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86-406: Since its inception, Santa Fe Opera has staged 45 American premieres and 18 world premieres, including Emmeline , The Tempest , The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs , Adriana Mater , and Cold Mountain . 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

172-424: A Lowell, Massachusetts textile mill so that she can send money back to the family to help them survive. Many of the mill girls live in a boarding house directed by Mrs. Bass, who leads them in prayers and tries to promote their good behavior. Emmeline is seduced by Mr. Maguire, a handsome Irish immigrant and factory supervisor who is married to the mill owner's daughter. When Emmeline is discovered to be pregnant, she

258-508: 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

344-970: A symphonic poem for piano for pianist Yuja Wang titled "Farewell My Concubine for Peking Opera Soprano and Piano". The work was commissioned by Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and made its world premiere on 31 July 2015 in Xinghai Concert Hall with the orchestra conducted by Long Yu and Wang as piano soloist. Though not explicitly opera, many of Tan Dun's works borrow operatic elements, in terms of both melody and staging. For example, his violin concerto, Out of Peking Opera (1987, revised 1994), quotes jinghu fiddling music often heard in Peking opera. Additionally, Ghost Opera (1994), for pipa and string quartet, includes minimal sets and lighting. Originally composed on commission for Kronos Quartet and Wu Man , Ghost Opera has been performed globally and recorded by Kronos for Nonesuch Records . Some of

430-441: A video artist . The video artist for the 1999 premiere was Elaine J. McCarthy . Many of Tan Dun's works call for instruments made of materials such as paper, stone, or water, but the compositions that he classifies as "organic music" feature these instruments most prominently. The first major work for organic instruments was his Water Concerto for Water Percussion and Orchestra (1998), dedicated to Toru Takemitsu . According to

516-404: A gushing, and the violins are played as percussion instruments. Orchestral Theatre II: Re (1992) expands the concept of ritual by involving the audience. The orchestra is split, with the strings, brass, and percussion onstage, while the woodwinds surround the audience. The score also calls for two conductors, with one facing the stage, and the other facing the audience. The latter conductor cues

602-522: A higher stage roof providing a better view of the Westward landscape), the theatre now seats 2,128 plus 106 standees, although it has a strikingly intimate feel. It added a wider and more complete roof structure, with the new front and rear portions supported by cables and joined together with a clerestory window. This offers protection from the sky, but with the sides remaining open to the elements. The presence of wind baffles and, since 2001, Stieren Hall,

688-419: A house for them. Emmeline's mother dies and Aunt Hannah returns to town for the funeral. When she is introduced to Matthew, she recognizes his name and asks questions about "his folks" and where he is from. She realizes that he is Emmeline's son and reveals it before the funeral crowd, to everyone's shock and dismay. Matthew runs away after the secret is revealed, but Emmeline refuses to leave town. Saying that she

774-747: A major new production of his Emmeline that won universal acclaim from The Wall Street Journal , the Dallas News , and Saint Louis Today respectively: "one of the best operas written in the past twenty-five years" “a work of gripping emotional intensity and extraordinary musical expressivity” “the greatest American opera of the 20th century" Tobias Picker: Emmeline (Patricia Racette, Anne-Marie Owens, Curt Peterson, Victor Ledbetter et al.; Santa Fe Opera; Conductor: George Manahan, 1996). Albany Records 284/85 Tan Dun Tan Dun ( Chinese : 谭盾 ; pinyin : Tán Dùn , Mandarin pronunciation: [tʰǎn tu̯ə̂n] ; born 18 August 1957)

860-551: A new position; Covid Compliance and Safety Manager. With a lead from Mike VanAartsen, the Santa Fe Opera began to build protocol surrounding the pandemic, working towards their upcoming season.Their COVID-safe protocols book pulls from VanAartsen's experience with OSHA, federal COVID and Emergency regulations, and suggestions from the AGMA (American Guild of Musical Artists). Pushing to maintain their audience and keep appealing to

946-643: A rice planter on the Huangjin commune. He joined an ensemble of other commune residents and learned to play traditional Chinese string instruments . Following a ferry accident that resulted in the death of several members of a Peking opera troupe, Tan Dun was called upon as a violist and arranger. This initial success earned him a seat in the orchestra, and from there he went to study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing in 1977. While at

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1032-478: A solo instrument. The first concerto in the series, Yi1: Intercourse of Fire and Water (1994), was written for and premiered by cellist Anssi Karttunen . The second work, Yi2: Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra (1996), combines flamenco and pipa techniques and was premiered by Sharon Isbin . Originally titled Secret Land , Tan Dun wrote a concerto for 12 solo cellos and orchestra called Four Secret Roads of Marco Polo (2004). Commissioned and premiered by

1118-762: A specially built set of 50 ceramic percussion, string, and wind instruments, designed in collaboration with potter Ragnar Naess. To emphasize the shamanistic nature of Qu Yuan's poetry, the actors dance and move in a ritualized manner. Tan Dun's second work in the genre, Marco Polo (1996), set to a libretto by Paul Griffiths , is an opera within an opera . It begins with the spiritual journey of two characters, Marco and Polo, and their encounters with various historic figures of literature and music, including Dante Alighieri , William Shakespeare , Scheherazade , Sigmund Freud , John Cage , Gustav Mahler , Li Po , and Kublai Khan . These sections are presented in an abstract, Peking opera style. Interwoven with these sections are

1204-433: 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

1290-494: A weather forecast is played. The final piece in the series, The Gate (Orchestral Theatre IV) (1999), focuses on three women of literary fame: Yu from The Hegemon-King Bids His Concubine Farewell , Juliet from Romeo and Juliet , and Koharu from The Love Suicides at Amijima . Based on the theme of sacrifice for love, The Gate is structured as a theme and variations . The style of each section corresponds to its respective character's country of origin. Additionally, Yu

1376-894: A whole includes operas, orchestral, vocal, chamber, solo and film scores , as well as genres that Tan terms "organic music" and "music ritual." Born in Hunan , China, Tan grew up during the Cultural Revolution and received musical education from the Central Conservatory of Music . His early influences included both Chinese music and 20th-century classical music . Since receiving a DMA from Columbia University in 1993, Tan has been based in New York City . His compositions often incorporate audiovisual elements; use instruments constructed from organic materials, such as paper, water, and stone; and are often inspired by traditional Chinese theatrical and ritual performance. In 2013, he

1462-594: Is a Chinese-born American composer and conductor. A leading figure of contemporary classical music , he draws from a variety of Western and Chinese influences, a dichotomy which has shaped much of his life and music. Having collaborated with leading orchestras around the world, Tan is the recipient of numerous awards , including a Grawemeyer Award for his opera Marco Polo (1996) and both an Academy Award and Grammy Award for his film score in Ang Lee 's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). His oeuvre as

1548-434: Is a model of its kind." The reviewer writes further, "Mr. Picker has a true ear for lyrical run-on musical sentences. They ride gracefully and take interesting directions. The language is tonal, and Mr. Tobias's particular dialect has a soothing effect. Dissonance seems to be more a theatrical than a musical tool." Steve Smith wrote a review of a 2009 production by Dicapo Opera Theater in a "slimmed-down version" provided by

1634-650: Is an American retelling of the Oedipus myth from the mother’s viewpoint. In 2009, a chamber version of Emmeline was created for the Dicapo Opera . In 2015, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis mounted a major new production of Emmeline that won universal acclaim. In Act I, the Mosher family in Maine has just finished burying another child. Emmeline's Aunt Hannah convinces her father to send 14-year-old Emmeline to work in

1720-404: Is expelled from the mill and sent back to her aunt. Hannah helps Emmeline conceal her pregnancy from her parents, and arranges for a couple to adopt her baby to raise as their own. She does not allow Emmeline to see the baby or even tell her its sex, believing the less her niece knows, the easier it will be for her to give up the baby in her heart. In Act II, twenty years have passed and Emmeline

1806-643: Is home to 135 solar panels as the SFO begins to move towards solar power. Eight rehearsal halls exist on the campus grounds. They vary in size from the reproduction of the full-scale of the Crosby Theatre's stage and down to individual coaching studios for one-on-one coaching. Of the former group, the newest, completed for the 2010 season, is the Richard Gaddes Rehearsal Hall. It complements the existing full-size O'Shaughnessy Hall, which

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1892-524: Is led by both a human conductor and a virtual conductor who appears on the monitors. While the human conductor leads, the monitors depict a variety of images from the 1960s and the Cold War : a collage of Mao Zedong , the Cultural Revolution , Martin Luther King Jr. , John F. Kennedy , The Beatles , Nikita Khrushchev , and hydrogen bomb testing. In addition to the video, an audio recording of

1978-590: Is played by a Peking opera singer ( Shi Min ), Juliet by a Western opera soprano (Nancy Allen Lundy), and Koharu by a Japanese puppeteer ( Jusaburō Tsujimura ). As in Orchestra Theatre II: Re , the orchestra is distributed onstage and amongst the audience. The Gate also incorporates video, but unlike the prerecorded images used in Red Forecast , a projection screen displays live images of the three actress-soloists, manipulated in real time by

2064-609: Is unmarried, living with and caring for her parents. She has rejected all suitors because of her hidden past and shame, saying "marriage is not for the likes of me." Matthew Gurney, a young railroad worker from Kansas and new boarder, comes to live at the house. They share an immediate attraction, and Emmeline helps Matthew to learn to read better. After several months, when Matthew's job presses him to move on, he says that he wants to stay and marry Emmeline. Emmeline's father objects because of Matthew's younger age, but Emmeline accepts his proposal. The couple marry and Matthew starts building

2150-474: Is waiting for her child, she remains alone in her and Matthew's unfinished house. The Santa Fe premiere was critically praised and a recording by the original cast was released in 1996. The debut production was nationally broadcast on PBS in 1997. In a review of a 1998 New York City Opera production, the New York Times wrote, "An admirable sense of self results in affecting simplicity. ... It

2236-626: The Berlin Philharmonic , the work is a musical exploration of the Silk Road . To achieve these sounds, the cello soloists employ sitar and pipa techniques. Tan Dun wrote a concerto for Lang Lang titled Piano Concerto: "The Fire" (2008), a commission by the New York Philharmonic . The concerto is reportedly inspired by the composer's love for martial arts, and the soloist is instructed to play certain passages of

2322-705: 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

2408-447: The Qin dynasty , and his relationship with the musician Gao Jianli . Like Tan Dun's previous operas, The First Emperor calls for Chinese instruments in addition to a full orchestra, including guzheng and bianzhong . The original Met production was directed by Zhang Yimou , with whom Tan Dun had collaborated on the film Hero . Tan Dun earned more widespread attention after composing

2494-654: 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 2014, 43 singers and almost 90 technical apprentices worked at

2580-414: 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. 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

2666-636: The 250th anniversary of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach , the work for chorus, orchestra, and water percussion follows the Gospel of Matthew , beginning with Christ's baptism . The chorus doubles on tingsha , and the soprano and bass soloists double on xun . The score also requires Mongolian overtone singing from the soloists. As with Orchestral Theatre I: O , members of the orchestra play their instruments with techniques borrowed from non-Western traditions. Tan Dun's next major organic work, Paper Concerto for Paper Percussion and Orchestra (2003), explores

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2752-486: The Conservatory, Tan Dun came into contact with composers such as Toru Takemitsu , George Crumb , Alexander Goehr , Hans Werner Henze , Isang Yun , and Chou Wen-Chung , all of whom influenced his sense of musical style. In 1986, he moved to New York City as a doctoral student at Columbia University , once again studying with Chou Wen-Chung, who had studied under Edgard Varèse . At Columbia, Tan Dun discovered

2838-490: The Crosby Theatre has also played host to numerous concerts in recent years, such as: The B-52s, Wilco, and also St. Vincent and Andrew Bird. Completed for the 2001 season under the patronage of Arthur and Jane Stieren, the hall fulfills the long-standing need for an orchestra rehearsal hall. Constructed on three levels with a total of 12,650 square feet (1,175 m), the building is also used for lectures, recitals, and social events. On its main level, guide rails attached to

2924-452: The Crosby Theatre not only to honor the founder's death in 2002, but also used to reflect the contributions of his parents, the present theatre was designed by the architectural firm headed by James Polshek of New York. It was built during extensive reconstruction, which followed the tearing down of the auditorium of the 1968 theatre at the end of the opera season in late August 1997. The stage and backstage facilities such as dressing rooms and

3010-569: The Earth) , which in turn draws from the poetry of Li Po. Ceramic instruments include percussion instruments similar to those Tan Dun had used in previous works, as well as wind instruments and xun. In the mid-1990s, Tan Dun began working on another series of orchestral works known as the Yi series, named for the I Ching (Yi Jing in pinyin). Each numbered work in the series builds upon the original, Yi°: Concerto for Orchestra (published 2002), by adding

3096-593: The Grand Opening Theme Song of Shanghai Disney Resort . On 1 August 2019 he was appointed as dean of the Bard College Conservatory of Music . During his time at Columbia University, Tan Dun composed his first opera, a setting of nature poems by Qu Yuan called Nine Songs (1989). The poems are sung in both Classical Chinese and contemporary English alongside a small ensemble of Western and Chinese instruments. Among these are

3182-671: The acoustic range of paper. Instruments constructed from differing thicknesses of paper are used as cymbals, drums, or reeds. Additionally, sheets of paper are shaken or struck. These sounds are amplified primarily through wireless microphones worn by the musicians. This work was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the opening of the Walt Disney Concert Hall . Earth Concerto for stone and ceramic percussion and orchestra (2009) draws from Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of

3268-448: 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 1 May 2021. 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

3354-440: The appointments of Harry Bicket as its next chief conductor, effective 1 October 2013, and of Montgomery as conductor laureate for the 2013 season. In November 2016, the company announced the extension of Bicket's contract as chief conductor through 30 September 2020. 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

3440-403: The audience to hum along with the orchestra in certain sections of the music. The work's namesake derives from humming the solfège pitch "re". The third piece in the series, Red Forecast (Orchestral Theatre III) (1996), involves more staging elements than its predecessors, adding television monitors, lighting, and even stage directions for the musicians. In this multimedia work, the orchestra

3526-428: The auditorium's sides were open, as was the rear of the stage (although sliding doors could be closed). It provided for spectacular Westward views – as well as giving some centrally located audience members a view of the night sky. Most of the new theatre's backstage facilities, including scenery construction and storage and costume and props production, were actually constructed below the stage level in order to preserve

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3612-430: The ceiling indicate the dimensions of the theatre's main stage and offstage wings. This allows for scenery to be placed correctly, with access via large sliding doors from the scenery deck level, thus allowing fully staged rehearsals. The upper level contains rehearsal studios for one-on-one coaching for singers while the lower level features a large air-conditioned costume storage facility. The roof of Stieren Orchestra Hall

3698-535: 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 1,500 aspiring opera singers have participated. As Crosby noted: The Apprentice Program for Technicians was added in 1965. The program has formal academic goals in addition to

3784-502: 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. In July 2007, Edo de Waart was named as chief conductor, effective 1 October 2007, with an initial contract was of four years. He was the first conductor to hold that title with the company However, in November 2008, the company announced that de Waart stood down from

3870-474: The composer in New York: "Mr. Picker effectively expresses character nuances and plot twists with powerfully direct vocal lines. His potent orchestral writing evokes atmosphere, underlines conflict and conveys emotional tone with an emphatic directness. Mr. Picker’s musical vocabulary is unapologetically conservative but never merely decorative, trivial or dull" In 2015, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis mounted

3956-677: The composer, the sounds made by the soloist are inspired by the sounds of everyday life growing up in Hunan. Basins are filled with water, and the contents are manipulated with bowls, bottles, hands, and other devices. Other water instruments used include the waterphone . Various means of amplification are used, including contact microphones on the basins. The techniques devised in the Water Concerto were used again in Tan Dun's Water Passion After St. Matthew (2000). Written to commemorate

4042-476: The costume shop as well as the scenery construction shop remained in place. The new theatre was completed in ten months for an early July 1998 opening of a new season. Like the previous opening nights of 1957 and 1968, it featured a performance of Madama Butterfly this time sung by Miriam Gauci, the Maltese soprano who had her debut in the same role at the SFO in 1987. With fewer storm-related problems (and, with

4128-551: The death of the protagonist's love. Percussionists play on pitched flowerpots, referred to as "Ceramic chimes" in the score. Tan Dun's most recent opera, The First Emperor (2006), was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera with the title role created for Plácido Domingo . Co-authored by Tan Dun and Chinese novelist Ha Jin , the opera focuses on the unification of China under Qin Shi Huang , first emperor of

4214-463: The elevation of Harry Bicket from chief conductor of the company to its music director, with three appointments effective as of 1 October 2018. In October 2018, the company announced the extension of Bicket's contract as music director through the 2023 season. Neef stood down as artistic director in 2021, following his appointment to the Opéra national de Paris . In February 2021, the company announced

4300-452: 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 , the July 2009 world premiere of The Letter , by composer Paul Moravec and librettist Terry Teachout , and

4386-427: The first full production of Lewis Spratlan 's Life Is a Dream in July 2010. World premieres have included Theodore Morrison's Oscar (2013), Jennifer Higdon 's Cold Mountain (2015)., and Mason Bates ' and Mark Campbell's The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (2017), and also M. Butterfly (2022) a re-envisioned and socially updated telling of Madama Butterfly. In a recent 2018 world premiere, Doctor Atomic

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4472-441: 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 3 July 1957 with a performance of Puccini 's Madama Butterfly with a seating capacity of nearly 500. Crosby remained as general director until 2000,

4558-481: The general public in the evenings. The evening includes an introductory talk about the evening's opera. Sources Emmeline (opera) Emmeline is an opera in two acts composed by American Tobias Picker with a libretto by J. D. McClatchy . Picker's first opera, it was commissioned by the Santa Fe Opera company and premiered in 1996. Based on Judith Rossner 's novel of the same name , Emmeline

4644-401: The history of music as an integral part of spiritual life, as ritual, as partnership in enjoyment and spirit, is as old as humanity itself. In the first piece of the series, Orchestral Theatre I: O (1990), members of the orchestra make various vocalizations—chanting nonsense syllables , for instance—while playing their instruments using atypical techniques. For examples, the harp is played as

4730-452: The lighting of the productions is not compromised by the sides of the theatre being open to the outside environment. Since the 2011 season, the starting time has been moved up by one half-hour from the original 9pm time. More social aspects of the performance starting time include giving opera-goers the opportunity to observe New Mexico sunsets against the surrounding landscape and the tradition of tailgate dining . The totally open-air theatre

4816-575: The lives of China's Tujia , Miao , and Dong ethnic minorities . The musicians onstage, including the cello soloist, interact with the musicians onscreen—a duet of live and recorded performance. The work was premiered and commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Yo-Yo Ma . Tan Dun's most recent multimedia work, Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women (2013), is a 13-movement work for video, solo harp, and orchestra. Following years of ethnomusicological research in Hunan,

4902-585: The longest general directorship in US opera history. Richard Gaddes served as the company's general director from 2000 through 2008. In November 2007, SFO named Charles MacKay the company's third general director, effective 1 October 2008. In August 2017, the company announced the intention of MacKay to stand down as its general director after the 2018 season. 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

4988-527: The making of the Crosby Theater. Three 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 include no curtain and no means for projecting surtitles . And, the sides of the house are open and the rear of the stage may be completely opened to provide westward views. Performances begin close to sunset, so that

5074-460: The music of composers such as Philip Glass , John Cage , Meredith Monk , and Steve Reich , and began incorporating these influences into his compositions. He completed his dissertation, Death and Fire: Dialogue with Paul Klee , in 1993. Inspired by a visit to the Museum of Modern Art , Death and Fire is a short symphony that engages with the paintings of Paul Klee . On 15 June 2016, he created

5160-682: The music to create the Crouching Tiger Concerto for cello, video, and chamber orchestra. Containing edited footage from the film, this work reverses the role of music in film by treating video as secondary. This same technique was later applied to his film scores for Hero and The Banquet , resulting in the larger work known as the Martial Arts Cycle . In 2002, Tan Dun continued experimenting with application of video in music The Map , also for cello, video, and orchestra. The Map features documentary footage depicting

5246-583: The music with fists and forearms. Other more tranquil sections evoke ancient Chinese instruments such as the guqin . In 2008, Tan Dun was commissioned by Google and YouTube to write an inaugural symphony for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra (YTSO) project. The resultant work, Internet Symphony No. 1 "Eroica", was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and uploaded to YouTube in November 2008, thus beginning

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5332-665: The open call for video audition submissions. Voted on by members of the YouTube community as well as professional musicians, the YTSO was assembled of 96 musicians from over 30 countries. In April 2009, a mashup video of the submissions was premiered at Carnegie Hall, followed by a live performance of the work. Tan Dun has also conducted the BBC Scottish Symphony to record parts of the album Away from Xuan by fellow composer Chen Yuanlin , released in 2009. He composed

5418-460: The open views to the West. Additionally, a large elevator, located immediately behind the stage and known as the "B-Lift", was included and it became the means whereby scenery could be moved up one level from the scene construction shop to the stage or up or down two levels to or from the large scenery storage area located three levels below the stage. The elevator still remains in place. It was renamed

5504-422: 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. 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

5590-411: The orchestra's rehearsal hall, has helped improve exposure on the southern, windward side of the auditorium. A performance of The 13th Child on August 9, 2019, was paused for twenty minutes due to inclement passing weather, a first in the Santa Fe Opera's history. In 1999, as an alternative to installing a translation system using the projected supertitles (or surtitles ), an electronic titles system

5676-477: The original theatre; lead architects John W. McHugh and Van Dorn Hooker worked with the acoustical engineer Jack Purcell of Bolt, Beranek and Newman (Boston and Los Angeles). The structural design calculations were performed by Sergio Acosta, a structural engineer and immigrant from Panama who graduated from the University of Texas and was a resident of Albuquerque, NM from 1948 until his death at age 78. This

5762-516: The post before the end of his contract, with de Waart citing health and family reasons for this decision. In May 2010, the company announced the appointment of Frédéric Chaslin as the company's next chief conductor, effective 1 October 2010, with an initial contract of three years. However, in August 2012, Chaslin resigned as the Opera's chief conductor. In April 2013, the company announced simultaneously

5848-546: The rain for its patrons. Its arching roof matches the architectural lines of the Crosby Theatre and it bears some resemblance to the roofline of Denver Airport . Now known as the Dapples Pavilion (named after long-time supporter Florence Dapples), the cantina supplies season-long food and drink for the staff and artists from breakfast time to mid-afternoon. In addition, it functions as the location for pre-performance Preview Buffet dinners for up to about 200 members of

5934-470: The remainder of the season. From the Sweeney Gymnasium, they created the "Sweeney Opera House", and completed the season, albeit without most of the original costumes or sets. A huge fund-raising operation took place, backed by Igor Stravinsky, and $ 2.4 million was raised to rebuild the theatre in time for the following season. The second theatre, a new open-air house seating 1,889, was ready for

6020-747: The same name . Directed by Peter Sellars in its original production, Tan Dun's work is performed entirely in English, though one of the characters must be trained in Peking or Kunqu style. The small ensemble of six musicians performs electronics and Chinese instruments onstage with the actors. Stylistically, the music is a blend of Western avant-garde and Chinese opera . At this point in his career, Tan Dun had created many works for "organic instruments," i.e. instruments constructed from materials such as paper, water, ceramic, and stone. For his fourth opera, Tea: A Mirror of Soul (2002), co-authored by librettist Xu Ying , organic instruments factor prominently into

6106-412: The score for Ang Lee 's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), for which he won an Academy Award , a Grammy Award , and a BAFTA Award . Other film credits include the aforementioned Hero ( Zhang Yimou , 2002), Gregory Hoblit 's Fallen (1998), and Feng Xiaogang 's The Banquet (2006). Following the composition of the film score for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Tan Dun rearranged

6192-413: The sopranos Susanna Phillips (2004), Judith Blegen (1961), Ashley Putnam (1973 and 1975), and Celena Shafer (1999–2000); mezzos Joyce DiDonato (1995), Susan Quittmeyer (1978), and Michelle DeYoung (?); tenors Carl Tanner (1992,93), William Burden (1989–90), Richard Croft (1978), Chris Merritt (1974–75), and Neil Shicoff (1973); baritones David Gockley (1965–67; later general manager of

6278-439: The start of the new season on 26 June 1968. Just like the company's opening night in 1957, it presented Puccini’s Madama Butterfly . The new theatre was also designed by McHugh and Kidder. One of its principal features was the partial opening of the roof towards the middle of the orchestra section, provided by the curving, audience-facing slope of the stage roof and the thrust of the mezzanine and rear orchestra roof forward. Also,

6364-567: The structure of the opera itself. The title of each act corresponds to the materials of the instruments being used, as well as the opera's plot. The first act, entitled "Water, Fire", opens with a tea ceremony onstage while percussionists manipulate glass bowls of water. The second act, "Paper", features music on rice paper drums and depicts the characters' search for The Classic of Tea , the first book to codify tea production and preparation in China. The third and final act, "Ceramic, Stones", depicts

6450-418: 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,

6536-603: The travels of the real-life Marco Polo , presented in a Western operatic style. Though the score calls for traditional Western orchestral instrumentation, additional instruments are used to indicate the location of the characters, including recorder , rebec , sitar , tabla , singing bowls , Tibetan horn , sheng , and pipa . The opera won the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition in 1998. That same year, Tan Dun premiered his next opera, The Peony Pavilion , an adaptation of Tang Xianzu 's 1598 Kunqu play of

6622-478: 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. Some major American opera singers who have been company apprentices include

6708-424: The video are used in counterpoint to the live music. In the 1990s, Tan Dun began working on a series of orchestral pieces that would analyze the relationship between performer and audience by synthesizing Western classical music and Chinese ritual. According to the composer, If we look at the idea of 'art music' with its firm separation of performer and audience, we see that its history is comparatively short. Yet

6794-520: The work captures the sounds of Nüshu script , a phonetic writing system devised by women speakers of the Xiangnan Tuhua dialect who had been disallowed from receiving formal education. Considered a dying language , Tan Dun's research resulted in a series of short films of women singing songs written in Nüshu, which are presented alongside the orchestral performance. As with The Map , the songs in

6880-526: The younger generations, simulcasts of the dress rehearsals and shows were broadcast outside as a drive-in theater. In the 2021 season, Santa Fe Opera put on four productions and returned to five the following year. General Directors Conductors in leadership positions 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

6966-425: Was designed to seat 480 and was built for $ 115,000 on a site carefully selected by Crosby and an acoustician friend, who fired off a series of rifle shots until they found the perfect natural location for an outdoor theatre. It was "the only outdoor theatre in America exclusively designed for opera". Audience members sat on benches. The Santa Fe firm of McHugh, Hooker, Bradley P. Kidder and Associates were architects for

7052-420: Was installed in the Crosby Theatre. Invented by Figaro Systems of Santa Fe (and only the second one installed after the Metropolitan Opera 's Met Titles in 1995), the system provides small rectangular electronic screens in front of each patron's seat, showing a two-line translation of the sung text in either English or Spanish. The system has the possibility of handling up to six languages. Along with operas,

7138-460: Was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador . Tan Dun was born in 1957 in a village in Changsha in Hunan , China. As a child, he was fascinated by the rituals and ceremonies of the village shaman, which were typically set to music made with natural objects such as rocks and water. Due to the bans enacted during the Cultural Revolution , he was discouraged from pursuing music and was sent to work as

7224-496: Was presented. The opera tells the story of the day before the atomic bomb was tested at the Trinity Site just a couple hundred miles south of Santa Fe and the man who helped to create it, J. Robert Oppenheimer. They are also scheduled this summer to premiere another American opera called "The Righteous" in 2024. Santa Fe Opera House declared it would open its 2021 season in July. This post-pandemic decision led them to introduce

7310-420: Was rehabilitated for the 2012 season. In addition, six other halls of varying sizes allow several productions to be rehearsed simultaneously. The original "cantina" dating from the 1970s was completely torn down after the 2007 season and construction of a new one was completed in time for the opening of the 2008 season. It contains modern kitchen facilities, new serving stations, and generally good protection from

7396-409: Was the location of the inaugural performance on opening night, 3 July 1957. Madama Butterfly played to a sold-out crowd. By the end of the eight-week season, the 12,000 people who attended accounted for sales at 90% of capacity. A mezzanine was added in 1965 but, on 27 July 1967, four weeks into the season, a fire destroyed the theatre, causing the company to move to a local downtown high school for

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