His Next Era

At the Aspen Music Festival and School’s Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS: Alongside Renée Fleming, Summers will continue as co-director of the program, which the two have led since 2019. In summer 2026, he conducts Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

At the Rice University Shepherd School of Music: In August 2024, Summers was named a distinguished lecturer in opera studies at the school, where next year, he will teach the course Opera History and Historic Singers.

At your local bookstore: Summers recently published several books, including Tapestries, a collection of essays on the operatic art; Key Change: An Alternative History of Mozart, which imagines the composer’s life if he had lived to be an old man; A Collection of Brevities, about a pianist who, at the height of his career, suddenly stops performing; and Birdie’s Forever Day, about a woman coming to terms with past trauma, who can hear the language of birds. And more are on the way.

At Canadian Opera Company: Summers will conduct Britten’s masterful ghost story, The Turn of the Screw, for the Toronto-based company in winter 2027.

Back home at HGO: Starting in the 2026-27 season, Summers will assume an emeritus role with the company, continuing to serve the company as a valued advisor, scholar, and guest conductor. Look for him at the podium in spring 2027 for Show Boat!