For tickets visit: atuph.org

Opera Saratoga and the Glimmerglass Festival form a historic New York State partnership to present Kurt Weill, Berthold Brecht, and Elizabeth Hauptmann’s Happy End.

Censored after its second performance in Germany in 1929, Happy End is a satire of big business and big religion; at a neighborhood watering hole where gangsters do deals and the Salvation Army saves souls, Weill asks the question, 'How different are we, anyway?' With a glorious score including "Bilbao Song," "Mandalay Song," and "Surabaya Johnny," Happy End is sure to sparkle.

Happy End will be music directed by Robert Ainsley, the Artistic & General Director of the Glimmerglass Festival and feature Ana Karneža, who won the Kurt Weill Foundation’s Lotte Lenya competition in 2024. The performance will be directed by Mary Birnbaum in collaboration with Glimmerglass Festival dramaturg Kelley Rourke. Birnbaum says “This is an exciting new model of producing opera where regional companies partner with each other to bring opera to individual communities rather than expecting them to travel to us. We’re hoping to build a new audience for opera throughout the state and to focus on sustainability by partnering with the Glimmerglass Festival, whose work we admire.” The piece will tour to venues all over the state including two performances at Universal Preservation Hall on May 28 & 30 at 7:00pm.

Ainsley says, "At Glimmerglass, we’ve always believed that opera should be a shared experience—something that brings people together in unexpected ways. This exciting new collaboration with Opera Saratoga allows us to reach new audiences, nurture artists, and keep this art form thriving—bringing great stories and music to communities across New York State. Happy End has so much heart, humor, and humanity—it is the perfect piece to share with new audiences and to celebrate what’s possible when companies work together."