COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. - The Glimmerglass Festival will host a ceremonial groundbreaking with State Senator James L. Seward on the planned future site of the company's new rehearsal hall on September 17 at 11:30 a.m. at 4152 U.S Highway 20 in Warren, New York.

The groundbreaking will celebrate the opera and musical theater festival's new rehearsal hall funded by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.

"Internationally renowned Glimmerglass Festival is a cultural icon and an economic engine for Otsego County and the surrounding region," Senator James L. Seward said. "The expansion will mean construction jobs in the short-term and will enhance the long-term viability of the opera house and the ever-growing local tourism industry."

Engineered by McManus Engineering Group LLC of Cooperstown, the new rehearsal space will be climate controlled and contain two 60' by 60' rooms, so that two rehearsals may occur concurrently. Construction is anticipated to begin in the spring of 2012.

"We are extremely grateful to Senator Seward's leadership and the State of New York for recognizing the need for this new space," said Francesca Zambello, Glimmerglass Festival Artistic & General Director. "The surrounding community has been extremely supportive in providing spaces for opera rehearsals. We hold rehearsals in community centers in Fly Creek, Richfield Springs, Sharon Springs, Cooperstown and Cherry Valley. While this will continue, this new space will allow the Festival to have more of a home base for its rehearsals."

The public is invited to attend the groundbreaking ceremony. The Glimmerglass Festival is a non-profit professional opera and musical theater company that sells more than 30,000 tickets to its mainstage productions each year.

For more information on The Glimmerglass Festival, visit www.glimmerglass.org.

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The Glimmerglass Festival is a professional, non-profit organization presenting four new productions of in rotation every July and August. The company's Alice Busch Opera Theater opened in 1987 and has been home to more than 85 productions, many of which have been world and professional premieres. Francesca Zambello was appointed Artistic & General Director in September 2010. The company continues is tradition of four new fully staged productions, now to include three operas and a piece of American musical theater performed as intended with full orchestra and no sound amplification. Main stage performances are supplemented by special performances, concerts, Q&As, a discussion series and more. Founded in 1975, the company continues to attract an international audience to the scenic Cooperstown area, where the talent of singers, directors, designers and staff from around the world converges to produce world-class opera and music theater.