Francesca Zambello will take over as the new general and artistic director of the Glimmerglass Opera after the departure of Michael MacLeod earlier this year. Zambello is currently the artistic adviser for the San Francisco Opera and has worked at a number of other operas around the world including the Metropolitan Opera, the Paris Opera, and the Royal Opera House.

Francesca Zambello recently directed the Broadway production of Disney's The Little Mermaid. Ms. Zambello has won multiple Olivier Awards, Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical and Best Opera, and French Grand Prix des Critiques. Her additional awards include: Japanese Golden Prize, Helpmann Award, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, Russian Federation's Medal for ServIce To Culture, the Palme d'Or in Germany, and the Golden Mask in Russia. In London she has directed at the Royal Albert Hall: Show Boat and West End: Napoleon.

Additional credits include: Raimund Theater, Vienna: a new musical based on Rebecca; Seattle Children's Theatre: Tibet Through the Red Box; Bregenz's floating stage: West Side Story; Old Globe: First Wives Club; and Skylight Music Theater: Artistic Director, 1984-91. Her Opera credits include: Metropolitan Opera: An American Tragedy (world premiere), Cyrano de Bergerac (with Placido Domingo), Les Troyens; Teatro alla Scala: Cyrano; Washington National and San Francisco Operas: The Ring, San Francisco Opera: Artistic Advisor; Royal Albert Hall: La Bohème; The Bolshoi: Fiery Angel; Chicago Lyric Opera: Salome; Royal Opera House: Carmen, Don Giovanni; Paris Opera: Boris Godunov, War and Peace, Billy Budd, William Tell. Ms. Zambello's Film credits include: War and Peace (ORF), Amahl and the Night Visitors (BBC), and The Little Prince (BBC/PBS). Currently, Zambello is directing the national tour of Little House on the Prairie.

Established in 1975 and based in Cooperstown, New York, Glimmerglass Opera is a professional, non-profit opera company that offers performances of four operas that run in rotating repertory during July and August. Since its opening in 1987, the company's Alice Busch Opera Theater has been home to more than 85 productions. The 2010 Festival runs from July 9 to August 24 and will feature 44 performances of four new productions: Puccini's Tosca, Copland's The Tender Land, Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro and Handel's Tolomeo. For additional information, call (607) 547-2255 or visit www.glimmerglass.org.