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 THE SANTA FE OPERA, Leader in Innovation and Excellence Every July and August since 1957, opera lovers have been drawn to the magnificent northern New Mexico mountains to enjoy productions by one of America's premier summer opera festivals. Here, The Santa Fe Opera's dramatic adobe theater blends harmoniously with the high desert landscape. It is this fusion of nature and art that leaves such an enduring impression on all who come. More than half the audience of 85,000 comes from outside New Mexico representing every state in the union as well as Canada and Europe. The Santa Fe Opera has taken its place among the world's leading opera festivals. Its mission is to present productions meeting the highest artistic standards in a repertory of new, rarely performed, and standard works. Nearly more than 1,600 performances of more than 130 operas have been given here, including nine world premieres and more than 40 American premieres, among them Lulu, The Cunning Little Vixen, Capriccio, and Daphne. Recent premieres include the world premiere of Madame Mao, commissioned from Bright Sheng, in 2003, the premiere of the revised version of Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, in 2005, the American premiere of Thomas Ades’s The Tempest, in 2006, and the American premiere of Tan Dun's Tea: A Mirror of Soul in 2007. Casts are drawn from the world's most talented young singers, and production teams of conductors, directors, and designers are international as well. It is a source of considerable pride that many singers whose names are now found on the rosters of the world's leading opera houses began their careers in Santa Fe. They include Susan Graham, Patricia Racette, Joyce DiDonato, William Burden, Kristine Jepson, Michelle DeYoung, and Charles Castronovo. The company was founded by the late John Crosby, a young conductor from New York, who had an idea of starting an opera company to give American singers an opportunity to learn and perform new roles in a setting that allowed ample time to rehearse and prepare each production. At the same time, a program for young singers who were making a transition from academic to professional life, the Apprentice Program for Singers, was begun. Fifteen hundred aspiring singers have participated in the program. Many are performers, others are teachers, coaches and pedagogues. In 1965, an apprentice program for theater technicians was added, and it too has become an important training tool. John Crosby was succeeded as General Director by Richard Gaddes in the fall of 2000. Gaddes is the former General Director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Artistic Administrator of The Santa Fe Opera, and President of Grand Center, St. Louis. Since his tenure began, he has implemented a wide range of new programming, including community-based productions in the off-season and the company’s first simulcast. The Santa Fe Opera has a wide array of education and community outreach programs to make opera accessible and appealing to a broad spectrum of the New Mexico population. One, the unique Pueblo Opera Program, serves Native American youth from nineteen pueblos and three reservations in the state. The theater itself features 'Opera Titles’ –- a small screen in front of every seat, which allows patrons to follow the stage action in either English or Spanish. The Santa Fe Opera has become one of New Mexico's cultural and economic leaders. Its reputation attracts thousands of tourists to the area each year, and provides employment and income both directly and indirectly.
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