By CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Daily Post
caclark@ladailypost.com
Attending the opera for the first time last year was a remarkable experience. It became eminently clear why The Santa Fe Opera is called “The Best Opera Festival In The World” … and why I am now hooked.
A dear friend of mine has adored the opera for years. Her first experience dates back to the third grade when the Santa Fe Opera brought the opera to her class via their outreach program. After that, her friend’s mom, who was a piano teacher, began taking her and a group of kids to Family Night at the Opera.
In learning that I had not had that experience, my friend invited me to join her for the world premiere of The Righteous in 2024. This beautiful opera explores the tension between genuine faith and the fraught world of 1980s politics. Along the way, the leading characters’ sacred love for God becomes entwined with the complicated realities of their romantic lives. It was spectacular.
It made me wonder why I hadn’t attended before … it’s just down the road from Los Alamos, for heaven’s sake! The only thing I can think of is that the Los Alamos Daily Post has published countless opera reviews. Reading those reviews somehow made it seem like I was there. But attending in person far surpassed reading about it.
The sights and sounds were magnificent. Dining on the patio and hearing an expert discuss what we were about to see deepened the experience … and I was really, really hooked. I have had the privilege of attending each opera ever since and have tickets for the 2025 season, including this evening’s opening night production of Puccini’s La bohème.
With the help of my friend, I’ve discovered that arriving early allows time to find a seat, read the program, and settle in before the overture. It also provides time to enjoy the atmosphere and architecture of this beautiful opera house.
The 2025 Season runs June 27 through Aug. 23. Scheduled in this 68th Festival Season are 38 performances, including two special Sunday evening performances featuring the opera’s singing and technical apprentices. The company holds to its mission and time-tested programming model: a balanced and varied repertory of new, lesser-performed and standard works.
Opening Weekend, beginning this evening, centers on a new production of Puccini’s La bohème directed by James Robinson and a revival of 2021’s beloved production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro directed by Laurent Pelly. From July 12, the company presents a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto by Director Julien Chavaz in an international co-production with Irish National Opera and Opera Zuid. Opening July 19 is Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, staged by Louisa Muller in a Canadian Opera Company production originated at Garsington Opera.
Rounding out the season on July 26 is Wagner’s masterpiece Die Walküre, presented by the company for the first time in a new production by director Melly Still. To best accommodate audiences, all performances of Die Walküre will begin at 8 p.m.
The popular Apprentice Scenes featuring the opera’s singing and technical Apprentices are reimagined to provide a wider range of performance and training opportunities for tomorrow’s stars. The first performance on Aug. 10 honors the longtime tradition of staged scenes from the operatic repertoire. The second performance on Aug. 17 features the Apprentice singers in concert alongside the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra conducted by Iván López Reynoso.
About the Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera at 301 Opera Drive in Santa Fe draws 85,000 people annually from New Mexico and around the globe. The company’s iconic Crosby Theatre is open on three sides, allowing visitors to enjoy performances complemented by the elements. Since 1957, the company has presented more than 2,000 performances of 180 operas by 92 composers spanning five centuries of opera, creating a legacy of 45 American premieres and 19 world premieres. Visit santafeopera.org.
The Santa Fe Opera Box Office, at 301 Opera Drive in Santa Fe, can be reached 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, at 800.280.4654 or 505.986.5900 or email boxoffice@santafeopera.org.