license, winning races in Maryland, as well as Delaware Park, Atlantic City, Penn
P E R S P E C T I V E
smile high club (from top) “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons Racing’s most successful horse, Hannah’s Smile; Hannah’s Smile in the winner’s circle at Aqueduct Racetrack.
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jim beams Sunny Jim on the cover of Turf and Sport Digest in May 1958, the year the trainer was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Y O U R
National and Charlestown, among others. “When I was in the Army, I’d be done by about three in the afternoon, and then I’d sell tickets at the track at night,” he says. “When I worked for State Farm, I was fortunate to be able to set my own time and work with the horses in the morning and have them in races at night and on weekends. It was demanding, but I’ve always been in racing and loved it. It’s in the blood.” “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons Racing’s most successful horse to date has been New York–bred Hannah’s Smile, who won or placed in 10 of 14 starts and earned $227,795 before being retired last year. She is now in foal to New York stallion War Dancer. At press time, one of the partnership's horses, Win With Pride, had nabbed a win and place at Belmont already, and Jack was hoping to have partnerships together for Saratoga as well. “We’re always interested in welcoming new people to racing ownership,” says Jack. “We make it fun and affordable. My grandfather loved what he did, and he always had a smile for everyone. It didn’t matter if you were some millionaire horse owner or a stable groom. He loved people and the atmosphere of racing. That’s really at the heart of what we do. I think he would have been proud of ‘Sunny Jim’ Racing.”
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SUMMER DELIGHT
THEATER COMPANIES AND MUSEUMS IN THE BERKSHIRES ARE READY AND WAITING FOR YOU BY ANASTASIA STANMEYER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE The excitement is palatable as the summer season comes into focus. Preparations have been thoughtful and thorough—and a year in the making. It’s a whole new world as our cultural venues welcome audiences back in person to what will largely be outdoor performances, with some stunning exhibitions and shows opening indoors. And, oh, we are so ready.
MAGAZINE BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE
“There’s so much new happening this summer; it’s a time for great experimentation,” says Pamela Tatge, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival’s executive and artistic director.
BERKSHIREMAG.COM
MAY/JUNE
M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 1
All Berkshire cultural venues in neighboring western Massachusetts are going in-person (with plenty of online offerings still), and what’s even more exciting is that they’ve fully embraced the outdoors. Stages and exhibition spaces have become infinite in their physicality: the trees, the sky, the rubble, the Berkshire hills; a pathway, a barn, an expansive reflective pool, a stream all play a role in these productions.
“Under the Trees,” Ballet Hispanico on Jacob’s Pillow’s outdoor Henry J. Leir Stage, by Christopher Duggan, courtesy of Jacob’s Pillow
berkshiremag.com
The Clark also is heralding the outdoors for its own summer season with Claude & François-Xavier Lalanne: Nature Transformed.
Claude Lalanne, Pomme-bouche d’Alan (Alan’s Apple-Mouth), 2009, at the Clark Art Institute.
Claude Lalanne (1924–2019) transformed familiar plants and animals into lyrical and sometimes surreal creations, while François-Xavier Lalanne (1927–2008) turned his fascination with the mysterious inner life of animals into abstracted and refined sculptural forms that often concealed a practical function. Nature Transformed is presented in the Clark’s Michael Conforti Pavilion and in The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown outdoor locations, and Nikolai Astrup: will hold one of three outdoor socially distanced world premieres for WTF. Its first Visions of Norway will open June 19. production, Row (July 13 to August 8) is Enchanted: A History of Fantasy a musical by Daniel Goldstein and Dawn Illustration, the new summer exhibition at Landes, inspired by A Pearl in the Storm the Norman Rockwell Museum in by Tori Murden McClure, the first woman Stockbridge, includes more than 100 and first American to row solo across the works of original art created by more than Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1999. Outside on Main: Nine Solo Plays by Black 50 artists. The Rockwell’s annual gala “We already know what the minimum is,” says Williamstown Theatre Festival (WTF) Artistic Director Mandy Greenfield. “It’s now more a manifestation of the expansiveness of what we are capable of doing. For us, it’s being at the Clark and being outdoors, connecting and reconnecting to the natural world.”
STAYS FRESH THRU JUNE 2021 $4.95
Playwrights will have their world premieres on the front lawn of the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance from July 6 to 25, with director/playwright Robert O’Hara as guest curator. An immersive theatrical experience performed around Williamstown of Alien/Nation happens July 20 to August 8. Two-time Tony® Award nominee Michael Arden will direct.
opening the show is June 12. An “Artist Symposia” Zoom programs will be on June 18, when curator, Jesse Kowalski, will give an overview of the exhibition, and June 19 is an “Epic Adventure” panel with artists Alessandra Pisano, Donato Giancola, and Gregory Manchess. There will also be in-person artist master classes through the summer, as well as “Meet the Artist” Zoom programs. The Rockwell is opening an outdoor exhibition on July 10 that will feature works inspired by the exhibition’s themes of classical and contemporary myths. Hancock Shaker Village (HSV) in Pittsfield is exhibiting James Turrell & Nicholas Mosse: Lapsed Quaker Ware, where visitors will see a body of work that manifests a new perspective on light through its absence. A simultaneous presentation of the ceramics collection is at MASS MoCA in North Adams in a contemporary setting. And in a series of pop-up installations titled Unexpected, HSV will explore the thoughts and work of some of today’s most creative designers who are influenced by the Shakers—Gary Graham, Tory Burch, and Thomas Barger. Also this summer, HSV opens a new trail buried deep in the woods, which will lead to additional archaeological remains of Shaker building foundations. Other highlights include the Back Porch concerts, beginning with singer-songwriter Sean Rowe on June 12 and Chester@ Hancock, which features three works by the Chester Theatre Company—a first for Hancock Shaker Village. “We felt like we couldn’t take another summer away,” says Daniel Elihu Kramer, producing artistic director of Chester Theatre. “We’re committed to Chester, but it’s also possible to expand our presence and think of shoulder seasons happening elsewhere. This is an interesting chance to explore that.”
Interior Design • Landscape Architecture • Design/Build Jenifer House Commons, Great Barrington, MA • wingateltd.com • 413-644-9960 • Open daily 10 - 5
home stretch:
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Pure Beauty DENISE DUBOIS, ESTHETICIAN EXTRAORDINAIRE AND OWNER OF COMPLEXIONS SPA FOR BEAUTY & WELLNESS, IS LAUNCHING A CLEAN YET POWERFUL NEW SKINCARE LINE RIGHT HERE IN SARATOGA.
s the saying used Saratoga’s very own goes, it’s what’s spring water in her mineral on the inside mists to create something that counts— “indigenous” to this area. The and that’s why line also features Borealine, Denise Dubois, Founder and also known as red maple Owner of Complexions Spa bark extract, a tree from for Beauty & Wellness, is set the Northeastern region of to launch her own completely the United States. The bark clean, eco-friendly and highly is harvested, ecologically effective skincare line called extracted, filtrated, purified “Dubois Beauty” this summer. and used as a potent, natural Upon recognizing a need for skincare ingredient to boost better products on the market, skin elasticity, reduce the as a licensed esthetician and appearance of wrinkles, and wellness expert for the past help fight overall skin aging. three decades, Dubois decided The line of 14 products will Complexions owner Denise Dubois recently published her to take matters into her own also include facial cleansers, first book, Living Beautifully, and will release her own line of hands and make them herself. toners, moisturizers and clean skincare products this summer. Over the past four years, serums—and won’t be weighed Dubois has applied her expertise in down by superfluous packaging. “Say, of nature with a continuous leaf-vein crafting quality products in creating you buy a moisturizer, and it comes in design and hues of yellow and green the new line. Wishing to keep the a box,” she says. “The box is simply that calmly evolve into water’s crystal community involved, Dubois allowed there for the presentation, but that goes blue. Products will also come with clientele to submit brand name ideas against what our beliefs are, because airless pumps and in airless packaging to her team, settling on her own it’s just going to be thrown out into the to keep the ingredients active and name after receiving more than 1,800 trash. So why bother having it?” effective for as long as possible. submissions. “Using my name gives Once Dubois Beauty launches, Dubois has focused on what she it the credibility,” Dubois says. “When those interested in enhancing their calls “a foundational four pillars of an esthetician puts her name on a skincare routine can head on over to skincare” that are essential to a product, it had better be good.” Complexions’ Saratoga spa location at proper routine: start by cleansing The name “Dubois Beauty” keeps 268 Broadway or the Albany location and exfoliating the skin; follow that it simple and pure, like at 221 Wolf Road to purchase. In with preserving it; the skincare line itself, addition to the skincare line, Dubois then stimulate and which is formulated has also published her first book, repair the skin; and, without any unsafe Living Beautifully: Creating a Holistic finally, hydrate and synthetic ingredients that Spa Lifestyle, which can be purchased protect the skin. And are commonly found in at onlinestore.complexions.com or Saratogians are in skincare products, such on Amazon, as well as in the spa’s for a special treat: A as parabens, sulfates or two locations. To learn more about few of the products other potentially harmful the latest buzz surrounding Dubois in the line will be an ingredients. Staying true Beauty, you can sign up for its official ode to Saratoga’s to Complexions’ signature newsletter at duboisbeauty.com, historic reputation style, the look of the line where you can also check out some as the “Queen of will reflect the beauty great healthy living tips. ■ Spas,” as Dubois has
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SPAC Style, Two Ways
FAVIANA SHORT JERSEY OFF-THE-SHOULDER DRESS $199.95 Dress from The Shoppe
YO U NAIL ED D OW N S PAC T IC K ETS , B UT ARE YO U REAL LY READY TO H EAD TO A L IVE NAT IO N C O NC ERT O R T H E B AL L ET B EF O RE YO U’ VE PL ANNED YO UR PERF EC T O UT F IT ? LUC IA B O UT IQ UE AND T H E S H O PPE H AVE YO U C OVERED. p h otog ra p h y by D O RI F IT Z PAT RIC K
Live Nation Concert Two lawn tickets to see DMB at SPAC, please! Let your wardrobe channel those carefree summer night vibes with this bold graphic tee and plaid skirt combo from Lucia Boutique, a Saratoga mecca for funky T-shirts, flirty sundresses and bohemian accessories. Not quite your style? Swap out the skirt and fishnets for a pair of distressed denim shorts for another concert-ready look.
Classical Performance What do the New York City Ballet and The Shoppe have in common? Class, elegance and a whole lot of drama. Steal the classical season show this summer with a look that’s equal parts sophisticated and daring. This swanky, off-the-shoulder number from the Broadway boutique will make you stand out from the crowd. Step aside, Balanchine: This dress deserves its own standing ovation. —Corinne Sausville
@rinniesaus
DORI FITZPATRICK
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fashion
COTTON CANDY LA GINGHAM MINI SKIRT | $42 DAYDREAMER RAMBLE ON DREAMER TOUR VINTAGE TEE | $60 JEANNE SIMMONS ACCESSORIES FELT FEDORA WITH SIMPLE BOW RIBBON | $68 FADA LONG TRIANGULAR DROP EARRINGS | $26 All items from Lucia Boutique
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mr. potato head Dizzy Chicken owner Justin Bartlett puts hard-boiled egg, pickles and hot sauce in his potato salad.
P
icture this: You’re getting together for a picnic in the Spa State Park with your extended family for the first time since COVID. Everyone is supposed to bring a dish…but what to make? Aunt Tina’s bringing the sandwiches, Cousin Timmy’s on watermelon duty, and grandma’s all over the drinks. Then—“Aha!”—you realize what’s missing from this family reunion: potato salad. Creamy, eggy, mayonnaise-y potatoes, masquerading as a salad? It doesn’t get any better than that. In our latest edition of Capital Region Cook-off, Dizzy Chicken Owner/Chef Justin Bartlett steps into the ring with The Mansion Inn’s Executive Chef Rick Bieber to see whose potato salad recipe goes the distance. Who lands the knockout blow? Well, you’ll just have to try your hand at both of these savory recipes and decide for yourself.
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Dizzy Chicken
Owner/Chef Justin Bartlett’s Potato Salad INGREDIENTS
Capital Region Cook-off:
Potato Salad Punch-out TWO LOCAL C H E F S DU KE I T O U T TO SE E WH O SE SENSATIONAL SU M M E R B B Q DI SH R E I GN S SU P R E M E .
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5 lbs red potatoes 8 hard boiled eggs, diced 4 tsp whole grain mustard 7¼ oz (.9 cup) sour cream 11½ oz (1.4 cup) mayonnaise ¼ cup cornichon pickles, diced 1 small bunch fresh dill 2 tsp Frank’s RedHot salt pepper 1 cup chopped parsley DIRECTIONS
• Dice the red potatoes and rinse in a pot with cold water. Add ½ cup of salt per 2 gallons of cold water (this will help to season the potatoes) and cook until tender. Allow to cool.
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home stretch: fashion ||
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Dizzy Chicken
bieber fever The secret ingredient in Mansion Inn Chef Rick Bieber’s potato salad? Bacon.
r ec ip e co n t in u e d fr o m page 67
• To make the dressing: In a bowl, mix the mustard, sour cream, mayonnaise, diced pickles, chopped dill and Frank’s RedHot. • When the potatoes are cool, add the chopped parsley and eggs and half of the dressing. Keep adding dressing until the potato salad is the consistency that you desire. You may wind up with extra dressing, depending on how much you prefer to mix in. • Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and serve.
The Mansion INN
New to Aerial Arts?
Executive Chef Rick Bieber’s Famous Potato Salad
Come “hang” with us!
INGREDIENTS
2 lbs clean, scrubbed new red potatoes 1 lb bacon 1 cup Spanish onion, finely chopped 1 stalk celery, finely chopped 2½ cups mayonnaise 2 tbsp Dijon mustard ¼ cup apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp granulated sugar 1 tbsp kosher salt 1 tsp black pepper DIRECTIONS
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and set in the refrigerator to cool.
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SARATOGA AERIAL YOGA • Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
• Remove potatoes from the refrigerator and cut into bite-size pieces (mashing a few completely) and place in a large bowl.
• Place mayonnaise, onion, celery, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl and mix.
• Stir in dressing and mix. Place in a serving bowl, cover and let sit in the fridge for about an hour before serving.
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The Spirit of Saratoga
INGREDIENTS
4 oz raspberries 2 oz ALB vodka Lemonade INSTRUCTIONS
Muddle fresh raspberries and fill glass with ice. Pour in Albany Distilling Company’s ALB Vodka and top with pink lemonade. Garnish with mint and raspberries.
PRIME AT SARATOGA NATIONAL MIXOLOGIST MICHAEL McGOVERN HAS YOUR NEEDS FOR SUMMERY, VODKA-INFUSED COCKTAILS COVERED.
V
odka famously serves as the key ingredient of the Spa City’s signature summer cocktail, the Saratoga Sunrise (vodka/orange juice/ grenadine), which is
just peachy Prime’s Saratoga Peach cocktail features Grey Goose Essences and peach puree; (opposite, from left) the Prime Lemonade; Rosé + Bubbles.
enjoyed all season long at Saratoga Race Course. But vodka, of course, is as versatile as you want it to be. Here are three vodka-infused cocktails, courtesy of bartender Michael McGovern of Prime at Saratoga National, to make at home or enjoy at the restaurant itself, which recently reopened in time for another sizzling Saratoga Summer. Cheers!
Prime Lemonade is one of our staple cocktails yearround. It’s a refreshing cocktail to have out by the infinity pool in our Adirondack chairs—or wherever you feel most at ease at home.
Add ice to the top of a martini shaker. Add peach puree, Grand Marnier and simple syrup. Shake until shaker is frosted on the outside. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.
Rosé + Bubbles
Peach is the “It” flavor of the season, so why not try it in a martini? You can’t go wrong.
This is the perfect cocktail to have by the pool with the girls…or boys! It’s supereasy to make, and it’ll have you coming back for more.
INGREDIENTS
INGREDIENTS
Saratoga Peach Prime Lemonade
INSTRUCTIONS
2 oz Grey Goose Essences White Peach & Rosemary vodka 1 oz peach puree 1 oz Grand Marnier ½ oz simple syrup
1½ oz Ketel One Botanical Grapefruit & Rose vodka 1 oz Pamplemousse liqueur 2 oz Miraval rosé 2 oz Prosecco
INSTRUCTIONS
Fill a shaker with ice and add in vodka, Pamplemousse liqueur and Miraval rosé. Shake and strain into your largest wine glass (you’ll thank us later) and top with some bubbly (Prosecco works best).
delicious and memorable delicious and memorable delicious and memorable WEDDING FAVORS & GIFTS
WEDDING FAVORS FAVORS & & GIFTS GIFTS WEDDING
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BINGE TIME: The true crime craze hits Saratoga *{ say cheese! scenes from the ultimate saratoga summer }
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Contrasting a black stair railing, windows or even a piece of furniture against clean, white walls creates a bold graphic design statement. There are as many types of black paints as white ones, so make sure to test the color out in your space before committing. And confirm the type of paint for each application with a professional.
black light Don’t be afraid to use dark accents in an otherwise light room, designer AnnBritt Newey says.
Get the look: Black Magic from Sherwin Williams.
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3 table, a tweed upholstered sofa, a wooden chair, and metal and glass side tables. Get the look: Thaddeus Glass Round Side Table from Restoration Hardware
5 lamps…and make sure they all dim.
2 2. S ca l e t he ru g to your fu r ni t u r e ar r a n g e men t
There’s nothing worse than a rug that looks too small. Make sure your rug is scaled to fit both the
4 furniture arrangement and the room. It’s helpful to use blue tape on your floor to test out different rug sizes. Get the look: Labirinto
Hand-Knotted Wool Rug from Restoration Hardware
Get the look: Large Cubist Chandelier from Y Lighting
3. Light e n the m ood
4. M ix te xtu r e s and m ate r ial s
Incorporating multiple types of lighting can create comfortable and functional spaces. Consider a mix of recessed lighting, decorative ceiling fixtures (go big for drama!) and table/floor
Mix different textures and materials to create a complete and interesting design that reflects light in a variety of ways. In this room, we mixed a wool rug, an ombré concrete coffee
5. Con sid e r p e r for man c e w h e n b u y in g a s ofa
Sofas get a lot of use and
abuse. When purchasing your sofa, make sure you understand its construction. If you have children and/ or pets, consider choosing a sofa with a stain-resistant performance fabric. In this room, we went with a custom, 8-way hand-tied sectional with Crypton fabric.
newey kid on the block Saratogian AnnBritt Newey has 20 years of interior design experience.
Get the look: Ashbury Sectional from One Kings Lane
Saratoga Springs–based ABN Design Inc specializes in residential and commercial interior design for clients across the country. The firm’s founder, AnnBritt Newey, prides herself on listening to the needs and wants of her clients to create individual and unique spaces that combine livability, luxury and refinement. Newey has 20 years of design experience and is a professional ASID designer. See more of ABN’s work at abndesigninc.com or on Instagram at @abndesigninc.
From simple to intricate designs, California Closets systems are custom designed specifically for you and the way you live.
518.785.5723 californiaclosets.com L AT H A M Peter Harris Plaza, Rt 7
©2021 California Closet Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Franchises independently owned and operated. Witt-RileyFarm-SaraLiv-8.5x5-Ad.indd 1
5/18/21 9:51 AM
home stretch: THE SPA CITY IS (MOSTLY) BACK TO NORMAL. SO HERE’S HOW TO CRUSH THIS COMEBACK SARATOGA SUMMER. n BY WILL L EVI TH
garbage woman Shirley Manson, along with her ’90s alt-rock band Garbage, will be appearing at SPAC later this summer in a double-bill with Alanis Morissette.
B
reathe in the electricity, Saratoga. Our big comeback is finally here! Remember last summer when you did absolutely everything in your power not to be bummed out? You made the most of it, spending a lot of time outdoors, boating, boozing and breaking in your betting app. But at night, you dreamed of what next summer might be like. Would all of what makes Saratoga special ever come back again? The answer to that question is an unequivocal “yes,” with the State having lifted most of its longeststanding COVID restrictions. In other words, it’s time to summer like you’ve never summered before!
the Tony-winning Broadway musical Man of La Mancha in the amphitheater July 8–10, and a reduced-size New York City Ballet company will be performing six shows, July 14–17.
Let There Be Live Music The Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) has officially reopened with socially distanced pod seating in its amphitheater, and pods of two or four on the lawn (a limited number of loosies are also available). That said, everyone who steps foot in the venue will have to prove that he or she has been fully vaccinated or has had a negative COVID test within 72 hours. In other words, get the jabs or get used to endless swabs this summer! • On the classical front, the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival will be making its triumphant return June 26–27. Next up, Opera Saratoga will be staging
(Anastasio) RENE HUEMER; (ballerina) ROSALIE O’CONNOR
Summertime, Unmasked
what to do
JOSEPH CULTICE
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without two nights of the Dave Matthews Band, September 17–18.
Off to the Races? At press time, it’s still unclear how many spectators will be allowed through the • In Live Nation land, gates at Saratoga Phish phanatics, Race Course when who were lucky it opens on July enough to snag 15, but all arrows a ticket, will get to are pointing to a enjoy three nights decent amount. of sold-out solo (Sister track Belmont performances by Park has been Trey Anastasio the band’s noodlerallowing a limited in-chief Trey Anastasio, June number of fans in since May 1, 18–20. You oughta know but it’s a much less visited that Alanis Morissette and track.) What will being at the Garbage are bringing their track look like? Assuming the femme-rock to the mainstage same rules that apply to fans on September 5. And a at Belmont will be repeated Saratoga Summer season at Saratoga, only fans who wouldn’t be complete are fully vaccinated or can
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get to the pointe A reduced-size New York City Ballet will perform six shows at SPAC this July 14–17.
show proof of a negative COVID test will be allowed inside. But with masking and social distancing now optional for the fully vaxxed, you could be seeing a lot more smiling faces. Get Me to That Gala Saratoga’s social season was decimated last summer due to COVID, so this year, deep-pocketed partygoers will be making up for lost time. Here’s what’s on tap for gala season: • Saratoga Senior Center’s 11th Annual Music and Mingling (June 8 at 550 Waterfront)
• Saratoga Bridges’ The White Party with a Splash of Color (July 17 at Prime at Saratoga National Golf Club) • Captain Community Human Services’ An Unbridled Affair (July 22 at Prime at Saratoga National Golf Club) • Saratoga Hospital’s 39th Annual Summer Gala (August 4 at The Polo Meadow at Saratoga Casino Hotel)
{ horseplay }
The Brook Tavern, from the owners of The Wishing Well Restaurant, offers a nightly selection of fresh cold-water oysters, creative salads, Certified Angus cuts of beef & a rotating list of craft beers & cocktails.
Park Place
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THE IDEAL DESTINATION FOR SUMMER IN SARATOGA! FEATURING LUXURY ACCOMMODATIONS & WORLD-CLASS CUISINE
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Steps from the historic Saratoga Race Course
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We’re in Good Company WORLD’S BEST HOSPITALS 2021
POWERED BY
One of only 6 hospitals in New York to achieve this ranking.
Saratoga Hospital has been named one of The World’s Best Hospitals 2021. This is a distinction earned by just six hospitals in all of New York State, and we are the only community hospital recognized in the state. That places us in really good company: The Mount Sinai Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian, NYU Langone Health, North Shore University Hospital, and Strong Memorial Hospital. Saratoga Hospital is the only Capital Region hospital to make the list. According to Newsweek, those that merit the World’s Best designation “stand out for their consistent excellence, including distinguished physicians, top-notch nursing care and state-of-the-art technology.” Newsweek publishes the World’s Best list in part to help readers “feel confident as you make a critical choice about medical care.” Yes, we are incredibly proud of the recognition. It is testament to our entire staff, who come to work every day committed to the care we provide our patients, and our community.
ACROSS 1. Wan 5. Newspaper notif. 9. Suffragette Elizabeth ___ Stanton 13. Phony person 14. Scottish lake with a mythical resident 15. Operatic solo 16. Paul Tonko and Elise Stefanik, for two* 19. Word said to a fly 20. It’s bigger than a town 21. Is not, slangily 22. Repeatedly chosen 23. Food Network star ___ Garten 24. California’s governor* 30. Bestselling historical romance author Ridley 31. It rises and shines 32. When Alexander gets married in Hamilton 36. Kept a library book for another month, say 39. “Come Together” band, with “The” 41. General ___ Chicken 42. One end of a battery, for short 44. Russian vodka brand, familiarly 45. Wellness retreat groupings* 48. Scores as many points as one’s opponent 50. What Benjamin Button does in reverse 51. Ice cream vessel
52. 100,000/10,000 53. Short-term employee, for short 57. Subjects of HGTV’s Caribbean Life* 61. With 37-Down, award-winning Higher Learning actor 62. Endorse 63. Stress 64. Bagpiper’s garb 65. Camp beds 66. Anti-drug school program
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“My mother is a cardinal, and my father is a squirrel.”
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40. Inquires or inquiries 43. Expelled, as gum 45. Prophet 46. Marvel series ___ of S.H.I.E.L.D. 47. Penny 48. Entire 49. Unreactive, as helium 51. Sleeveless undergarment, for short 53. Where the first words in the starred
clues can be found, to locals 54. Muslim ruler 55. Dispense, with “out” 56. Awareness-raising message (abbr.) 57. Chinese cooking pot 58. US Antitrust law enforcer 59. Son of Kanga 60. “(I’ve ___) The Time of My Life”
ANSWERS ON saratogaliving.com SEARCH: CROSSWORD
overheard –WILTON
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“So a group of sand is a liquid?”
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28. Replacement teacher, for short 29. 100,000/100,000 32. “___ boy!” (Good job) 33. Croc, for one 34. Prefix for phone or market 35. Terrorist organization or Bob Dylan song 37. See 61-Across 38. Deceased when medical help arrived (abbr.)
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“I sleep on my back anyway: I might as well be pregnant.”
“I like hot chocolate better than policy.” –DOWNTOWN SARATOGA
—CARNEY’S TAVERN SaratogaHospital.org
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#TBT
Lawn Patrol BY N ATA LIE M OORE
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Your Home, Your Way SPAC
t says a lot about a music venue when simply being collaborator Oscar Hammerstein’s show tunes. “Melodies so there is as important to the concertgoing experience as well known that you could sense the audience, 9,000 strong, whatever sound is emanating from the stage. This is a sing subvocally with the musicians, were heard Sunday afternoon in the SPAC,” reported Helga Doblin in The common phenomenon for spectators at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), and most Saratogian the following day. (Such melodies stop! hammerstein of all for those on the sprawling green fanning included songs from Oklahoma!, The King and Philadelphia Orchestra fans out from the amphitheater, which is lovingly I and The Sound of Music.) “The enthusiasm enjoy a selection of Rodgers referred to by all manner of Saratogians— of the mostly gray-haired audience,” and Hammerstein’s show she continued, “showed that this type of young and old, balletgoers and rock band tunes on the SPAC lawn Americana is still very much a part of us.” groupies—as “The Lawn.” on August 4, 1968. These days, though the names of the On this particular afternoon more than 50 conductors have changed, and spectators may flock to years ago—Sunday, August 4, 1968, to be exact—it was the SPAC to catch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in classical music set that happened to be enjoying the virtues Concert rather than mid–20th century show tunes, it’s clear of The Lawn, as The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by conductor that The Lawn’s type of Americana, to borrow a phrase from Arthur Fiedler and guest conductor Richard Rodgers, performed a selection of Rodgers’ and his longtime musical Doblin, is still very much a part of Saratoga.
The story of your life starts at home. Let us help you build a house that reflects who you are and what you love.
S P EC I A L P R O M OT I O N A L S EC T I O N
OPERA SARATOGA
60 at
O U R V E R Y O W N I N T E R N A T I O N A L L Y A C C L A I M E D O P E R A C O M PA N Y L O O K S B A C K AT S I X D E CA D E S O F M A K I N G I M P O S S I B L E D R E A M S C O M E T R U E .
B Y N A TA L I E M O O R E
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ccording to Opera Saratoga’s Artistic and General Director Lawrence Edelson, the most impressive thing about the company’s 60th anniversary celebration this summer is not the remarkable fact that it’s one of the oldest arts organizations in the region. It’s not even that it was one of the first companies in the country to prioritize the production of contemporary American opera, including 14 premieres to date. And Opera Saratoga’s inspiring Young Artist Program, which trains singers as well as conductors, coaches and directors? Although it is the second oldest of its kind and serves as a model for companies across the country, it still doesn’t make Edelson’s pick as the No. 1 most notable part of what makes Opera Saratoga special. What’s most impressive to Edelson is that the company, with its modest budget, has such a significant impact in the lives of so many people across upstate New York, while also garnering critical accolades from across the globe. “Many people think that Opera Saratoga is part of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC),” Edelson says. “But while we are wonderful neighbors in Spa State Park, we are separate organizations. We also operate quite differently. What most people don’t realize is Opera Saratoga creates all of its productions from the ground up. We are not bringing in a company to perform in Saratoga Springs—we are the company!” And what a company Opera Saratoga has become. If the fact that Saratoga is home to an opera company of Opera Saratoga’s caliber is impressive, it becomes even more so when you consider where the company got its start. On July 5, 1962, 230 people filed into a rickety barn on Lake George’s Diamond Point for the debut of the Lake George Opera, the brainchild of baritone Fred Patrick and his wife, soprano Jeanette Scovotti. The couple envisioned an accessible, English-language opera company that would prioritize training for young American singers, and that’s exactly what they created. Though Patrick would tragically die of cancer just three years later at the age of 37, the legacy he and his wife created is now felt across the globe, with singers who received their first opportunities with the company now gracing the stages of every major opera house in the world. More recently, Opera Saratoga has become a leader in the production of new works, with operas such as The Long Walk and Ellen West
OPERA S A R AT O G A TIMELINE
1962
Baritone Fred Patrick and his wife, soprano Jeanette Scovotti, (pictured below), envision an accessible, English-language opera company in Upstate New York and establish Lake George Opera. The first season, held at Diamond Point Theatre, consists of 46 performances in eight weeks.
1965
Fred Patrick tragically dies of cancer at 37, and Artistic Director David Lloyd (pictured below) is promoted to General Director, a post he holds for 15 years. The opera moves from the Diamond Point Theatre to the newly completed auditorium at Queensbury High School, and the company’s Young Artist Program is created.
(above) Lake George Opera Festival’s 1985 production of Daughter of the Regiment; (opposite) Gimi Beni as Alfonso in Così fan tutte during the company’s inaugural season in 1962. receiving rave reviews in the international press, and subsequent productions attracting enthusiastic audiences across the country. It did take some time for the company to find a viable long-term home, as the summer festival moved from the shores of Lake George to the auditorium of Queensbury High School in 1965 and eventually, to the Spa Little Theater in the Saratoga Spa State Park in 1998, before the company officially changed its name to Opera Saratoga in time for its 50th anniversary season in 2011. Since then, Opera Saratoga has truly embraced its Spa City home. While the Summer Festival is the culmination of Opera Saratoga’s annual activities, the company’s commitment to the community year-round is
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Opera Saratoga FAQs OPERA TRULY IS FOR EVERYONE, AND OPER A SAR ATOG A IS YOUR OPER A COMPANY! WHAT IS OPERA? Opera is the original multimedia art form. It combines music, theater, dance and the visual arts to bring stories to life. Opera originated in Italy at the end of the 16th century and has become one of the most popular forms of entertainment around the globe. ISN’T OPERA ALWAYS IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE? Operas have been written in many languages, including Italian, German, French, Russian and, yes, English. Opera Saratoga performs most operas in their original languages, but when the production is not in English, there are always supertitles—simultaneous translations projected above the stage—which allow audiences to follow along and enjoy the story, regardless of the language it’s in.
Four of the singers featured in America Sings, Opera Saratoga’s new concert series to amplify the voices of artists of color who have historically been underrepresented on the opera stage: (clockwise from top left) Deborah Nansteel, Luis Alejandro Orozco, Brandie Sutton, and Justin Austin. just as impressive. “I’m particularly proud of the impact we have on people beyond the walls of our theater, and in ways you might not expect,” says Edelson, who’s been in his role since 2014. “Our programs enhance the lives of older adults with health issues who do not have regular access to the arts, and reach almost 20,000 children every year. These are deeply meaningful to me.” And community engagement has never felt more important, after all in-person programs and performances were canceled last year due to the pandemic.
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1968
Lake George Opera performs its first world premiere, David Amram’s Twelfth Night, as part of an all-Shakespeare season.
1972
Opera-on-the-Lake performances aboard the Lake George paddle-boats are introduced.
1980
The Contemporary Opera Studio is created.
In addition to its regular performances, which will be held this summer at three outdoor venues (Pitney Meadows Community Farm, SPAC and in the Saratoga Spa State Park), Opera Saratoga will team up with Caffè Lena on June 19 to livestream a Juneteenth concert as part of Opera Saratoga’s recently launched America Sings series, which amplifies the voices of artists of color, who have been historically underrepresented on the concert stage. Looking forward, the company will initiate a new full-time program to provide music therapy for Alzheimer’s patients across the region, and will also stage the world premiere production of The Selfish Giant—a new opera by the all-women team of composer Clarice Assad and librettist Lila Palmer—which will travel to more than 50 schools during the 2021-22 school year. “This past year of isolation has been incredibly difficult for everyone,” Edelson says. “It’s time to bring the community back together and reconnect through the power of music and live performance.” ■
ARE OPERAS REALLY LONG? Most operas are similar in length to movies, but there are operas that are as short as 10 minutes, and as long as five hours… though Opera Saratoga generally doesn’t produce anything that long! SO WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MUSICAL AND AN OPERA? This is a question that aficionados love to debate, but to be honest, there is no single answer. Operas are usually sung-through, whereas musicals most often combine song with spoken dialogue. However, there are operas with dialogue and musicals that are completely sung. Sometimes people talk about the plots of operas being more intense than musicals, but that isn’t always the case either—there are plenty of silly operas, and some pretty serious musicals. Opera is most frequently performed unampflied, and this is possible because classical singers are trained to project their voices in a way that can carry over a large orchestra. This isn’t required on Broadway, where each singer is individually mic’d, and the orchestra size is generally much smaller.
1981
Paulette Haupt-Nolen is appointed Artistic Director. During its 20th anniversary season, the company performs its first musical, Man of La Mancha, and begins workshopping new operas in partnership with the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.
WHAT SHOULD I WEAR? Whatever you want. The only thing that matters is that you are comfortable and that you enjoy yourself. SPEAKING OF THE 2021 SEASON… WHAT, WHO, WHERE AND WHEN? WHAT: The Tony Award–winning musical Man of La Mancha, by Dale Wasserman, Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion WHo: Starring Broadway and opera star Zachary James and Opera Saratoga favorite Kelly Glyptis, conducted by Laura Bergquist and directed by Lawrence Edelson WHere: The amphitheater at SPAC WHen: July 8, 9 and 10 at 8pm WHAT: Telemann’s comic opera, Don Quichotte at Camacho’s Wedding WHo: Conducted by Michelle Rofrano and featuring singers from Opera Saratoga’s Young Artist Program, directed by Rebecca Miller Kratzer WHere: Columbia Pavilion in the Saratoga Spa State Park WHen: July 14, 15, 16 and 18 at 11am, 1pm and 6pm WHAT: Quixotic Opera, a concert of scenes
1986
The Lake George Opera Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary.
1986
Brian Lingham is appointed Artistic Director, and Opera-to-Go— the company’s touring educational program for elementary school students—is introduced.
1991
Susan T. Danis is appointed to the newly established position of Managing Director, and David Lloyd returns to the company for one year as interim Artsitic Director.
from operas inspired by Don Quixote
WHo: Featuring Opera Saratoga Festival Artists
under the music direction of Laurie Rogers WHere: Pitney Meadows Community Farm WHen: June 24 and 25 at 7pm
WHAT: A Juneteenth Celebration featuring music and poetry to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States WHo: Curated by Carl DuPont, featuring Opera Saratoga Festival Artists WHere: A free, livestreamed event from Caffè Lena WHen: June 19 at 2pm WHAT: A Knight at the Opera, a 60th Anniversary Gala Concert WHo: Members of Opera Saratoga’s Young Artist Program WHere: The Lodge at Saratoga Casino Hotel WHen: July 17 at 7pm WHAT: Opera on the Lake—the annual Opera Saratoga Gala, Celebrating 60 Years! WHo: Guest artists to be announced WHere: On the waters of Lake George,
aboard the Lac du Saint Sacrement WHen: September 12—Save the date…!
ARE TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE? At press time, they were. To purchase tickets and for information, visit operasaratoga.org. ■
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Star of the Show S A R AT O G A W E L C O M E S B R OA D WAY A N D O P E R A S TA R Z AC H A R Y J A M E S AS THE LEAD IN THIS S U M M E R ’ S D O N Q U I XO T E – INSPIRED MUSICAL, MAN OF LA MANCHA.
saratoga living sat down with Broadway star Zachary James, a self-proclaimed “dreamer” who will hit the SPAC stage this summer for the first time in the title role of Opera Saratoga’s new production of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, Man of La Mancha. Before you hear him belt out the famous lyrics to “The Impossible Dream,” the man bringing the world’s most famous optimist to life talks Don Quixote, his favorite Broadway memories, and what he’ll do in Saratoga this summer.
You’ve had a career both on Broadway and the opera stage. How did that happen? I got my training in musical theater but just had a voice and presence on stage that worked well for opera, so I was steered around and provided many different opportunities in both genres. I like to think of it as all the same: musical storytelling. I am also a recording artist and do TV and film. So I just say, “Why not try to do it all?” It’s really fun to bounce around. How is performing in a musical different than in an opera? Well, there’s the eight shows a week on Broadway—that just doesn’t happen in opera. And, of course, in opera you usually don’t have microphones. Otherwise, it is very similar, especially with contemporary opera, which I do a lot of. I’ve done Broadway shows with 40-piece orchestras and chamber operas with 12-piece orchestras, and operas with 80-piece orchestras and musicals to pre-recorded accompaniment. There’s no rhyme or reason anymore.
What was your last onstage experience before the pandemic? My birthday! It was December 7, 2019, closing night of Akhnaten at The Metropolitan Opera. It was an unforgettable performance; my entire family was in the audience, and I got to bow with [composer] Philip Glass in front of a sold-out auditorium. Opening night of Man of La Mancha will be a year and seven months to the day.
You’ve also have done quite a bit of TV acting. How does that differ from being on stage? TV acting is a lot of fun. You do so many takes of a scene and don’t know what they are going to use; it’s really in the control of the director and even more so, the editors. It’s also difficult in that there is no place to hide. The camera shows everything! So you cannot drop character for even a split second. On stage, there is always someplace to hide for a second if you need to catch your breath. On stage it is such a full-body experience while on camera, you are fully engaged but it is the eyes that communicate the most, and some of the gestures we do on stage would be way over the top on camera. It’s all about scale and adjusting to a different frame, the proscenium versus the screen.
You had a number of opportunities to perform this summer—why did you choose Man of La Mancha as your return to the stage? I am a dreamer, and I have been dreaming impossible dreams for a lifetime. I was very attracted to the idea of bringing this story to life, outdoors, in the beautiful surroundings of Saratoga Springs. Telling such a timeless and important story, under the summer sky, reminds us that we must always have hope, and must always strive to be better and love one another. I am so similar to the title character, and to play someone that close to my heart, who lives in my heart, is a dream as an actor.
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SHANI HADJIAN
Zachary James as Amenhotep III in the Olivier Award–winning production of Philip Glass’ Akhnaten at English National Opera.
DOLLY BROWN
What is it about the role of Cervantes/Don Quixote that appeals to you? He is good, he is hope, he is love, he is faith, he is optimism. If everyone were like him, it would be a wonderful thing. He sees the good in everything and lives in love, not fear.
What have your favorite roles been, and why? Oh, there are so many! Originating Lurch in The Addams Family on Broadway was very special. Those characters are so iconic, and very few people have had the opportunity to bring them to life. My work with Philip Glass has also been a lifetime highlight, creating two roles, Abraham Lincoln in The Perfect American and Amenhotep in Akhnaten, in productions directed by Phelim McDermott. I got to play Lincoln in London, Madrid, Brisbane…it was a dream. I have to also mention a very special experience playing John Claggart in Billy Budd at Des Moines Metro Opera, an unforgettable experience for
1992
Conductor Joseph Illick is appointed Artistic Director. A highlight of his tenure is a production of Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in collaboration with the Harlem Boys Choir.
1998
Due to renovations at Queensbury High School, the opera company performs its summer season at the Spa Little Theater in Saratoga Springs. While the move was initially meant to be temporary, the Spa Little Theater becomes the permanent home of Lake George Opera. The company also begins performing operas in their original languages with projected supertitles.
1999
Conductor Daniel Beckwith and Stage Director Marc Verzatt are hired as Co-artistic Directors.
2002
William Florescu is appointed the company’s new General Director, consolidating artistic and management responsibilities. American operas are reintroduced into the company’s repertoire after an extended absence.
Star of the stage and screen, Zachary James, makes his debut with Opera Saratoga this summer in the title role of Man of La Mancha. which we won an Emmy for a PBS broadcast of the production. This is year 19 in showbiz for me. Bebe Neuwirth, who I did The Addams Family with, told me, “Your favorite show needs to be the one you are working on right now.” Man of La Mancha will be exceptionally special and will definitely become one of those cherished and indelible experiences. What do you have planned for your time in Saratoga Springs? I have never been to Saratoga before! I have spent many years of my life in the state of New York between New York City and Ithaca, and I am so excited to get to know a new city. I am big on the outdoors and cannot wait to hike in my downtime. It is going to be a spectacular summer. ■
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Costuming the World of ‘La Mancha’
FROM CREATING A FLAMENCO DANCING DONKEY TO SOURCING EXOTIC TRIM FROM MARKETS IN INDIA, COSTUME DESIGNER GLENN AVERY BREED BRINGS 16TH CENTURY SPAIN TO LIFE.
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o one gets into character quite like an actor or actress, and the final step of the transformation is undoubtedly stepping into a bespoke costume that brings worlds such as Don Quixote’s to life. Costume designer Glenn Avery Breed of Wardrobe Witchery fills us in on his creations that will transport Opera Saratoga’s stars to 16th century Spain for its upcoming musical, Man of La Mancha. What were your inspirations for creating the costumes for Man of La Mancha? These costumes are created to show the dirty world of the prison that character/author Miguel de Cervantes is sentenced to, and how the world he creates within it to tell the story of Don Quixote is the color and light in his life. Where do you source your fabrics and other materials from? The materials are purchased from many sources, but we mainly shop in the garment district of Los Angeles and at a few major suppliers in Atlanta and South Carolina. Some of the trims on the fancy garments in Man of La Mancha are from India, from a costuming trip I took there a few years ago. I purchased many trimmings in the wedding markets. What did you like most about creating the world of Don Quixote and Man of La Mancha? As a costume designer, it’s not often that you
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2005
Curtis Tucker is appointed Artistic Director, and later, General Director. Highlights of his tenure include many productions of the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan.
2011
As the company celebrates its 50th Anniversary, Lake George Opera’s name is formally changed to Opera Saratoga to better represent its location.
2014
One of the costumes for Dr. Carrasco, who appears in many guises throughout the show
Lawrence Edelson is appointed the new Artistic and General Director of Opera Saratoga, ushering in an era of expanded community partnerships, a reinforced commitment to the training of emerging artists, and further diversification of the company’s growing repertoire.
Costume for Sancho Panza’s Donkey in Man of La Mancha
The author Cervantes dons theatrical armor to become his literary creation, Don Quixote.
2015
The company’s first Baroque opera, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, is performed in an al fresco production in the courtyard of The National Museum of Dance.
get to do both dirty and pretty in one show, so it is nice to have the balance of how you can distress things, but make the dirty pretty as well. What’s your favorite fun fact about these costumes that someone in the audience might not be able to intuit from just looking at them? The Knight of the Mirrors’ costume is pretty heavy, as it is made of actual little pieces of glass mirror. On the other hand, the armor that Don Quixote wears looks heavy, but is made of just foam, glues and paints and weighs almost nothing! ■
Dr. Carrasco transforms into The Knight of the Mirrors as Cervantes’ story comes to life
S P EC I A L P R O M OT I O N A L S EC T I O N
A Season of Impossible Dreams H OW OPERA SARATO GA I S E MBRACIN G WORKS I NS P I R ED BY DON QUIXOTE A S THEY R E T U RN TO THE STAGE T H I S S UMMER.
2016
Opera Saratoga debuts its first Spanish-language performance, with ll Postino by Daniel Catán.
Kelly Glyptis, an alumna of Opera Saratoga’s Young Artist Program, plays the role of Aldonza in this season’s Man of La Mancha.
BY WILL LEVITH
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ifty-something Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes was, by all accounts, an abject failure when he published the first part of what would become his epic two-part novel, Don Quixote, in 1605, following it up with a sequel a decade later. The novel caught on like wildfire, and though Cervantes died in 1616, just a year after he completed the story, Don Quixote has lived on for centuries, reimagined through countless authors, philosophers, visual artists, composers, librettists, choreographers and filmmakers. Indeed, Cervantes’ timeless story of the knight who sees the world not as it is, but as it ought to be, has inspired all of the productions set for Opera Saratoga’s 60th anniversary season. This June and July, the company will stage the Tony Award–winning musical Man of La Mancha alongside the Baroque comic serenata Don Quichotte at Camacho’s Wedding; as well as an operatic mixtape of sorts, Quixotic Opera, featuring a concert of scenes from several different adaptations of the classic novel. Why has the story of Don Quixote proven to be such an inspiration for artists throughout the centuries? “It’s a really adaptable book, because it’s so expansive,” says Grace Burton, Associate Professor of Spanish at Skidmore College, who also spent two years as the chair of the theater department. “You can pick out little pieces and work with them.” Burton likens the book to a tapestry, each thread of which is a separate storyline or character study that artists throughout history have expanded on in
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FLIP FOR MORE OPERA SARATOGA
2017
Opera Saratoga receives international accolades for its first commercial recording, made during live performances of its critically acclaimed production of Marc Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock, which prominently features members of the company’s Young Artist Program.
2020
Opera Saratoga is forced to cancel its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, the company launches a series of virtual programs, including the America Sings concert series in partnership with Caffè Lena, amplifying the voices of BIPOC artists who have historically been underrepresented on the concert stage.
their own unique way. There’s also the plot’s own dichotomy: one part telling the tale of Don Quixote, the man and knight-errant, and the other, the story of the book itself. In other words, Cervantes delves into the metafictional, coaxing his reader into believing that the story of Don Quixote had, in fact, existed beforehand and was just being retold or translated for a modern audience. “What Cervantes was doing was developing what we understand now as ‘the novel,’” explains Burton. “Think about what ‘novel’ means: It just means ‘new.’ Cervantes was developing a new art form on the basis of old ones, in this case epics.” It’s the strands of the greater tapestry that have taken on a life of their own, having been adapted into novel ideas, whether they be by Mark Twain in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) or screenwriter Alexander Payne in the movie Sideways (2004). Kicking off Opera Saratoga’s summer season will be one of the most famous adaptations, Man of La Mancha, a musical that first debuted on Broadway in 1965 and went on to win five Tony awards, including Best Musical. (It has also been revived multiple times.) Opera Saratoga’s new production features Broadway and opera star Zachary James in the title role; and Kelly Glyptis, an accomplished alumna of the company’s Young Artist program, in the role of Aldonza. The musical, which is only loosely based on Don Quixote—and actually includes its author as one of the lead characters, who, while awaiting trial in prison during the Spanish Inquisition, stages a version of Don Quixote with his fellow prisoners—is about
“reusing or remaking the mind,” says Burton. “It’s about a new imagination that emerges that nobody can imprison.” Also on Opera Saratoga’s programming slate is the one-act opera, Don Quichotte at Camacho’s Wedding, based on a specific moment in book two of Cervantes’ original, the one published just before the author’s death. It has a familiar theme: A girl is engaged to marry a rich boy, but she’s actually in love with a poor one instead. The Quixote-esque arc begins when the poor boy interrupts the wedding in dramatic fashion. Additionally, the company will stage a concert of scenes from several other Quixoteinspired operas, including moments from Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse (1743) by Joseph Bodin de Boismortier and Charles Simon Favart; Die Hochzeit des Camacho (1827) by Felix Mendelssohn and Friedrich Voigts; Il furioso all’isola di San Domingo
2021
After a sixteen month hiatus from live performances, Opera Saratoga returns to the stage for its 60th Anniversary Season with shows inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote, to be performed outdoors at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Spa State Park and Pitney Meadows Community Farm.
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(1833) by Gaetano Donizetti and Jacopo Ferretti; Don Quixote (1898) by Wilhelm Kienzl; La Venta de Don Quijote (1902) by Ruperto Chapí and Carlos Fernandez Shaw; Don Quichotte (1910) by Jules Massenet and Henri Caïn; and El retablo de maese Pedro (1923) by Manuel de Falla. In these nearly-post-pandemic times—the ones on the cusp of being between insanity and normalcy—Don Quixote has taken on an even newer hue. “As we considered how to best return to the stage this summer, I found myself repeatedly drawn to works inspired by Don Quixote,” explains Opera Saratoga’s Artistic and General Director, Lawrence Edelson. “I think we’ve all needed to channel some of the famous knight-errant’s idealism and extreme optimism—and to dream impossible dreams in the face of unprecedented challenges.” We cannot wait to join Opera Saratoga for some exhilarating and inspiring adventures. ■
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S P EC I A L P R O M OT I O N A L S EC T I O N
L TRIUMPHANT RETURN BY LAWRENCE EDELSON,
O P E R A S A R AT O G A A R T I S T I C A N D G E N E R A L D I R E C T O R
GARY DAVID GOLD
AFTER AN UNEXPECTED INTERMISSION AND A YEAR OF REFLECTION, O P E R A S A R AT O G A U S H E R S I N I T S 6 0 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y S E A S O N .
ast August, I bought a crystal ball. I began telling our Board and staff that all future planning would be done through an analysis of my extensive series of Excel spreadsheets—which plotted out a seemingly infinite number of scenarios for our upcoming 60thanniversary season—and my crystal ball, which would show us all the things we hadn’t thought of yet. I was only half joking. Running an organization as complex as an opera company requires considering multiple contingencies and having plans in place for the unexpected. (Everyone knows the saying “The show must go on” but maybe not that there’s a Plan B, C or D to ensure that that’s possible.) But a worldwide pandemic that would completely shut down the live performing arts industry for over a year, quite frankly, went beyond what I—or any of my “After a year of great tragedy and loss, it has colleagues—had contemplated as never been clearer to me that the arts can bring us we first became acquainted with together like nothing else,” says Opera Saratoga COVID-19. As challenging as it was, Artistic and General Director Lawrence Edelson. we knew that we needed to cancel the 2020 Summer Festival, and we organizations were increasing their did so with a heavy heart. But as the future digital presence in a new virtual world, became increasingly nebulous in the late which admittedly, had previously been summer, our previous playbooks provided underutilized in the classical arts. We little guidance. In retrospect, it was a muchcouldn’t perform on stage, but we knew we needed jolt for all of us in the performing had to stay connected to our audiences. arts to look long and hard at industry norms Over the summer, we presented daily that were antiquated and out of touch performances by our Emerging Artists with contemporary life, and figure out how online, and behind the scenes, we got to to address them. Though catalyzed by work adapting our education program, something as awful as a pandemic, our Opera-to-Go, into a series of video lessons reality check was long overdue. Of course, for elementary school children to teach them we also couldn’t ignore the social justice about music, opera, theater and the visual awakening that was happening around the arts. We not only wanted to help teachers country as well. Though Opera Saratoga who were so taxed by remote and hybrid has always embraced diversity, there is teaching, but also provide their students no denying that we needed to do more to with a multidisciplinary approach to the arts, bridge the equity gap. which felt even more important than usual As we began to consider how and when due to the isolation we were all feeling. we would return to live performances, I kept These programs were complemented by going back to, “How do we make sure we a new initiative, America Sings, created in continue serving our community?” This, partnership with Caffè Lena. This new series of course, begged a second, more critical of online concerts by BIPOC singers was question: Who is our community? It was time created to amplify the voices of artists who to look at who we already served, and who come from a range of backgrounds that we could and should be serving better. have been historically underrepresented All of this was unfolding as arts
on the opera stage. These virtual concerts have been a beacon of light over the past year, and we are excited to continue working with Caffè Lena to bring America Sings to live, inperson audiences in the coming year. Over the past year, we have also been carefully watching how other arts organizations have chosen to enter the digital space. While some companies have opted to showcase productions online that were originally intended for the stage, I strongly feel that simply digitizing the live performance experience creates a pale imitation of being in the theater in person. It is a stop-gap. So rather than making films of our productions available, we commissioned a new, made-for-digital, interactive opera. This two-year project, commissioned in collaboration with American Lyric Theater in New York City, will bring Opera Saratoga into uncharted territory, and we look forward to sharing more news about this special project with everyone in the fall. In the meantime, even as we have been exploring new ways of bringing opera and theater to you digitally, we also really wanted to make sure that we could get back to live performances as soon as it was safe to do so. Nothing is quite like the experience of going to the theater— or sharing a live performance with friends, family and other members of the community. We have been committed to figuring out a way to make sure that our 60th Anniversary Summer Festival could be brought to you, live and in person. When we set out to achieve that goal, I never imagined that meeting it would involve my becoming so well versed in the airborne transmission of infectious diseases or the intricacies of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, but the past year has greatly expanded the job descriptions of everyone who produces performing arts events. Because COVID is spread so easily, indoors, by the very thing we do—singing, playing instruments, acting and dancing, often in older theaters with antiquated HVAC systems and audience members seated in close proximity to one another for extended periods of time—the performing arts sector was among the first to close down in early 2020, and is only just now beginning to reopen. But returning to
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(from top) Cecilia Violetta López in Il Postino, Opera Saratoga’s first Spanish opera; a scene from Dido and Aeneas, the company’s first Baroque opera.
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changes in close proximity backstage. During a typical Summer Festival, Opera Saratoga produces three fully staged productions at The Spa Little Theater, along with concerts throughout the region. The size of our home theater simply is not conducive to presenting fully staged productions during a pandemic. Air filtration has been improved, but the theater’s limited backstage space doesn’t allow us to put all of the new safety protocols in place, and the required social distancing in the audience would mean that so few people would fit that performing in the theater would not be financially viable. We knew that we would need to perform outdoors, and fortunately, Saratoga Springs is an incredible place to be outdoors in the summer. Thanks to the willingness and enthusiasm of our partners at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center
(SPAC), the Saratoga Spa State Park and Pitney Meadows Community Farm, we would be able to come back together as a community to safely enjoy some incredible music and theater together this summer. But what would we produce? As I considered programming options, I found myself repeatedly drawn to works inspired by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes’ iconic novel, Don Quixote. Over the past year, we’ve all needed to channel some of the famous knight-errant’s idealism and extreme optimism—and to dream impossible dreams in the face of unprecedented challenges. The enormous size of the SPAC amphitheater will allow us to welcome socially distanced audiences, as well as stage the Tony-winning Broadway musical, Man of La Mancha, with all necessary safety protocols in place, incorporating vivid projection design to
GARY DAVID GOLD
the stage isn’t just a matter of turning on the spotlight and getting back out there. First, it’s worth remembering that most performers have not been working for more than a year. Though artists have made valiant efforts to stay connected to their craft—many creating their own online and social media content over the past year— performing live on stage is as physical as any sport, and it takes time to get back into shape. Also, keep in mind that even with vaccinations, there are many additional safety protocols that need to be put in place to ensure that artists and audience members alike not only remain safe, but also feel comfortable returning to the theater. After a year at home, it could feel equally strange to a patron to be seated right next to strangers in a crowded theater, as it would for artists to make quick costume
GARY DAVID GOLD
(clockwise, from left) Paulina Villarreal and Tyler Nelson in The Consul (2018); John Tibbetts and Scott Purcell in The Cradle Will Rock (2017); Keely Futterer and Santiago Ballerini in Daughter of the Regiment (2019).
enhance the production. Conversly, the more intimate spaces in Spa State Park for the opera Don Quichotte at Camacho’s Wedding and at Pitney Meadows Community Farm for our special concert, Quixotic Opera, will allow us to host smaller audiences in safe, covered, open-air venues. All of these unique spaces offer audiences the added bonus of being surrounded by natural beauty. So we figured out where we would perform, and what we would perform. But how? Every year, more than 100 artists and artisans come together from around the country to take up residence in Saratoga Springs to make our Festival possible. This year, we knew we would have to reduce our Festival’s staff size, because the cost and logistics of implementing all of the required safety protocols would be overwhelming at our usual scale. The programming was chosen with this in mind, to ensure we could create a season that would still entertain audiences and that could be produced with fewer artists without sacrificing quality. So how will your experience be different this summer? First and foremost, you will once again be able to see incredible, live, in-person performances! The way we are staging the productions prioritizes safety. You might notice that the performers maintain a bit more distance from one another than in previous productions, but we promise that won’t take away from the theatrical experience. We have also made adjustments to our operations to ensure your safety, based on CDC and New York State health protocols, and the guidance of expert medical advisors and our dedicated COVID Safety Officer, who will monitor compliance throughout the Festival. This includes seating all audience members in socially distanced “pods”; requiring advance ticket purchases to facilitate contactless ticketing and reduce lines when checking in; requiring proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID test within three days of the performance you are attending; and a mandatory temperature check at the ticket gate. Full details of our safety protocols are available at operasaratoga.org/faqs-2021. What you won’t see is actually the complicated part. Unfortunately, this summer
we cannot take advantage of the incredible generosity of our housing hosts. When artists and technicians arrive in Saratoga, they will be housed individually in quarantine until receiving two negative COVID tests, after which, they will move into our “bubble” or community housing with strictly controlled access and additional regular testing through a partnership with Saratoga Hospital. Groceries will be delivered to the artists, and a dedicated housing liaison will ensure that all transportation between housing and our rehearsal facilities is taken care of. Extra rehearsal precautions are in place as well: Rehearsals will be masked when indoors; rehearsal halls have increased air filtration systems installed; additional breaks are scheduled during the day to allow for air turnover in the rehearsal rooms;
costume and makeup personnel must follow extensive new safety protocols; and every artist and technician must pass a daily health screening and temperature check prior to each rehearsal call. Even though the entire performing company is vaccinated, these extra precautions are in place to ensure that artists return to the stage in the safest environment this summer. When I first looked into my crystal ball last summer, the future was undeniably hazy. But thanks to the support of the community— and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention, vital support from the federal government— Opera Saratoga’s future is bright, indeed. Sixty years ago, our founders, Fred Patrick and Jeanette Scovotti, took a leap of faith and founded a scrappy little opera company on the shores of Lake George, performing with two pianos to an audience of 230 people. I know they would be proud that, while we now call Saratoga Springs home, we serve more than 25,000 patrons annually through a wide array of programs that both entertain and inspire. After a year of great tragedy and loss, it has never been clearer to me that the arts can bring us together like nothing else, drawing us out of our daily lives by not only entertaining us, but also fostering understanding and empathy within us. It is my great pleasure and honor to serve our community—you!—in this way. I look forward to seeing you at the opera this summer! ■
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Making Memories
Who Runs the World?
a trained singer leads interactive sing-alongs with residents. The singers use therapeutic techniques such as mirroring, verbal and gestural prompting, making direct eye contact, and holding hands with residents throughout the program. Singers encourage WITH AN INNOVATIVE NEW PR OGRA M AND PARTNERSHIP, residents to join in in the singing, clapping and OPERA SARATOGA IS ABOUT TO BECOME THE FIRST OPERA dancing, as well as to engage in conversation COMPANY IN THE COUNTRY WITH A FULL-TIME MUSIC centered around the musical selections. Each of Opera Saratoga’s artists will THERAPY PR OGRA M FOR ALZHEIMER’S PATIENTS. by trained by Songs by Heart’s artistic administrator, Emily Becker, and Music Therapist, Jenny Cook. Becker and Cook have trained dozens of musicians (Songs t was with a heavy heart that Nancy partnership with the program, making it the by Heart boasts about 150 pianists and Gustafson watched her mother, Susan, first opera company in the US with a full-time singers in its program across the country) who was living in a memory care commitment to this type of music therapy. and have even been known to jump on a center with advanced Alzheimer’s “We hope to serve as a model that other plane to fill in if one of their singers comes disease, grow increasingly introverted, companies can replicate,” says Opera down with a cold. Becker says show tunes, spending most of her time alone in her Saratoga’s Artistic and General Director such as songs from My Fair Lady, room unable to recognize are common requests—and “Take her daughters or speak more than Me Out to the Ballgame” is the No. one or two words at a time. But one 1 most popular song. sing-along, accompanied by some With almost six million Americans somewhat shaky piano playing, currently suffering from Alzheimer’s, changed everything. and studies showing that music“I brought in a hymnal and based interventions can have tried singing with her, and within profound effects on the cognitive one second, she started singing and social functions of dementia along,” Gustafson says. “After 15 patients, Gustafson has high hopes minutes, her first words were, ‘You that partnerships like the one with know, that’s not very good.’ That Opera Saratoga will help ignite was my mother!” Singer Caitlyn Glennon interacts with a memory care more widespread usage of their A retired professional opera center resident during an interactive sing-along. sing-along therapy. singer, Gustafson’s piano playing “When we were singing in a group, and earned more solid approval after another Lawrence Edelson, whose own father is my mom touched the man next to her, I 20 minutes, and her mom even cracked a currently living with the disease. “It’s an thought I was going to burst into tears,” joke. “I can’t begin to tell you what that does important re-prioritization of company she says. “Having Alzheimer’s is lonely; to an adult child,” she says. “After lunch, she resources for us—to have artists who have you wake up not knowing who you are. would stay connected; she had vocabulary. therapeutic training in residence with us, fullBut when people with Alzheimer’s are And I thought that we had to see if this time, dedicated to this program.” singing, they’re no longer in their room worked with other people.” Opera Saratoga plans to start with up to alone. They’re connecting with the world It did, and Songs by Heart was born, a dozen facilities in seven counties, from around them. It’s powerful not only for bringing interactive singing to memory south of Albany up to Lake George, visiting the person with Alzheimer's, but for every care centers and facilities across the US. each center one to three times a week for member of his or her family.” ■ This fall, Opera Saratoga is launching its an engagement-centered program in which
CO N D U C TO R S L AU R A B E R G Q U I ST A N D M I C H E L L E R O F R A N O TA K E T H E S TAG E AT O P E R A S A R AT O G A T H I S S U M M E R , M A R K I N G T H E F I R S T T I M E WO M E N W I L L L E A D A L L O F T H E C O M PA N Y ’ S P R O D U C T I O N S .
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BY ABBY TEGNELIA
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If you have a loved one living with Alzheimer’s or dementia and would like Opera Saratoga to explore serving the facility in which they live, please contact Amanda Robie at 518.584.6018, or arobie@operasaratoga.org. HOW CAN I HELP? Seed money for this new initiative has been generously provided by OPERA America’s Innovation Grant Program, which is supported by the
Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation; OPERA America’s Civic Practice Grant Program; and the National Endowment for the Arts. However, this monetary support does not fully subsidize the cost of operating the program, and each of these grants has a matching component required. Please contact Katrina Fasulo at 518.584.6018 or kfasulo@operasaratoga.org to make a tax-deductible contribution to support this vital initiative. ■
(ROFRANO) SHANNON CAHILL
DO YOU HAVE A LOVED ONE LIVING WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE OR DEMENTIA? Opera Saratoga’s new music therapy program for those living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia will be made available to memory care facilities across the region beginning this fall. In August, the company will provide free previews of the program to any interested memory care center.
ANNA PIPARO
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DID YOU KNOW? An estimated 5.8 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease today. One recent study, using data from the Centers for Disease Control, Medicaid and Medicare, shows that New York State has the 10th highest rate of Alzheimer’s disease in the country. There is currently no cure for this devastating illness, and approximately 85,000 people die from the condition each year.
FLIP FOR MORE OPERA SARATOGA
hances are, the last time you went to the opera—or the orchestra or a Broadway show, for that matter—the conductor standing on the podium or in the pit was a man. Female conductors have, historically, been underrepresented across all performing arts genres, though, slowly but surely that’s beginning to change. The Dallas Opera’s Hart Institute, which has offered two-week residencies for female conductors since 2014, noted a rise in the percentage of women conducting at top-tier US opera companies, an increase from four to 14 percent in its first five years. And locally, Opera Saratoga recently made a commitment to ensure that, during every season going forward, at least half its conductors and directors would be women. This year, the 2021 season, marks the first time ever that all of Opera Saratoga’s productions will be conducted by women. One of the conductors that will take the podium at this summer’s festival is Michelle Rofrano, a New Jersey native who was introduced to classical music and opera at a very young age. “My grandfather was always a huge fan of classical music,” Rofrano says. “He grew up during World War II in Sicily, and his family didn’t have much money. And then he came here, and worked in a textile factory his entire life. So he loved to sing, but sadly was never able to pursue music. He would always save up his money to go to the Metropolitan Opera whenever he could, so I grew up with him bringing me to the Met, which is an incredible experience for a kid.” For obvious reasons, the classical repertoire will always be closest to Rofrano’s heart. And so, Don Quichotte at Camacho’s Wedding, the one-act comic serenata she’ll be conducting with Opera Saratoga this summer, is right in her wheelhouse. But Rofrano says she’s as excited about some of the other aspects of her upcoming residency in Saratoga, including spending time in the area and working with artists from
BY NATALIE MOORE
(from top) Michelle Rofrano will take the podium for Opera Saratoga’s Don Quichotte at Camacho’s Wedding this summer; Laura Berguist will conduct the company’s three performances of Man of La Mancha. Opera Saratoga’s Young Artist Program— not to mention her female co-conductor, Laura Bergquist. “I’m excited to work with an all-female conducting staff,” she says. “This will be the first time I’ve been at a festival— or anywhere—where that’s the case.” This summer’s festival will also mark the first time Bergquist, who will be on the podium for Opera Saratoga’s three performances of Man of La Mancha this July, will work with an all-female conducting
staff. Like Rofrano, the New York City–based conductor got her start in classical music at an early age, but for Bergquist, it was through her church. A pianist and classically trained singer, Bergquist performed lead roles in opera and musical theater before transitioning to conducting, and since then has nabbed conducting credits for OffBroadway productions of Fiddler on the Roof and Daddy Long Legs, plus several world premieres, including the Broadway show Allegiance. “Countless times, I’ve been proud of shows, concerts, classes and students in my career," she says, "but experiencing an opening night on Broadway, standing on the podium in the orchestra pit and telling the story of Allegiance, was remarkable and never to be forgotten.” As for Rofrano and Bergquist’s experiences as women in a historically male-dominated field? They’ve been largely positive. “While there still aren’t a ton of women conducting today,” Rofrano says, “there’s a lot of solidarity between female colleagues my age and female mentors I’ve worked with.” Laurie Rogers, Opera Saratoga’s Head of Music Staff and Director of the company’s acclaimed Young Artist Program, notes that “one of the aspects I love the most about my job is connecting with and mentoring our Conducting and Coaching Fellows, an increasing number of whom have been women in recent years.” (Rogers will serve as the music director of this summer’s Quixotic Opera.) Bergquist agrees, having also had the opportunity to mentor young women conductors. “I’m thrilled to have young girls—teens, college students—see a viable career path modeled for them,” she says. “I’ve been so privileged to be the ‘first’ female conductor in so many situations. It continues to surprise me that in 2021, I still get the comment, ‘I’ve never seen a woman conduct an orchestra before!’” After this summer, anyone who attended one of Opera Saratoga’s performances will no longer feel that way. ■
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