A New Club Helsinki: A New Glimmerglass, Too

Club Helsinki, once a thriving nightspot in Great Barrington, closed its doors last year, but has just reopened in Hudson, NY. It took four years of work to restore one of the town’s fine historic buildings, and now, with more space than in its previous incarnation, the club is hosting a typically eclectic assortment of bands. This Friday the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus Cabaret, an old-fashioned variety show that has traveled the world and for two years, operated “the last vaudeville house in Times Square.†Recently it has been developing programs in the Hudson Valley and Catskills, and its 400-plus alumni are working in every facet of the entertainment industry. Showtime: June 25 at 9 p.m.; 21 and over only. Doors open at 8. $20.

   Details and tickets at clubhelsinki.com, or 800-594-8499.

   Glimmerglass Opera has announced that starting next season, it is
changing its name to The Glimmerglass Festival, and will begin to
incorporate one musical each year into its schedule (“Annie Get Your
Gun†will be the 2011 offering), along with concerts, lectures, symposiums and cabaret throughout the season. This year the focus remains solely on opera, with four works in rotation in a season that runs from July 9 through Aug. 24. Opening night will be Puccini’s “Tosca,†starring Lise Lindstrom, a California native who won accolades last season for her “Turandot†at the Metropolitan Opera. Adam Diegel plays the poet Cavaradossi and David Angus, Glimmerglass’s music director and a veteran of many European performances, will conduct.  On July 10 the festival presents the first of its performances of Aaron Copland’s “The Tender Land,†a bittersweet American tale performed by many superb students who are studying at Glimmerglass this year.

   July 17, Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro†begins its run, followed on the 18th by Handel’s “Tolomeo†in its first American professional staging. For tickets: glimmerglass.org or at 607-547-2255.