Seagle Festival: Uncovering future opera stars for 110 years

Schroon Lake’s Seagle Festival attracts talent from around the world to take part in summer theater season

Tucked away on a quiet, rustic property near Schroon Lake, the Seagle Festival transforms into a hub of activity every summer, as 32 young actors, actresses, and singers from across the country move in for 10 weeks of intensive training and performance.

“We’re a little bit of a hidden gem,” said general director Tony Kostecki. Over its 110-year history, Kostecki said the festival has built a reputation for uncovering future stars of opera and musical theater—a status reflected in the nearly 400 applications the festival receives each year and the world-class institutions where its alumni frequently land. Places such as The Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera.

“And yet it’s always been a challenge to get people in the Adirondacks to realize that we’re here, what we do, and how special a place this is,” said Kostecki.

An artist-first approach

During artists’ stay at the property, the festival produces five different shows, each with four public performances. The selections, which in 2025 include “Pirates of Penzance,” “Mayo Buckner,” and “Anything Goes,” span genres and themes, in part because artistic director Darren Woods curates them to showcase the talents of the season’s artists. “No decision is made here that does not have the artist in mind,” said Woods. “Unlike most companies, we don’t look at our productions and say, ‘what is going to sell the most tickets?’ Instead, we want to give everybody a chance to strut their stuff.” 

Catering primarily to upper-level graduate and undergraduate students, the festival focuses on polishing the skills of each cohort as they prepare to enter the professional performance world. “We try to teach them what they don’t learn at university—marketing skills, social skills, financial skills—everything they might need to set up their own business of singing,” said Woods.

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As part of their training, residents maintain a grueling pace of rehearsals, performances, classes, and coaching sessions. All of it customized to each artist’s professional goals. For example, roles in the festival’s operas are often double-cast to protect the singer’s voices. “However, for something like “Anything Goes,” we will only have one cast. Because if you work on Broadway, you do eight shows a week. You need to be able to have that stamina,” said Woods.

The resulting productions are often incredibly unique, according to Woods. Performances frequently draw representatives from companies including the Metropolitan Opera, the Kennedy Center, and Glimmerglass.  

While much of the high caliber of these performances stems from the artist’s raw talent, the festival’s environment adds something special, says Emily Richter, a professional soprano and Seagle Festival alumni.

Although she’s gone on to perform at companies like the Santa Fe Opera, the Lyric Opera, and the Pittsburgh Opera, Richter said the voices that come together at the festival remain unmatched. “I remember sitting in these morning 9 a.m. classes at the Seagle Festival and just hearing some of the most special and exciting singing I’ve heard anywhere,” said Richter.

Most artists attend the Seagle Festival for two years, but the relationships they create often extend far longer. “The collective family feeling that we have every summer is just remarkable,” said Woods. “Once you’ve been to Seagle, you have family members all over the world that are going to watch your back, put you up if you’re doing an audition, and give you a hand every step of the way.”

Tickets are now on sale for the festival’s 2025 performance series, which runs for four weeks from mid-July through August.