Hubbard Hall - Center for the Arts and Education

I love playing cello for Hubbard Hall Opera in the Summer!! The hall is perfect for intimate productions. The director, Alexina Jones, is a joy to work with, and all the national level talent that comes through Hubbard Hall is mind-blowing for such a small town in upstate as Cambridge, NY!! All the best, Will Hayes, cellist

Best little opera company around. Bar none. And the price is right. Easy commute from Manchester, Williamstown, North Adams, Dorset, Saratoga Springs, Troy and Schenectady.

There is much offered here: Great theatre performances, world-class music by Music from Salem and the Hubbard Hall Opera Company (among others), childrens programs and camps, and terrific classes for art, music, dance, theatre, fencing, gardening, and much more. Hubbard Hall depends a great deal on volunteers and has its rough points, but it functions well as the cultural and arts "heart" of the local area. The venue is an absolutely fascinating 19th century opera house, one of only very few left in the state, complete with original painted scenic backdrops, quirky architecture, secret passageways, and wonderfully old-fashioned retail space on the first floor. Behind the opera house are several 19th century railroad freight yard buildings that have been renovated and repurposed as classroom and performance space. There is also an outdoor quebecois bread oven here that is used for community events (including the monthly contra dances and the weekly farmers market). Through all of these things, Hubbard Hall continues to be a center of community life, and a place for people to gather, just as it was in the 19th century before movies, radio, TV, and the internet. As far as I know, this makes it exceedingly rare, if not entirely unique, as an institution.