Heads Up! It’s Summer in the UV: Opera North’s Summerfest 2026 in Cornish, and Nexus Music and Arts Festival in Lebanon
Arts in the great outdoors.
It’s been almost a decade since Evans Haile, director of Opera North, decided to move the company’s annual productions out of a traditional opera house and onto the Blow-Me-Down Farm in Cornish, New Hampshire, now owned by the Saint Gaudens National Historical Park. This 42 acre farm, located on Route 12A, was purchased in the late 1800s by New York attorney (and first ever United States Solicitor General) Charles Beaman to be used as his “country place.”
Beaman? Yes. He’s the guy who convinced sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to move to Cornish, New Hampshire, followed by an estimated 80 other artists who formed what came to be known as the storied Cornish Colony. (And hence, the reason we now have the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park, the sculptor’s former home and the subject of several posts on Artful, including this recent one.)
Opera North Director Haile’s vision has been to bring opera to the people, to non-traditional venues. He partnered with the National Park Service to develop a “Park for the Arts” at the Blow-Me-Down farm. As in seasons past, Summerfest 2026 will bring three fully-staged productions under a large tent once named Miss Charlotte, with a before-performance picnic on the grounds and a magnificent view of Mount Ascutney. The whole experience wears an Upper Valley summer vibe. You can come as you are, wear your sneakers, and bring the kids. I have never seen a tuxedo there—not to say there hasn’t been one—but it too would be welcome.
Summerfest 2026 begins on June 26 with La Cenerentola (“Cinderella with a twist”) followed by Ballad of Baby Doe beginning on July 12. A final production, Fiddler on the Roof, opens on July 23 (a musical, not technically an opera, but same high-quality professional orchestra and those same heavenly voices). Tickets (advice: act quickly because they often sell out) are available through the Lebanon Opera House box office and online here.
Fun fact: The Saint-Gaudenses started out as renters. In 1885, Charles Beaman offered them an adjacent property to his own Blow-Me-Down that he had renamed Blow-Me-Up. After several years of renting, Augustus Saint-Gaudens purchased the property from Beaman and renamed it Aspet, after his father’s home village in France. (Source: Wikipedia)
SAVE THE DATE: NEXUS MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL IN DOWNTOWN LEBANON NH
The sixth annual Nexus Music and Arts Festival will launch August 7 through 9 in downtown Lebanon, New Hampshire. Many performers on three different stages, sidewalk buskers, a silent disco, a spoon-playing workshop. Open to all and free (only exception—a modest fee for the silent disco to reserve headsets). Joe Clifford, Executive and Artistic Director at Lebanon Opera House, highlighted just three of the performers. In his words:
—Joy Clark (Friday) -- A leading voice in modern folk, Joy reminds me of a young Tracy Chapman: a warm, soulful singer-songwriter whose lyrics often speak to social justice issues.
—Melisande (Saturday) -- This is a fun one that gets people on their feet...the (electrotrad) project remixes centuries-old Quebecois tunes with electronic dance beats. (photo, above)
—The Vaudevillian (Sunday) -- . . . a feel-good, high-octane jug band...complete with washboard and musical spoons.
Mark your calendar. Sharpie this in.
(Photos, top and center, courtesy of Opera North. Photo of Melisande courtesy of Lebanon Opera House. )
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And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, Next Avenue, Image Magazine, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.