Santa Fe Opera:

Ever Since the start Santa Fe opera company has been located hundreds of miles from any major city or metropolitan area, with American singers in a wide-ranging and challenging repertory, and treating theatrical and musical values as equally important in its productions. The Santa Fe Opera has grown to become recognized as one of the world's leading cultural festivals.

Every July and August since it opened in 1957, opera lovers have been treated to the fantastic northern New Mexico mountains while enjoying productions by one of America's premier summer opera festivals.  The Santa Fe Opera's beautiful adobe theater blends nicely with the high desert landscape and topography. More than half the audience of 85,000 comes from outside the state New Mexico as well as 25 to 30 foreign countries

The Santa Fe Opera has been recognized among the world's best opera festivals. Its intent is to present productions with the highest artistic standard and that are new, rarely performed, and standard works. More than 1,600 performances of nearly 140 different operas have been given here, including nine world premieres and 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. The 2008 season included the American premiere ofAdriana Mater by Kaija Saariaho, whose L'amour de loin received its American premiere here in 2002. In 2009 the world premiere of The Letter by Paul Moravec

Casts are drawn from the world's most talented young singers, and production teams of conductors, directors, and designers are international as well. 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. More than 1,500 aspiring singers have participated in the program. Many are professional performers; others are teachers and coaches at major opera companies and universities. In 1965, an apprentice program for theater technicians was added, and it too has become an important training tool.

John Crosby was succeeded as founding General Director in 2000. Gaddes was the founding General Director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Artistic Administrator of The Santa Fe Opera, and President of Grand Center, St. Louis. During his tenure in Santa Fe he implemented a wide range of new programming, including community-based productions in the off-season and simulcasts to Albuquerque and a park in downtown Santa Fe. He retired following the 2008 season when Charles MacKaybecame the third General Director in SFO's history. MacKay was also General Director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis prior to returning to Santa Fe.

The Santa Fe Opera has a wide array of education 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 patrons each year, and its impact on the New Mexico's economy has been calculated at more than $200 million each year.