Leon Botstein, who has served as Bard College’s president since 1975, will continue his tradition of championing overlooked operatic works this summer when he conducts the first fully-staged American production of Bedřich Smetana’s “Dalibor” at the 2025 Bard SummerScape Festival.
The opera, which follows a 15th-century knight embroiled in a peasant uprising, will be performed five times between July 25 and August 3 at the Fisher Center’s Sosnoff Theater. French director Jean-Romain Vesperini, who earned critical acclaim for his 2023 SummerScape production of Saint-Saëns’ “Henri VIII,” returns to helm the production.
“Botstein, and his annual opera production at Bard, seem more invaluable by the year,” noted The New York Times in a recent review. Throughout his tenure at Bard, Botstein has consistently used his role as music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra to resurrect rarely performed operas and orchestral works, making the Hudson Valley campus an unexpected destination for musical archaeology.
The opera production anchors a broader festival that includes dance, music, and the 35th Bard Music Festival, which this year explores the work of Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů. The combination of “Dalibor” and the Martinů festival represents one of the most significant focused examinations of Czech classical music in recent American programming.
Botstein’s roles as college president and conductor has helped transform Bard’s musical offerings since he assumed leadership of the institution nearly 50 years ago. Under his guidance, the college has established the Bard College Conservatory of Music, The Orchestra Now training program, and the annual SummerScape festival, which has become known for its ambitious programming and historic revivals.
Beyond the opera, Botstein will conduct The Orchestra Now in several festival concerts, including a complete performance of Martinů’s 1937 opera “Julietta” on August 17. The season demonstrates Botstein’s ongoing commitment to expanding the standard repertoire while providing professional training opportunities for emerging musicians through The Orchestra Now program.
The Fisher Center’s programming has gained increasing national attention under Botstein’s leadership, with recent SummerScape productions moving to larger stages. The 2019 staging of “Oklahoma!” transferred to Broadway and won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, while this year’s “Illinoise” also made the journey to Broadway, earning four Tony nominations and winning one Tony Award.
Botstein’s influence extends beyond Bard’s campus through his work as music director of the American Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 1992. He has recorded extensively, including a Grammy-nominated recording of Popov’s First Symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra, and serves as the editor of The Musical Quarterly.
The 2025 SummerScape festival, running from June 27 to August 17, will also feature a world premiere dance work by choreographer Pam Tanowitz and the return of the popular Spiegeltent performance venue. The new dance piece, titled “Pastoral,” is a collaboration with painter Sarah Crowner and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw, inspired by Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6. Tickets for all events, including “Dalibor,” go on sale to the public on March 5, with member pre-sales beginning February 25.