The 2012 Season
We hope you'll plan now to join us for an exciting 2012 season (June 29 - August 25), featuring 5 new productions, including 3 new to The Santa Opera's repertoire. The season opens with Tosca, featuring the American debut of renowned soprano Amanda Echalaz. Bizet's stunning opera The Pearl Fishers will be performed for the first time in Santa Fe. The season also features the world premiere of the new critical edition of Rossini's Maometto II with rising Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni in the title role. Mariusz Kwiecien returns to Santa Fe after appearing as the Count in The Marriage of Figaro in 2008 to sing the title role in Szymanowski's King Roger in his native language, Polish. And Strauss returns to Santa Fe after a hiatus of 5 years with Erin Wall in the title role of Arabella.
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Onstage, the Ultimate Diva. Offstage, All Too Human.
Ah, Tosca! Bewitched by her glamour and charisma, even the hated Baron Scarpia called her la divina. See why Puccini’s Tosca became the defining role for Bernhardt and Callas, and now the soprano Amanda Echalaz — whose performances as Tosca in London had European critics groping for superlatives. In her much-anticipated American debut in Santa Fe’s new production. She is joined by debut artist Andrew Richards as Tosca’s lover Cavaradossi. Thomas Hampson returns to Santa Fe after an absence of almost three decades. Raymond Aceto and Hampson share honors as the villainous Scarpia. Chief Conductor Frédéric Chaslin is on the podium.
8:30 pm performances: June 29; July 4, 7, 13, 20
8:00 pm performances: July 30; August 8, 11, 15, 18, 21, 24
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Two Best Friends Who Share Everything — Except the South Seas Woman They Love.
Before there was Carmen, there was The Pearl Fishers — the score that established the 24-year-old Bizet as a genius. The Pearl Fishers shimmers with the beauty of its exotic setting, and includes one of the most cherished duets in the entire operatic literature, sung by best friends Nadir (tenor Eric Cutler) and Zurga (baritone Christopher Magiera) who vie for the love of priestess Leila (soprano Nicole Cabell). The Pearl Fishers delivers the same creative team that designed and directed the highly acclaimed 2010 production of Madame Butterfly.
8:30 pm performances: June 30; July 6, 11
8:00 pm performances: July 31; August 10, 13, 22, 25
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Drawn from Middle Eastern History — and Rediscovered Opera History.
Is Rossini’s serious side musically even richer than his comedies? There’s no need to choose, but even longtime Rossini enthusiasts will be astonished by the treasures that abound in Santa Fe’s world premiere of the new critical performing edition of Maometto II, recapturing the original character of the music. A love story set against a backdrop of the Venetian colony of Negroponte, Maometto II offers Rossini at his appealing best, including show-stopping coloratura arias.
8:30 pm performances: July 14, 18, 27
8:00 pm performances: August 2, 7, 16
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King Roger Is Conquering the World of Opera. Find Out Why.
What happens when your life experiences — even unexpected, mystical insights — fly in the face of your political responsibilities? Exploring this fascinating conflict, the masterwork King Roger by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski was first performed in 1926, but waited more than 60 years to be seen in the Americas. Now the magnetic appeal of its music and its philosophically challenging story have been winning new admirers on both sides of the Atlantic. Singing the 12th-century Sicilian King Roger confounded by a chance encounter is one of its premier interpreters, Mariusz Kwiecien. William Burden is the shepherd-prophet who plunges a kingdom into turmoil.
8:30 pm performances: July 21, 25
8:00 pm performances: August 3, 9, 14
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Love... Lust... Mistaken Identity... and a Fateful Glass of Water.
Parents caught in a bad economy resort to deception to maintain respectability. Will their ruse spoil their daughters’ chances of happiness in love? The answer comes down to a single glass of water in Arabella, a sumptuous romantic comedy with an element of social commentary, as Richard Strauss returns to the Crosby Theatre after an absence of five years. Arabella charms with Strauss’ deft characterizations and soaring vocal lines — especially soprano voices. Erin Wall, who sang the four heroines in the 2010 Tales of Hoffmann and Daphne in 2007, sings the title role, with Heidi Stober as her sister Zdenka. Sir Andrew Davis conducts.
8:30 pm performances: July 28
8:00 pm performances: August 1, 6, 17, 23
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Mistress of Ceremonies Susan Graham hosts an evening of arias, duets and ensembles from Mozart to Johann Strauss performed by the summer’s principal singers. The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra will be on stage with conductor Kenneth Montgomery, along with a surprise guest or two. Chief Conductor Frédéric Chaslin will join the festivities at the piano. There will be champagne for everyone before the concert.
Saturday, August 4 8PM
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The “Stars of Tomorrow” perform these two evenings of fully staged opera scenes on Sunday, August 12 & 19 at 8:00 pm. Reserved seat prices are $21 for adults and $7 for children ages 6 to 17.