By Fred Wu
Robert Ainsley, now the Artistic and General Director of the Glimmerglass Festival, returned to the very organ loft where his American career began twenty-five years ago. He was introduced by Martin Kagan, an advisor to the festival and a familiar face in the community, who noted that Ainsley had ascended to the leadership of one of the world’s premier summer opera festivals when he took the helm in 2022.
The presentation was steeped in nostalgia. Ainsley recalled arriving from England in 1999 for what was intended to be a single gap year as an organist at Christ Church. Instead, he found a community that supported him through a master’s degree in solo piano and cheered as he was bitten by the opera bug, eventually landing him in the prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera. He spoke warmly of his time under the tutelage of the late James Levine, describing those years as some of the most transformative and stressful of his life.
Ainsley’s journey was not a solitary one. He highlighted his early entrepreneurial spirit, specifically the founding of the Greenwich Music Festival alongside Ted Huffman. Huffman, once a choir boy at Christ Church and a boy soloist at the Met who famously sang opposite Luciano Pavarotti in Tosca, has followed a parallel trajectory to Ainsley, now directing a major international festival in Aix-en-Provence, France. This shared history served as a testament to the local roots of global artistic leadership.
The core of the afternoon was dedicated to the “cultural miracle” that is the Glimmerglass Festival, located on the secluded banks of Otsego Lake in Cooperstown, New York. Ainsley painted a vivid picture of the town, which was given the moniker Glimmerglass by the author James Fenimore Cooper in his Leatherstocking Tales. While many associate Cooperstown primarily with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Ainsley argued that the town’s pristine, idyllic charm is maintained through the stewardship of Jane Forbes Clark. As the president of the Clark Foundation and a dominant force in local philanthropy, Clark ensures the village remains in a state of historical perfection, from the manicured flowers on Main Street to the grand Otesaga Resort Hotel.
Ainsley was joined by two rising stars from the festival’s resident artist program, soprano Kaileigh Riess and soprano Lauren Torey. Their performances punctuated his talk, illustrating the high caliber of talent the festival attracts. Riess, a graduate of the University of Southern California, opened with a rendition of “O mio babbino caro” from Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi,” while Torey, a Juilliard alumna associated with the Denyce Graves Foundation, performed “On the Steps of the Palace” from Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods.” These selections underscored Ainsley’s belief that the distinction between “high” opera and musical theater is an unnecessary one.
The upcoming season at Glimmerglass, which coincides with the festival’s 50th anniversary and the lead-up to the American semiquincentennial, was presented as a celebration of the American experience. Ainsley detailed a slate that includes a massive new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” and a reimagined “Madama Butterfly.” The latter, directed by Ainsley’s predecessor Francesca Zambello, addresses the opera’s historical racial stereotypes by shifting much of the action to the American consulate, transforming the traditional Japanese wedding guests into gossiping American socialites at a tea party. Zambello, a titan in the opera world who also serves as the artistic director of the Washington National Opera, has been a pivotal figure in shaping the festival’s modern identity.
The festival’s primary venue, the Alice Busch Opera Theater, was also a topic of pride. Designed by the late architect Hugh Hardy, known for his work on iconic Broadway theaters, the house is a jewel-box structure where the side walls open to the summer breeze. Ainsley noted that the theater offers an intimacy that the Metropolitan Opera cannot match; with only 918 seats, the experience is personal rather than transactional.
As the afternoon concluded, Ainsley spoke of the theater as one of the last remaining places for civil community discussion. He pointed to Gregory Spears’s 2016 opera “Fellow Travelers”—a lyrical masterpiece set during the McCarthy-era “Lavender Scare”—as an example of how art can tackle contemporary resonance without becoming partisan. For Ainsley, the festival is not just a series of performances but an engine for the entire opera business and a sanctuary where nature and culture meet. He left his audience with an invitation to leave the “sticky steps” of their daily lives and find their way to the mirrored waters of the lake this summer.
The RMA’s next presentation, “Update on the 2025 Greenwich Real Estate Market” by David Michonski, is scheduled for 11 AM on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. RMA presentations are held at Christ Church Greenwich, Parish Hall, 254 E. Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830.
How has the Greenwich market fared in the past year and what may lie ahead? To find out, David Michonski will provide us a fascinating insight into Greenwich home prices during 2025. Not only will he present easy-to-understand visuals of the market, but he will compare Greenwich prices with national average and median prices. David will also discuss the state of real estate brokerage today and important trends that will affect all homeowners going forward.
Michonski has been responsible for some of the largest and most celebrated real estate sales in America for some of America’s most notable families. Over the past 30 years he has lectured, marketed, taught and consulted on real estate sales and marketing around the world. He has been a real estate consultant for the US Department of State and led the first team of U.S. advisors into Eastern Europe after the Berlin Wall fell. He has also managed the Greenwich office of Coldwell Banker. Michonski is the founder, chairman and CEO of Quigler, Inc., and the author of three award-winning real estate books, including “Get Your Highest Price,” a guide for consumers about what they should expect from their agent to get the highest price for their home, which book served as the inspiration for Quigler.
David graduated from Colgate University with high honors, and studied at Harvard, Boston College and the Wharton School.
To stream the presentation by David Michonski at 11 AM on Wednesday, February 18, click on https://bit.ly/30IBj21. This presentation will also be available on local public access TV channels, Verizon FIOS channel 24 and Optimum channel 79.
Note: The views expressed in these presentations are those of the speakers. They are not intended to represent the views of the RMA or its members.
RMA speaker presentations are presented as a community service at no cost to in-person or Zoom attendees, regardless of gender. Any member of the public who would like to receive a weekly email announcement of future speakers should send a request to members@greenwichrma.org. The RMA urges all eligible individuals to consider becoming a member of our great organization, and thereby enjoy all the available fellowship, volunteer, and community service opportunities which the RMA offers to its members. For further information, go to https://greenwichrma.org/, or contact info@greenwichrma.org.
