Music, Opera, and Dance Ahead at the Princeton Festival June 6-21
The Princeton Festival, New Jersey’s premier performing arts showcase, takes place June 6-21 on the grounds of Morven Museum & Garden. The performance line-up includes chart-topping hits of music icons, superstar soprano Renée Fleming, songs by Sondheim, a Giacomo Puccini’s tumultuous opera Tosca, an evening of dance, music of Vivaldi and the Motor City, plus a joy-filled finale featuring the music of ABBA. A Baroque concert and violin recital take place at nearby Trinity Church.
Opening Weekend begins Friday, June 6 with ICON: The Voices That Changed Music featuring songs by such iconic artists as Prince, Whitney Houston, Elvis Presley, and more performed by returning Festival artists Capathia Jenkins and Ryan Shaw, with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lucas Waldin.
On Saturday, June 7, the incomparable soprano Renée Fleming performs with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra. The 5-time Grammy® Award-winning soprano sings her favorite arias and songs during one unforgettable evening at this year’s Festival. Rossen Milanov conducts.
Sunday, June 8 is Community Day at the Festival with morning Yoga, a new Festival Farmers’ Market, and free family fun activities followed by a ticketed, cabaret-style performance of Sondheim in the City with Broadway star Melissa Errico.
Opera is at the heart of the Festival with Giacomo Puccini’s passionate opera Tosca taking centerstage June 13, June 15, and 17. Soprano Toni Marie Palmertree stars as Tosca with Victor Starsky portraying Cavaradossi and Luis Ledesma as Scarpia.
Classical music lovers will enjoy An Evening of Pas de deux with American Repertory Ballet and the Princeton Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, June 14, and Viva Vivaldi! with Daniel Rowland and Maja Bogdanović plus Princeton Symphony Orchestra string musicians on Friday, June 20. Two concerts will be performed at Trinity Church, Tessa Lark, Violin: Stradgrass on Thursday, June 12 and The Sebastians: Baroque Brilliance on Wednesday, June 18.
Fans of music groups of the 60s-70s can eagerly anticipate Masters of Soul: A Motown Revue capping off the Festival’s Juneteenth Celebration on Thursday, June 19, and ARRIVAL from Sweden: The Music of ABBA on Saturday, June 21, concluding the Festival on a high note of nostalgic fun.
Concessions are available in the open-air lobby before main stage performances with additional food vendors on select nights.
Every year in June, thousands of people from the mid-Atlantic region and beyond come to the Princeton Festival to enjoy the quality and variety of its programs. Offerings include opera, musical theater, baroque and chamber music, and a constantly evolving selection of other genres, including dance, world music, orchestral pops, and choral concerts. The Festival has long-standing partnerships with public libraries and local churches, and promotes life-long learning in the arts through free educational lectures presented to a wide and diverse community. The Princeton Festival merged with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra in 2021.
Tickets start at $35, and are available by phone at (609) 497-0020 and via the Festival website at: princetonsymphony.org/festival.
