Latest Updates to The Santa Fe Opera's 2019 Season
Latest Updates to The Santa Fe Opera’s 2019 Season
View or Print Press Release (PDF)
Puccini’s La Bohème and Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers
open the 63rd Season on June 28 & 29
Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte presented in a new production
showing July 13, 17 & 26; August 1, 5, 13 & 22
Janáček’s Jenůfa has its company premiere
on stage July 20 & 24; August 2, 6 & 15
The Thirteenth Child by Poul Ruders and Becky & David Starobin
marks The Santa Fe Opera’s 16th World Premiere
July 27 & 31; August 9, 14 & 21
American Soprano Renée Fleming makes Santa Fe Opera debut singing
Kevin Puts’ Letters from Georgia with The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra
August 10
Santa Fe, NM — The Santa Fe Opera’s General Director Robert K. Meya today announced casting updates for the upcoming 2019 Season opening on June 28, 2019.
Soprano and former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Jessica E. Jones will replace Kirsten MacKinnon as Lyra in the world premiere of The Thirteenth Child by Danish Composer Poul Ruders and librettists Becky and David Starobin. Jones was last seen on the Santa Fe Opera stage in 2017 as Chrisann Brennan in the world premiere of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, for which she recently won a ‘Best Opera Recording’ Grammy-award. MacKinnon will make her Santa Fe Opera debut on June 28, opening night of the season, as Musetta in Mary Birnbaum’s production of Puccini’s La bohème. Corinne Winters will sing the role of Leïla in The Pearl Fishers, replacing Lisette Oropesa, who will make her La Scala debut in the summer of 2019. Tracy Dahl C.M. will sing the role of Despina in Così fan tutte, replacing Rebecca Evans who has withdrawn for personal reasons. Duane Schuler joins the creative team of Jenůfa as Lighting Designer.
The 2019 Season
The 2019 Season, running from June 28 to August 24, presents five operas in 36 performances, a special Santa Fe Opera debut concert by celebrated American soprano Renée Fleming with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra led by Music Director Harry Bicket, and two Apprentice Scenes performances. The 63rd Season, the first to be led by General Director Robert K. Meya, Artistic Director Alexander Neef, and Music Director Harry Bicket, will explore classic works of the repertory as well as operas new to the Santa Fe Opera and the world’s stage.
La Bohème
The seamstress and the poet. The singer and the painter. The musician. The philosopher. Young and poor and consumed with love, they lead “charming and terrible lives” in 19th-century Paris. They live in Latin Quarter garrets, furnished mostly with hope for the future. They fraternize with famous writers and artists at the Café Momus, finding a place in a rapidly changing society. They taste the freedom and perils of a freelance economy; and endure epidemics of passion and jealousy, hunger and disease. Puccini’s boisterous and poignant score is both an evocation of youth and a reminder that our rose-colored glasses may need a stronger prescription.
Director Mary Birnbaum describes her team’s approach to this new production: “A lot of times La bohème feels like, ‘Here are the four bohemians … and their girlfriends.’ It was very important for us to figure out who these women would have been in this 1830’s world. Mimì is an archetypal grisette, someone who was often an artist’s muse and expressed her sexuality in a transactional way (although not as a prostitute). Musetta is a lorette, a bit higher up socially, and in our production, she straddles the line between what women wear and what men wear, to see how much more power she can have. As a woman, I’m thrilled to direct this, because I want the women to be complete characters, not symbols, who have a whole journey towards and away from social conventions.”
The Pearl Fishers
With The Pearl Fishers, the then 25-year old Bizet blended the best elements of grand opera — including extensive use of the chorus and a plush orchestration — with extraordinarily lyrical arias and duets. The story is set in ancient times on the shores of Ceylon, where Zurga, ruler of the pearl fishers, is reunited with his long-lost comrade Nadir. Their famous duet, which recounts a mutual passion for the heavenly Leïla, is one of the finest expressions of friendship in music. Both men renounced her to save their bond, but her unexpected return soon traps them again in “the accursed snares of love.”
The late Lee Blakeley’s production premiered at the Santa Fe Opera in 2012 and garnered virtually universal critical praise:
“During the somber overture, the pearl divers came onstage carrying their dead chief, presumably a casualty of their hazardous profession. It was a small touch, but emblematic of Lee Blakeley’s smart production, the best of this summer’s season. Suddenly, the contrived plot made sense …”
—The Wall Street Journal
“Lee Blakeley directed the production with ceaseless respect, never allowing the work’s shortcomings to obscure its strengths … [The sets, costumes and lighting] yielded a stunning succession of stage images.”
—The Santa Fe New Mexican
“Sometimes a straightforward staging — one that is true to the letter and spirit of the work — can be all that’s needed for a successful opera performance … Such is the case with Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers … which sets forth the Carmen composer’s earlier stage success with admirable clarity.”
—Chicago Tribune
Così Fan Tutte
Mozart and Da Ponte’s final collaboration has delighted, confounded, and rewarded viewers ever since its 1790 premiere in Vienna. Their “School for Lovers” sports a highly experienced faculty and a progressive curriculum — required reading and written papers have all been replaced by experiential learning. There’s a devil of a final exam, though, especially for two young couples about to be married. It’s a lab project in which they dissect the question, “Are you in love, or in love with the idea of love?” They’re also required to change partners, and much to their surprise, they discover that being engaged to someone special doesn’t preclude being especially attracted to someone else.
Mesmerizingly beautiful music and a profound understanding of the heart illuminate this all-too-human situation, in which we can see ourselves onstage, to both our discomfort and our delight.
“For years Così was dismissed as a minor Mozart work, but for me it is a masterpiece,” writes Music Director Harry Bicket. “The poignancy of Mozart’s own autobiographical connection with the opera (he married the sister of the woman he was in love with), coupled with some of the most profound and touching music he ever wrote, makes it a timeless exploration of how we learn to love (and lose) each other.”
The Santa Fe Opera first staged Così fan tutte in its 1957 inaugural season, and has produced it ten times since then. It can also be credited as the opera that shaped the Santa Fe Opera’s artistic identity. In 1951, the young John O’Hea Crosby became a conducting student at Columbia University. He was already a devoted fan of musical comedy and he started attending Metropolitan Opera performances as well. They were staged in the old-school, “park and bark” tradition, with one exception — a Così fan tutte directed by actor Alfred Lunt. Here Crosby saw “a carefully, brilliantly rehearsed evening with six superb singing actors.” This was the seed that led to the Santa Fe Opera’s identity, as an ensemble company that gives equal weight to musical and theatrical values.
Jenůfa
All eyes in the village are on Jenůfa. Her fiancé sees only a trophy wife. Her rejected suitor sees a chance to avenge the most cutting wrongs in his past. Her righteous stepmother sees her own life’s tragedy about to recur in her stepdaughter. The results are two unspeakable crimes which ultimately lead to the opera’s true theme — that the wounds of troubled lives can be assuaged through acceptance, forgiveness and hope. Janáček’s pioneering score pulses with vibrant rhythms, pungent harmonies and lyrical declamation.
The composer’s career path is unique in opera history. Jenůfa, his first success, did not receive a major staging until Janáček was 61. Over the next 12 years a flood of masterpieces followed, including Káťa Kabanová, The Cunning Little Vixen and The Makropoulos Case.
David Alden’s staging of Jenůfa won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Opera Production when it was first produced at English National Opera, and its revival there in 2016 received more critical acclaim:
“The sexual, emotional and religious resonances in Janáček’s work are fully explored in a deeply humane production strong on psychological detail.”
—The Guardian
“David Alden’s staging … takes this coruscating music-drama a notch higher, turning the screw of the drama inexorably, shatteringly, ultimately movingly. Janáček’s uplifting conclusion … is one of the most beautiful ‘happy ends’ in opera.”
—The Sunday Times
“A brilliantly effective production.”
—The Independent
The Thirteenth Child
Forget about magic beans and bowls of porridge — this fairy tale is a “down-to-the-wire” thriller, inspired by the Brothers Grimm. A paranoid king banishes his twelve sons in favor of Lyra, the thirteenth child. When Princess Lyra learns about her long-lost brothers, she embarks on a quest to find them. And then, like all the best fairy tales, it has an enchanted forest, riddles, a handsome prince, an ogre, a horrible mistake and a nearly impossible feat for Princess Lyra to perform if everything is to be put right.
Poul Ruders is one of today’s most highly acclaimed composers. His operatic setting of The Handmaid’s Tale has been hailed as “an outstandingly effective piece of music theater” by Opera News and as “a riveting, kaleidoscopic score” by The New York Times. The Thirteenth Child is Ruders’ fifth opera and the Santa Fe Opera’s 16th world premiere.
“In 2010, I finished what I thought would be my last opera,” said composer Poul Ruders. “But being a composer,
I knew that somewhere there was a subject lying in wait for me to put my paws on. For a Dane to do a Hans Christian Andersen story would be too obvious! So I went for The Brothers Grimm instead. In reading through their stories, I kept coming back to this one, which I think is emotionally very potent.”
“As opposed to The Handmaid’s Tale, which is an opera for grown-ups, I would say that The Thirteenth Child is good for all ages, including children, who I hope will find it kind of scary. If not, I haven’t done my job very well. I think if you can sit through a Harry Potter movie and enjoy it and not have to leave the bedroom light on at night, you’ll love this!”
“I am overwhelmed with joy and pride and humility that my fifth opera will be premiered at this fantastic venue this summer.”
Renée Fleming Sings Letters From Georgia with The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra
Renowned American soprano Renée Fleming makes her Santa Fe Opera debut on Saturday, August 10, 2019. The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, under the baton of Music Director Harry Bicket, collaborates with Ms. Fleming on Kevin Puts’ Letters From Georgia and Richard Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs).
Winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for his debut opera Silent Night, Kevin Puts has been hailed as one of the most important composers of his generation. Critically acclaimed for a richly colored, harmonic, and freshly melodic musical voice that has also been described as “emotional, compelling, and relevant,” his works, which include three operas, four symphonies, and several concertos, have been commissioned, performed, and recorded by leading orchestras, ensembles, and soloists throughout the world.
“It will be a thrill and an honor to share my music — through the brilliant artistry of Renée Fleming — with the audiences at the Santa Fe Opera,” writes composer Kevin Puts. “Ms. Fleming and I worked together closely on this exploration of the letters of American icon Georgia O’Keeffe from the very start. Our collaboration continues to be an immense joy, and I believe her voice and artistry truly inspire my best work.”
Twice recorded by Renée Fleming, Richard Strauss’ cycle Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs) has become one of the most widely performed works of her repertory. Also of great significance to the company, this piece was last performed by the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra at founder John O’Hea Crosby’s memorial service in 2003. These two great forces combine to perform Strauss’ resplendent and serene union of music and poetry.
“My Santa Fe Opera debut is exciting for me on a number of levels,” says Renée Fleming. “I’ll be singing two great, contrasting orchestral works with conductor Harry Bicket and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. The first is Kevin Puts’ Letters from Georgia, inspired by a Santa Fe icon, Georgia O’Keeffe. She was an original thinker and groundbreaking artist, forging her own path at a time when women weren’t given that opportunity. It will be a powerful experience to sing her own words in the landscape that she loved. The other piece is the transcendent Four Last Songs of Strauss, a work I’ve sung more than anything else and never tire of. Its epic poetry, mirroring the stages of life, is a perfect fit for the stunning scenery of Santa Fe.”
2019 Debuts
Ilker Arcayürek (Tenor); Anshuman Bhatia (Lighting Design); Mary Birnbaum (Director); Maxine Braham (Choreographer); Emily D’Angelo (Mezzo-soprano); Paul Daniel (Conductor); Johannes Debus (Conductor); Paul Tate DePoo III (Scenic Design); Alexander Dodge (Scenic Design); Charles Edwards (Scenic Design); Anthony Clark Evans (Baritone); Bradley Garvin (Bass-baritone); Jessica E. Jones+ (Soprano); York Kennedy (Lighting Design); Camellia Koo (Costume Design); Grace Laubacher (Scenic Design); David Leigh+ (Bass); Alexander Lewis (Tenor); Will Liverman+ (Baritone); Kirsten MacKinnon (Soprano); JAX Messenger+ (Lighting Design); Timothy Myers (Conductor); Tamara Mumford (Mezzo-soprano); Aaron Rhyne (Projection Design); Rita Ryack (Costume Design); R.B. Schlather (Director); Richard Trey Smagur+ (Tenor); Darko Tresnjak (Director); Vanessa Vasquez (Soprano); Terese Wadden+ (Costume Design); Laura Wilde+ (Soprano)
2019 Returning Artists
with most recent Santa Fe Opera engagement
Singers
Ben Bliss (Doctor Atomic, 2018); Mario Chang (Lucia di Lammermoor, 2017); Tracy Dahl (Orfeo ed Euridice, 1990); Joshua Dennis (Fidelio, 2014); Rod Gilfry (Ariadne auf Naxos, 2018); Soloman Howard (Madame Butterfly, 2018); Amanda Majeski (Ariadne auf Naxos, 2018); Susanne Mentzer (The Marriage of Figaro, 2013); Zachary Nelson+ (Lucia di Lammermoor, 2017); Jarrett Ott+ (Ariadne auf Naxos, Candide, 2018); Robert Pomakov (Cold Mountain, 2015); Patricia Racette (La Fanciulla del West, 2016); Dale Travis (Tosca, 2012); Corinne Winters (Dr. Sun Yat-sen, 2014)
Conductors
Harry Bicket (Candide, 2018); Jader Bignamini (Rigoletto, 2016)
Directors
David Alden (Alcina, 2017); Shawna Lucey+ (The Italian Girl in Algiers, 2018)
Designers
Rick Fisher (Madame Butterfly, 2018); Jon Morrell (Maometto II, 2012); Jean-Marc Puissant (Madame Butterfly, 2018); Brigitte Reiffenstuel (Madame Butterfly, 2018); Duane Schuler (Candide, The Italian Girl in Algiers, 2018)
Chorus Master
+Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice
La Bohème
Music by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica
Premiered February 1, 1896, Teatro Regio, Turin
12 performances: June 28; July 3, 6, 12, 19 & 29; August 3, 7, 12, 17, 20 & 24, 2019
Sung in Italian with opera titles in English and Spanish
A new Santa Fe Opera production
Last performed by The Santa Fe Opera in 2011
Production support generously provided by James R. Seitz, Jr.
Creative Team
Conductor: Jader Bignamini
Director: Mary Birnbaum*
Scenic Design: Grace Laubacher*
Costume Design: Camellia Koo*
Lighting Design: Anshuman Bhatia*
Chorus Master: Susanne Sheston
Cast
Mimì: Vanessa Vasquez*
Musetta: Kirsten MacKinnon*
Rodolfo: Mario Chang
Marcello: Zachary Nelson+
Schaunard: Will Liverman*+
Colline: Soloman Howard
Benoit/Alcindoro: Dale Travis
The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and Chorus
*Santa Fe Opera debut, +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice
The Pearl Fishers
Music by Georges Bizet
Libretto by Michel Carré and Eugène Cormon
Premiered September 30, 1863, Théâtre Lyrique, Paris
7 Performances: June 29; July 5, 10 & 30; August 8, 16 & 23, 2019
Sung in French with opera titles in English and Spanish
A revival of Santa Fe Opera’s 2012 production
Production support generously provided by The Estate of Suzanne Hanson Poole
and Erin & Thomas Bunkley III
Creative Team
Conductor: Timothy Myers*
Director: Shawna Lucey+
Scenic Design: Jean-Marc Puissant
Costume Design: Brigitte Reiffenstuel
Lighting Design: Rick Fisher
Original Production: Lee Blakeley
Chorus Master: Susanne Sheston
Cast
Leïla: Corinne Winters
Nadir: Ilker Arcayürek*^
Zurga: Anthony Clark Evans*
Nourabad: Robert Pomakov
The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and Chorus
*Santa Fe Opera debut, +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice, ^American Operatic Stage debut
Così Fan Tutte
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte
Premiered January 26, 1790, Burgtheater, Vienna
7 Performances: July 13, 17 & 26; August 1, 5, 13 & 22, 2019
Sung in Italian with opera titles in English and Spanish
A new Santa Fe Opera production
Last performed by The Santa Fe Opera in 2007
Production support generously provided by The Avenir Foundation
Creative Team
Conductor: Harry Bicket
Director: R.B. Schlather*
Scenic Design: Paul Tate DePoo III*
Costume Design: Terese Wadden*+
Lighting Design: JAX Messenger*+
Chorus Master: Susanne Sheston
Cast
Fiordiligi: Amanda Majeski
Dorabella: Emily D’Angelo*
Despina: Tracy Dahl
Ferrando: Ben Bliss
Guglielmo: Jarrett Ott+
Don Alfonso: Rod Gilfry;
Dale Travis (July 17)
The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and Chorus
*Santa Fe Opera debut, +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice
Jenůfa
Music and Libretto by Leoš Janáček
From Moravian Peasant Life
Premiered January 21, 1904, National Theatre, Brno
5 Performances: July 20 & 24; August 2, 6 & 15, 2019
Sung in Czech with opera titles in English and Spanish
A new Santa Fe Opera production adapted from the English National Opera staging
A Company Premiere
Production support generously provided by The Wyncote Foundation and Robert L. Turner
Creative Team
Conductor: Johannes Debus*
Director: David Alden
Scenic Design: Charles Edwards*
Costume Design: Jon Morrell
Lighting Design: Duane Schuler
Choreography: Maxine Braham*
Chorus Master: Susanne Sheston
Cast
Jenůfa: Laura Wilde*+
Kostelnička Buryjovka: Patricia Racette
Grandmother Buryjovka: Susanne Mentzer
Laca Klemeň: Alexander Lewis*
Števa Buryja: Richard Trey Smagur*+
Foreman: Will Liverman+
The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and Chorus
*Santa Fe Opera debut, +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice
The Thirteenth Child
Music by Poul Ruders
Libretto by Becky and David Starobin
World Premiere, July 27, 2019, The Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe
5 performances: July 27 & 31; August 9, 14 & 21, 2019
Sung in English with opera titles in English and Spanish
Co-commission and co-production with Odense Symphony Orchestra
Production support generously provided by David Henry Jacobs, Gene & Jean Stark and The National Endowment for the Arts
Creative Team
Conductor: Paul Daniel*
Director: Darko Tresnjak*
Scenic Design: Alexander Dodge*
Costume Design: Rita Ryack*
Lighting Design: York Kennedy*
Projection Design: Aaron Rhyne*
Chorus Master: Susanne Sheston
Cast
Lyra: Jessica E. Jones*+
Queen Gertrude: Tamara Mumford*
Frederic: Joshua Dennis+
Drokan: Bradley Garvin*
King Hjarne: David Leigh*+
The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and Chorus
*Santa Fe Opera debut, +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice
Renée Fleming Sings Letters From Georgia
with The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra led by Music Director Harry Bicket
August 10, 2019 (Sold Out)
Sung in English and German with opera titles in English and Spanish
Program
Letters from Georgia, Kevin Puts
Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs), Richard Strauss
2019 Season Information
Performance Start Times
June 28 — July 27, 8:30 PM | July 29 — August 24, 8:00 PM
Apprentice Scenes
Fully-staged scenes from the operatic repertory showcasing the remarkable talent of Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Singers and Technicians will be presented on two consecutive Sunday evenings, August 11 and 18, 2019.
Family Nights
Special performances of all five productions during the season are designated Family Nights, providing opportunities for families to attend mainstage performances. Prices for both adults and accompanying children are greatly discounted from regular ticket prices for the following performances: The Pearl Fishers on Saturday, June 29; La bohème on Saturday, July 6; Jenůfa on Friday, August 2; Così fan tutte on Tuesday, August 13; The Thirteenth Child on Wednesday, August 21. Visit Family Nights for more information.
2019 Tickets & More
Tickets, Transportation, Tours, and Dining options are on sale online at santafeopera.org, by telephone 505-986-5900 (toll-free 800-280-4654), or in person at the Box Office.
The Santa Fe Opera wishes to thank the following underwriters for their wonderfully generous support of the 2019 Season:
La Bohème
James R. Seitz, Jr.
The Pearl Fishers
The Estate of Suzanne Hanson Poole
Erin & Thomas Bunkley III
Così Fan Tutte
The Avenir Foundation
Jenůfa
The Wyncote Foundation
Robert L. Turner
The Thirteenth Child
David Henry Jacobs
Gene & Jean Stark
The National Endowment for the Arts
The Melville Hankins Family Foundation is the Principal Education Sponsor of the Santa Fe Opera
The mission of the Santa Fe Opera is to advance the operatic art form by presenting ensemble performances of the highest quality in a unique setting with a varied repertory of new, rarely performed, and standard works; to ensure the excellence of opera’s future through apprentice programs for singers, technicians, and arts administrators; and to foster an understanding and appreciation of opera among a diverse public.