PREVIEW: Opera Saratoga presents the immersive thriller, ‘In a Grove’
05/28 and 05/29 @ Spa State Park, Saratoga
Photos by Maria Baranova
“‘In a Grove’ defines ‘unreliable narrator’ in an immersive opera-slash-theater experience…”
In a Grove — an operatic adaptation of the famed short story — delivers a gripping, 60-minute opera-meets-theater experience that taps into today’s true-crime obsession.
Suspense, intrigue and live performance converge in Saratoga on May 28 and 29 for this rare outdoor production that the New York Times hailed as “a vividly immersive thriller.” With only 30 tickets available per showing at $40 each, Opera Saratoga’s In a Grove promises an intimate experience — and it’s selling fast.
“There will be speakers hiding in the park and a conductor who has an earpiece with a click track,” says Mary Birnbaum, general and executive director of Opera Saratoga, which is performing the show as part of its 2025 Summer Festival that runs through the end of June. “Audiences will experience the show progressively, as they venture into the grove themselves.”
If you’ve ever delved deep into a book with an unreliable narrator, how will you fare when seven people have something to say after someone is found dead in a creepy ghost forest — a story you’re experiencing outside in Spa State Park, surrounded by trees hiding speakers for the ultimate nature’s surround sound. “Immersive” might be an overused word these days, but in this case, the Times got it right.
In a Grove is an electronic opera composed by Chris Cerrone with libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann and will be held at Ferndell Pavilion in Spa State Park. In addition to the Akutagawa short story, film buffs might recognize the story from Kurosawa’s renowned movie, Rashomon.
The outdoor show kicks off Opera Saratoga’s Summer Festival, which also includes Saratoga’s only summer musical (She Loves Me), the irreverent French operetta La Vie Parisienne, and the opera-theater work A Mass for Women in Bathrooms, all performed at Universal Preservation Hall. Various 90-minute concerts will also be held at Saratoga Winery and the Mansion of Saratoga.
For more information and to purchase tickets, go to operasaratoga.org.