Santa Fe Opera
 Santa Fe Opera's Crosby Theatre | |
 Interactive map of Santa Fe Opera | |
| Address | 301 Opera Drive Santa Fe, New Mexico United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 35°45′50″N 105°56′49″W / 35.7640°N 105.9470°W |
| Capacity | 2128 plus 106 standees |
Current use | performing arts center |
| Construction | |
| Opened | July 3, 1957 |
| Rebuilt | 1968, 1998 |
| Architect | 1998 rebuild: James Polshek |
| Website | |
| www | |
Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located 7 miles (11 km) north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the Opera Association of New Mexico in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby, oversaw the building of the first opera house on a newly acquired former guest ranch of 199 acres (0.81 km2). The company has presented operas each summer festival season since July 1957, and is internationally known for introducing new operas as well as for its productions of the standard operatic repertoire. Five operas are presented each season during the summer.[1][2]
Since its inception, Santa Fe Opera has staged 45 American premieres and 19 world premieres, including Emmeline, The Tempest, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Adriana Mater, and Cold Mountain.[3]
General history
[edit]
John Crosby, who was a New York-based conductor, founded the company in 1956, initially with the financial support of his parents, who helped in the acquisition of the land and the building of the first opera house. One goal was to give American singers the opportunity to learn and perform new roles while having ample time for rehearsal and preparation in the context of a summer festival situation with the presentation of five operas in repertory. Its first season began on July 3, 1957, with a performance of Puccini's Madama Butterfly with a seating capacity of nearly 500.[4]
Crosby remained as general director until 2000, the longest general directorship in US opera history.[5] Richard Gaddes served as the company's general director from 2000 through 2008.[6][7] In November 2007, SFO named Charles MacKay the company's third general director, effective October 1, 2008.[8] In August 2017, the company announced the intention of MacKay to stand down as its general director after the 2018 season.[9]
In addition to being the opera company's founding general director, Crosby had simultaneously served as its de facto first principal conductor. Alan Gilbert became the company's first music director from 2003 to 2006. Kenneth Montgomery, a regular guest conductor starting in 1982, served as interim music director for the 2007 season.[10][11] In July 2007, Edo de Waart was named as chief conductor, effective October 1, 2007, with an initial contract of four years. He was the first conductor to hold that title with the company.[12][13] However, in November 2008, the company announced that de Waart stepped down from the post before the end of his contract, with de Waart citing health and family reasons for this decision.[14] In May 2010, the company announced the appointment of Frédéric Chaslin as the company's next chief conductor, effective October 1, 2010, with an initial contract of three years.[15][16] However, in August 2012, Chaslin resigned as the Opera's chief conductor.[17] In April 2013, the company announced simultaneously the appointments of Harry Bicket as its next chief conductor, effective October 1, 2013, and of Montgomery as conductor laureate for the 2013 season.[18] In November 2016, the company announced the extension of Bicket's contract as chief conductor through September 30, 2020.[19]
In February 2018, the company announced the appointments of Robert K. Meya as its next general director and of Alexander Neef as its first-ever artistic director, and the elevation of Harry Bicket from chief conductor of the company to its music director, with the three appointments effective as of October 1, 2018.[20] In October 2018, the company announced the extension of Bicket's contract as music director through the 2023 season.[21] Neef stood down as artistic director in 2021, following his appointment to the Opéra national de Paris.[22] In February 2021, the company announced the appointment of David Lomelí to its newly created post of chief artistic officer, a combination of the past posts of artistic director and director of artistic administration, effective May 1, 2021.[23]
In May 2026, the company announced the most recent extension of Bicket's contract as music director through the 2028 season, and the appointment of Iván López Reynoso as its new principal conductor, effective with the 2027 season.[24]
Programming and organizational philosophy
[edit]From the beginning, certain characteristics of what was to become a typical season emerged. It runs annually from late June or the beginning of July to the third week of August, with five operas presented in rotating repertory.
Generally, from the time of Crosby's inception of the company, two popular operas opened the season. An American (or world) premiere was generally in the program and these included works commissioned by the company. A lifelong lover of the operas of Richard Strauss, Crosby regularly scheduled one and presented many American premieres of the composer’s work, an example being the 1964 U.S. premiere of the 1938 Daphne. Finally, the fifth opera was often a rarely performed work. The same philosophy continues to the present day. For modern works, US premiere productions of contemporary operas include Thomas Adès' The Tempest (2006), Tan Dun's Tea: A Mirror of Soul, Kaija Saariaho's Adriana Mater,[25] the July 2009 world premiere of The Letter by composer Paul Moravec and librettist Terry Teachout, and the first full production of Lewis Spratlan's Life Is a Dream in July 2010.[26] World premieres have included Theodore Morrison's Oscar (2013),[27] Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain (2015),[28] Mason Bates and Mark Campbell's The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (2017),[29] and M. Butterfly (2022), an adaptation of the play of the same name.[30] Other contemporary operas presented at Santa Fe Opera have included Doctor Atomic.[31] Their most recent world premiere was Gregory Spears and Tracy K. Smith's The Righteous, during the 2024 season.[32]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company introduced the new position of Covid Compliance and Safety Manager. Along with development of protocols for staff to function within the premises,[33] the company presented simulcasts of the dress rehearsals and shows were broadcast outside as a drive-in theater. In the 2021 season, Santa Fe Opera gave four productions and returned to five the following year.[34]
Leadership
[edit]General Directors
- John Crosby (1957–2000)
- Richard Gaddes (2000–2008)
- Charles MacKay (2008–2018)
- Robert Meya (2018–present)
Conductors in leadership positions
- John Crosby (1957–2000, de facto principal conductor)
- Alan Gilbert (2003–2006, music director)
- Kenneth Montgomery (2007, acting music director)
- Edo de Waart (2007–2009, chief conductor)
- Frédéric Chaslin (2010–2012, chief conductor)
- Kenneth Montgomery (2013, conductor laureate)
- Harry Bicket (2013–2018, chief conductor; 2018–present, music director)
Apprentice programs
[edit]In his first season, Crosby created the Apprentice Singer Program, whereby eight young people were to be given living expenses and paid per performance to be members of the chorus and to cover (understudy) major roles. Unusual for its time in America in the 1950s, the Apprentice Singers Program helped young singers to make the transition from academic to professional life. To date, over 2,000 aspiring opera singers have participated. As Crosby noted:
- "In this country young artists have to do something which is impossible – gain experience. But with our plan, these young people will be scheduled in small roles and will have the opportunity of working with their older brothers and sisters who have already won their spurs. To get such experience now, a young artist has to go to Europe."[35]
The Apprentice Program for Technicians was added in 1965.
The program has formal academic goals in addition to the "hands on" experience provided by the preparation for and participation in professional productions. Seminars and master classes are conducted; singers receive coaching in voice, music, body movement, career counseling, and diction. Technical apprentices are provided with instruction in stage operations, stage properties, costume and wig construction, scenic art, wigs and make up, music services, and stage lighting.
The Apprentice Program for Singers and Technicians continues at The Santa Fe Opera today. Typically, about 1,000 aspiring young singers and 600 technicians apply; in 2025, almost 40 singers[36] and 85 technical apprentices[37] worked at the opera. The Santa Fe Opera offers the only technician apprentice program at an opera house with a budget larger than $15 million in the U.S.[38]
The singers act as the chorus for each opera, as well as performing small roles. In addition, apprentices "cover" some leading roles, and on occasion have been known to have performed, replacing contracted singers who have been indisposed.
The Technical Apprentices perform a variety of backstage functions. They are divided into five separate running crews: costumes, scenery, electrics, properties, and production/music services. These five crews perform the majority of work on the daily changeovers between the five operas of the summer season and also fill positions crucial to the live running of productions. At the end of the summer, the apprentice crews are invited to apply for staff positions for the two weekends of "Apprentice Scenes", a showcase for the apprentice singers, and can serve as everything from costume and lighting designers, to lighting and stage supervisors, to follow spot operators and assistant stage managers and more. There is even an apprentice technicians' program for young local high school students who can use what they've learned in school and bring it to a worksite.[39]
Notable past apprentices
[edit]Some major American opera singers who have been company apprentices include the sopranos Sylvia D’Eramo (2018–19), Rachel Willis-Sørensen (2010), Susanna Phillips (2004), Judith Blegen (1961), Celena Shafer (1999–2000) and Ashley Putnam (1973 and 1975); mezzos Kate Lindsey (2003), Joyce DiDonato (1995), and Susan Quittmeyer (1978); tenors Michael Fabiano (2005), Brandon Jovanovich (1996–97), Carl Tanner (1992,93), William Burden (1989–90), Richard Croft (1978), Chris Merritt (1974–75), and Neil Shicoff (1973); countertenor John Holiday (2011); baritones Michael Chioldi (1992–93), David Gockley (1965–67; later general manager of the Houston Grand Opera and the San Francisco Opera), and Sherrill Milnes (1959); and basses Mark Doss (1983), James Morris (1969) and Samuel Ramey (1966).
Many former apprentice singers have returned to perform major roles with the company. These have included Mark Doss in the 2011 Faust; Joyce DiDonato in the 2006 Cendrillon (and again in 2013 in La donna del lago); Chris Merritt also in 2006 in The Tempest; Carl Tanner in the 2005 production of Turandot; and Joyce El-Khoury (2006 and 2008 Apprentice Singer) as Micaëla in the 2014 production of Carmen. Beth Clayton, an apprentice singer during the 1995 season, returned in 2002 in the production of Eugene Onegin. ) In recent seasons, Michael Fabiano appeared in Carmen in 2022; Rachel Willis-Sørensen returned in 2024 for Der Rosenkavalier, and Michael Chioldi as the title character in Rigoletto in 2025. Sylvia D’Eramo appeared in La bohème in 2025 and will return in 2026 for the American premiere of Lili Elbe.
Theatres and other facilities
[edit]
There have been three theatres on the present site of The Santa Fe Opera's approximately (now) 150 acres of land. Each has been located on the same site on a mesa, with the audience facing West toward an ever-changing horizon of sunsets and thunderstorms, frequently visible throughout many productions when no backdrops are used. In the first two theaters, the exposure to weather caused occasional cancellations, postponements, or extended intermissions. The rain, the want to improve acoustics, improve patron facilities, comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and provide more seating led to the making of the Crosby Theater.
Four features distinguish each of the Santa Fe Opera theaters from any conventional opera house. There is no fly system to allow for scenery to be lowered from above. There is no proscenium arch which does not include a curtain and no means for projecting