COOPERSTOWN, New York — Stewart Robertson, music director and principal conductor for Glimmerglass Opera since 1988, will step down after the 2006 summer season.
Robertson cited an increasingly busy schedule, which includes directorships of the Florida Grand Opera and the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, as well as his recent appointment as artistic director of Opera Omaha.
He also plans to start a music festival in his native Scotland.
"I have spent a significant portion of my life at Glimmerglass Opera, and the company will always hold an incredibly special place in my heart," Robertson said in a statement Thursday [December 1]. "There are still, however, many things I would like to explore in my career, and this seems like the ideal time to pursue such endeavors."
Robertson made his conducting debut at the rural upstate opera in 1987. He was named music director the next year.
The Glasgow native has been a champion of British composer Benjamin Britten, staging a number of his works at Glimmerglass, including Death in Venice this summer.
Robertson also has been an advocate for American composers, premiering works such as William Schuman's A Question of Taste and David Carlson's The Midnight Angel.
The 2006 season for Glimmerglass, near Lake Otsego and the Baseball Hall of Fame, will run from July 7 to August 29.
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Glimmerglass Opera — www.glimmerglass.org
