Marcella Sembrich Opera Museum

The words “opera museum” might not scream exciting, but the Marcella Sembrich Opera Museum is well worth a visit.

Located in the Adirondack foothills of upstate New York, it overlooks Lake George and is quite simply, beautiful. The grounds are perfect for a picnic. The museum itself is housed in what was once Miss Sembrich’s studio. Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, she was one of the hotshots on the opera scene. She performed with the Metropolitan Opera for more than a decade, with her most famous role being Mimi in “La Boheme.”

Her pink stucco studio was turned into a museum posthumously, and it celebrates a golden age of opera music. During Sembrich’s day, opera singers were celebrities — the Beyonce of that era. Inside are costumes, playbills and other items from past performances, Sembrich’s grand piano and photos aplenty. There’s also a sizable collection of her correspondence — apparently the likes of Thomas Edison and Mark Twain were her one-time pen pals.