The Santa Fe Opera Announces Casting Updates for its 2023 Season Opening June 30

The Santa Fe Opera Announces Casting Updates for its 2023 Season Opening June 30

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Santa Fe, NM — The Santa Fe Opera announces casting updates for its 2023 Season running June 30 through August 26. Scheduled in the 66th Festival Season are 38 performances, including two special Sunday evenings featuring the opera’s singing and technical apprentices in staged Apprentice Scenes. The company holds to its mission and time-tested programming model: a balanced and varied repertory of new, lesser-performed and standard works.

Tosca Cast and Creative Team Updates

Soprano Leah Hawkins sings three additional performances in the title role on June 30, July 5 and 8. She steps in for the originally scheduled Angel Blue, who will be on tour with The Metropolitan Opera. Angel Blue appears in four performances from July 14 through August 7. Bass-baritone Dale Travis sings the Sacristan, young singer Kai Edgar makes his company debut as the Shepherd Boy and three Santa Fe Opera Apprentice singers make company debuts: Spencer Hamlin (Spoletta); second-year Apprentice singer Ben Brady (Sciarrone); and Dylan Gregg (Jailer). Katharina Eva Kastening makes her company debut as the Associate Director and Rick Sordelet, Christian Kelly-Sordelet and Shireen Yehya serve as Fight and Intimacy Directors for Tosca and all productions in the 2023 Season.

The Flying Dutchman Cast and Creative Team Updates

Replacing Richard Trey Smagur, tenor Chad Shelton makes his company debut in the role of Erik as does Apprentice singer Gretchen Krupp who sings the role of Mary, rounding out the talented cast. The creative team is completed with Brendan Gonzales Boston in his company debut as Associate Scenic Designer.

Pelléas et Mélisande Cast and Creative Team Updates

Stepping in for originally scheduled Ain Anger, bass Raymond Aceto takes on the role of Arkel. Former Apprentice singer Zachary Nelson joins the cast as Golaud replacing Gihoon Kim and Kai Edgar continues his work with the company, singing the role of Yniold. Ben Brady sings the Physician (through August 9) and Arkel (August 18) while three other Apprentice singers make company debuts: Emma Rose Sorenson (Geneviève August 18); Brandon Bell (the Shepherd); and Sam Dhobhany (Physician August 18). Joining the skilled creative team is Projection Associate Amelia Scott in her company debut.

Rusalka Cast and Creative Team Updates

In her company debut, mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis sings the role of Ježibaba replacing Michaela Martens, while several Apprentice artists make company debuts: Ilanah Lobel-Torres (First Wood Sprite); Lydia Grindatto (Second Wood Sprite); Meridian Prall (Third Wood Sprite); Jordan Loyd (Gamekeeper); Spencer Reichman (Hunter); and the role of the Kitchen Girl is shared by Apprentice singers Kaylee Nichols (through August 8) and Tessa Fackelmann (August 17, 22). Zeb Lalljee joins the creative team as the Costume Realizer and Nicola Bowie is the Choreographer.

Orfeo Cast and Creative Team Updates

Joining the production are talented artists in key roles: bass James Creswell portrays Caronte, baritone Blake Denson sings Plutone and second-year Apprentice singer Amber Norelai takes on the role of the Euridice. Recent Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition winner and first-year Apprentice singer Christian Simmons makes his company debut in the role of Apollo. Other Apprentice debuts or assignments include Caitlin Aloia (Proserpina), Lucy Evans (La Ninfa through August 16, La Messaggera August 24), Meridian Prall (La Ninfa August 24), Philippe L’Esperance (First Pastore), Brandon Bell (Second Pastore), and Luke Elmer (Third Pastore). Younggwang Park takes on the dual roles of the Fourth Pastore and the First Spirit and Le Bu sings the Fifth Pastore and the Second Spirit. Julie Kim makes her company debut as Associate Producer while Costume Designer Carlos J Soto and Sound Designer Mark Grey return to the Santa Fe Opera.

About the 2023 Season

Opening on June 30 and July 1 are two standard works, Tosca and The Flying Dutchman, followed by two lesser-performed works, Pelléas et Mélisande and Rusalka, on July 15 and 22. Rounding out the season and presented for the first time on July 29 will be Monteverdi’s seminal Orfeo with a world premiere orchestration by American composer Nico Muhly. Leading performances of both Orfeo and Pelléas et Mélisande, Music Director Harry Bicket notes, “It’s a serendipitous moment that SFO plans Monteverdi’s Orfeo and Debussy’s Pelléas in the same season because Debussy was trying to find a musical language that matched the natural speech rhythms of French in the same way that Monteverdi was trying to do for the Italian language a few hundred years earlier. Both operas also share dream-like atmospheres where there is no real time or place, but which are inhabited by real human beings suffering vividly real heartbreak.”

The 2023 Season additionally marks the 50th Anniversary of the Pueblo Opera Program (POP) — a program that thrives on the shared value and belief in the power of storytelling. Led by an advisory council that includes past participants from local Tribal Communities around the state, POP members have participated in Youth Nights, student-produced operas, fashion shows, and the historic offering of a corn dance before and during performances of Doctor Atomic in 2018. Since 1973, more than 100,000 children and families from New Mexico’s 19 Pueblos and three reservations have attended the Santa Fe Opera. To commemorate POP’s 50th Anniversary, the company recently announced the July 30th documentary film premiere of The Pueblo Opera Program: And What Could be Next created by filmmaker Beverly R. Singer of Santa Clara Pueblo in association with the Pueblo Opera Cultural Council. More information can be found at santafeopera.org/whats-on/pop-50-documentary.

Tosca
Torture, murder and suicide… the clock ticks.

The Santa Fe Opera’s 66th Festival Season opens on June 30  with one of opera’s greatest works, Puccini’s Tosca in a new production directed by Keith Warner with scenery and costumes by Ashley Martin-Davis and lighting design from Allen Hahn. Katharina Eva Kastening makes her company debut as Associate Director and Rick Sordelet, Christian Kelly-Sordelet and Shireen Yehya serve as Fight and Intimacy Directors. Seasoned operagoers and newcomers alike are drawn to Tosca for its theatricality fueled by love, jealousy, and political intrigue, as relevant today as when it premiered in 1900 at Rome’s Teatro Costanzi.

John Fiore leads an exciting cast beginning with sopranos Leah Hawkins (June 30 – July 8, August 12 – 26) and Angel Blue (July 14 – August 7) in the title role. Sharing the role of Cavaradossi are tenors Joshua Guerrero (through August 1) and Freddie De Tommaso (August 7 – 26) in his much-anticipated American debut. Grammy and Emmy-winning baritone Reginald Smith, Jr. makes his company debut as the villainous Scarpia. Baritone Blake Denson sings Angelotti in his company debut. Bass-baritone Dale Travis sings the Sacristan, young singer Kai Edgar makes his company debut as the Shepherd Boy and three Santa Fe Opera Apprentice singers make company debuts: Spencer Hamlin (Spoletta), Ben Brady (Sciarrone) and Dylan Gregg (Jailer). Susanne Sheston is the Chorus Master and Rick Sordelet, Christian Kelly-Sordelet and Shireen Yehya serve as Fight and Intimacy Directors.

The Flying Dutchman
Condemned and sailing the stormy seas.

Opening July 1 is an opera not heard on the Santa Fe Opera stage in over 30 years: Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman. Stage Director David Alden, who has directed every other Wagner opera, is excited to give us this powerful new production set during the Industrial Revolution. Paul Steinberg and Brendan Gonzales Boston provide the scenic design with costumes from Constance Hoffman and lighting by Duane Schuler in his 50th production with the company. Choreography is by Maxine Braham. This legend of a ghost ship forever condemned to sail the seas becomes a psychological exploration of the possibility of escape from the torment of industrial capitalism and redemption through love.

Thomas Guggeis, the incoming Music Director of the Frankfurt Opera, conducts an all-star cast including former Apprentice singer Nicholas Brownlee in the role of the Dutchman, acclaimed soprano Elza van den Heever as Senta, tenor Chad Shelton in the role of Erik and bass Morris Robinson as Daland. Former Apprentice singer Bille Bruley sings the Steersman and second-year Apprentice singer Gretchen Krupp is Mary in her company debut. Susanne Sheston is the Chorus Master and Rick Sordelet, Christian Kelly-Sordelet and Shireen Yehya serve as Fight and Intimacy Directors.

Pelléas et Mélisande
Despair and forbidden love.

Not seen on the Santa Fe Opera stage since 1977, Debussy’s masterpiece Pelléas et Mélisande is presented from July 15 in a riveting new site-specific production directed and designed by Netia Jones, who presented A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the 2021 Festival Season. With Pelléas, the orchestra is a character of its own in the pit, playing one of the 20th-century’s most influential scores and propelling a visceral drama that never fails to move.

Santa Fe Opera Music Director Harry Bicket conducts a cast headlined by two thrilling singers in their Santa Fe Opera debuts: baritone Huw Montague Rendall and mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey. Baritone and former Apprentice Zachary Nelson sings Golaud. Bass Raymond Aceto sings Arkel, Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Susan Graham returns to the Santa Fe Opera stage as Geneviève and young singer Kai Edgar is Yniold. Susanne Sheston is the Chorus Master and Rick Sordelet, Christian Kelly-Sordelet and Shireen Yehya serve as Fight and Intimacy Directors.

Rusalka
Will she become part of his world?

On July 22, Sir David Pountney’s electrifying new production of Rusalka meets Dvořák’s turn-of-the-century masterpiece at the potent intersection of timeless fairy tale and timely psychological drama. Scenic Designer Leslie Travers and Lighting Designer Malcolm Rippeth return to Santa Fe while Costume Designer Marie-Jeanne Lecca makes her company debut alongside Costume Realizer Zeb Lalljee.

Dvořák began writing Rusalka late in his career when he had turned his attention almost exclusively to mythical themes. With echoes of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, the opera weaves the tale of a water nymph who pays the ultimate price for the chance to love a human being. Responding with sharply contrasting vocal styles and sound worlds for the opera’s mortal and supernatural characters, Dvořák vividly portrays the impossibility of merging the two worlds and the despair of the individual caught between them.

The title character’s well-known “Song to the Moon” provides a mere taste of Rusalka’s vast musical riches. This opulent score has often been called Dvořák’s most Wagnerian work, not only for its equal treatment of orchestra and voices and for its subtle use of leitmotifs, but also for its shimmering, nearly impressionistic instrumentation, evoking the lapping of waves on water, nocturnal forest sounds and even the reflection of moonlight on the lake.

Led by conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya in her company debut, the company welcomes the return of soprano Ailyn Pérez, who makes a notable role debut as Rusalka. Three other cast members make their company debuts: tenor Robert Watson sings the role of the Prince, mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis is Ježibaba and soprano Mary Elizabeth Williams is the Foreign Princess. Bass James Creswell sings Vodník, Susanne Sheston is the Chorus Master, and Rick Sordelet, Christian Kelly-Sordelet and Shireen Yehya serve as Fight and Intimacy Directors.

Orfeo
Don’t look back…

Rounding out the 2023 Festival Season on July 29 is Nico Muhly’s world premiere orchestration of one of opera’s earliest written and regularly performed works, Monteverdi’s seminal Orfeo. Says Muhly, “For me, the main challenge in re-orchestrating Orfeo is realizing the continuo parts; everything needs to be, note-for-note, the same as the original, but with a modern musician’s sensibility about embellishment and ornament. Here, I’m trying to use color and timbre to achieve this, where the continuo has a more explicit relation to the plot: a sense of textural allure from the pit.”

Adds Music Director Harry Bicket “The first 20th-century revivals of this piece, which at the time had not been performed in 300 years, were all contemporary orchestrations of the score by composers such as d’Indy, Hindemith, Casella and Berio. The Santa Fe Opera is following that tradition by commissioning an unashamedly 21st-century look at a 17th-century opera seen through the prism of a young composer who includes among his influences the music of Byrd, Handel and Gibbons.”

Mirroring this contemporary approach to the work, the direction is in the hands of Yuval Sharon in his company debut. He is joined by a notable team, including returning Costume Designer Carlos J Soto and Sound Designer Mark Grey. The rest make Santa Fe Opera debuts: Alex Schweder and Matthew Johnson give us the visual environment and Yuki Nakase Link and Hana S. Kim provide the lighting and projection designs, respectively.

One of the greatest exponents of the title role, superstar tenor Rolando Villazón, makes his company debut alongside soprano Lauren Snouffer who sings the roles of La Musica/Speranza. Mezzo-soprano and former Apprentice singer Paula Murrihy sings La Messaggera, James Creswell is Caronte and baritone Blake Denson is Plutone. Susanne Sheston is the Chorus Master and Rick Sordelet, Christian Kelly-Sordelet and Shireen Yehya serve as Fight and Intimacy Directors.

Tosca

Music by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa
Premiered 14 January 1900, Teatro Costanzi, Rome
A New Santa Fe Opera Production
11 Performances — June 30; July 5, 8, 14, 21; August 1, 7, 12, 19, 23 & 26
Sung in Italian with opera titles in English and Spanish
Run Time: Approximately 2 hours 24 minutes; includes a 25-minute intermission

Please be advised: This production contains atmospherics and depictions of violence including sexual assault, torture, blood, suicide and simulated cannon and gunfire.

Production support generously provided by
The Estate of Suzanne Hanson Poole
The Tobin Endowment
James R. Seitz, Jr.

Additional artistic support provided by
The L.A. Crosby and A.O. Crosby Endowment Fund
E.H. Corrigan Foundation Fund

The performances of John Fiore are supported by
The John Crosby Conductor’s Chair endowed by Flora L. Thornton

The performances of Joshua Guerrero are supported by
The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation

The performances of Freddie De Tommaso are supported by
The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation

The performances of Angel Blue are supported by
The Peter B. Frank Principal Artist Fund

Creative Team
Conductor John Fiore
Stage Director Keith Warner*
Scenic & Costume Designer Ashley Martin-Davis
Lighting Designer Allen Hahn
Associate Director Katharina Eva Kastening*
Chorus Master Susanne Sheston
Fight & Intimacy Directors Rick Sordelet, Christian Kelly-Sordelet, Shireen Yehya*

Cast
Tosca Leah Hawkins* (June 30 – July 8, August 12 – 26)
Tosca Angel Blue (July 14 – August 7)
Cavaradossi Joshua Guerrero (June 30 – August 1)
Cavaradossi Freddie De Tommaso*~ (August 7 – 26)
Scarpia Reginald Smith, Jr.*
Angelotti Blake Denson*
Sacristan Dale Travis
Spoletta Spencer Hamlin*=
Sciarrone Ben Brady*=
Shepherd Boy Kai Edgar*
Jailer Dylan Gregg*=

The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra & Chorus

*Santa Fe Opera debut, =Current Santa Fe Opera Apprentice, +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice,
~U.S. Debut

The Flying Dutchman

Music and Libretto by Richard Wagner
Premiered 2 January 1843, Königliches Hoftheater, Dresden
A New Santa Fe Opera Production
8 Performances — July 1, 7, 12, 31; August 5, 10, 15 & 25
Sung in German with opera titles in English and Spanish
Run time: Approximately 2 hours 45 minutes; includes a 25-minute intermission

Please be advised: This production contains strobing effects and depictions of violence including suicide and sexual assault.

Production support generously provided by
Wyncote Foundation, as recommended by Frederick R. Haas & Rafael Gomez

Additional artistic support provided by
The Jane & Arthur T. Stieren, Jr. Endowment Fund

The performances of Thomas Guggeis are supported by
Wagner Society of Santa Fe

The performances of Nicholas Brownlee are supported by
Wagner Society of Santa Fe

The performances of Elza van den Heever are supported by
The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation

The performances of Morris Robinson are supported by
Guy L. & Catherine D. Gronquist

Creative Team
Conductor Thomas Guggeis* (through August 15)
Conductor Alden Gatt* (August 25)
Stage Director David Alden
Scenic Design Paul Steinberg
Associate Scenic Designer Brendan Gonzales Boston*
Costume Design Constance Hoffman
Lighting Design Duane Schuler^
Chorus Master Susanne Sheston
Choreographer Maxine Braham
Fight & Intimacy Directors Rick Sordelet, Christian Kelly-Sordelet, Shireen Yehya

Cast
The Dutchman Nicholas Brownlee+
Senta Elza van den Heever
Erik Chad Shelton*
Daland Morris Robinson*
Steersman Bille Bruley+
Mary Gretchen Krupp*=

The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra & Chorus

*Santa Fe Opera Debut, =Current Santa Fe Opera Apprentice, +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice,
^50th production with the SFO

Pelléas et Mélisande

Music by Claude Debussy
Libretto by Claude Debussy adapted from the play by Maurice Maeterlinck
Premiered 30 April 1902, Salle Favart, Paris
A New Santa Fe Opera Production
6 Performances — July 15, 19, 28; August 3, 9, & 18
Sung in French with opera titles in English and Spanish
Run Time: Approximately 3 hours 8 minutes; includes a 25-minute intermission

Please be advised: This production may contain depictions of violence.

Production support generously provided by
Robert L. Turner

Additional artistic support provided by
David B. & Anna-Karin J. Dillard

The performances of Harry Bicket are supported by
Joseph M. Bryan, Jr.

The engagement of Netia Jones is supported by
The Marineau Family Foundation

The performances of Huw Montague Rendall are supported by
Brooke Suzanne Gray

The performances of Susan Graham are supported by
Sarah Billinghurst Solomon

Creative Team
Conductor Harry Bicket
Stage Director Netia Jones
Scenic, Costume & Projection Designer Netia Jones
Projection Associate Amelia Scott*
Lighting Designer D.M. Wood
Chorus Master Susanne Sheston
Fight & Intimacy Directors Rick Sordelet, Christian Kelly-Sordelet, Shireen Yehya

Cast
Pelléas Huw Montague Rendall*
Mélisande Samantha Hankey*
Golaud Zachary Nelson+
Arkel Raymond Aceto (through August 9)
Arkel Ben Brady= (August 18)
Geneviève Susan Graham (through August 9)
Geneviève Emma Rose Sorenson*= (August 18)
Yniold Kai Edgar
Physician Ben Brady= (through August 9)
Physician Sam Dhobhany*= (August 18)
Shepherd Brandon Bell*=

The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra & Chorus

*Santa Fe Opera Debut, =Current Santa Fe Opera Apprentice, +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice

Rusalka

Music by Antonín Dvořák
Libretto by Jaroslav Kvapil
Premiered on 31 March 1901, Prague
A Company Premiere and New Santa Fe Opera Production
6 Performances — July 22, 26; August 4, 8, 17 & 22
Sung in Czech with opera titles in English and Spanish
Run time: Approximately 2 hours 57 minutes; includes a 25-minute intermission

Please be advised: This production may contain depictions of violence.

Production support generously provided by
The John Crosby Production Fund
Robert & Ellen Vladem

Additional artistic support provided by
National Endowment for the Arts

The performances of Lidiya Yankovskaya are supported by
The Marineau Family Foundation

The performances of Ailyn Pérez are supported by
Martha Allday in memory of Dr. Robert L. Allday

The performances of Raehann Bryce-Davis are supported by
The MacKay Fund for Debut Artists

Original production support generously provided by
The Avenir Foundation, Inc.
Robert & Ellen Vladem

Creative Team
Conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya*
Stage Director Sir David Pountney*
Scenic Designer Leslie Travers
Costume Designer Marie-Jeanne Lecca*
Costume Realizer Zeb Lalljee*
Lighting Designer Malcolm Rippeth
Chorus Master Susanne Sheston
Choreographer Nicola Bowie
Fight & Intimacy Directors Rick Sordelet, Christian Kelly-Sordelet, Shireen Yehya

Cast
Rusalka Ailyn Pérez
The Prince Robert Watson*
Vodník James Creswell
Ježibaba Raehann Bryce-Davis*
The Foreign Princess Mary Elizabeth Williams*
First Wood Sprite Ilanah Lobel-Torres*=
Second Wood Sprite Lydia Grindatto*=
Third Wood Sprite Meridian Prall*=
Gamekeeper Jordan Loyd*=
Kitchen Girl Kaylee Nichols*= (through August 8)
Kitchen Girl Tessa Fackelmann*= (August 17 & 22)
Hunter Spencer Reichman*=

The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra & Chorus

*Santa Fe Opera Debut, = Current Santa Fe Opera Apprentice, +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice

Orfeo

Music by Claudio Monteverdi
World Premiere Orchestration by Nico Muhly*
Libretto by Alessandro Striggio
Premiered 24 February 1607, Carnival of Mantua, Mantua
A Company Premiere and New Santa Fe Opera Production
5 Performances — July 29; August 2, 11, 16 & 24
Sung in Italian with opera titles in English and Spanish
Run time: Approximately 1 hour 40 minutes without intermission

Please be advised: This production contains mist and bright lights.

Production support generously provided by
The Avenir Production Fund

Additional artistic support provided by
Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation
Edward & Betsy Cohen – The Aretê Foundation
Sarah Billinghurst Solomon
Brautigam-Kaplan-Ostergaard Foundation
The General Director’s Premiere Fund in honor of Richard Gaddes
The Fund for New or Rarely Performed Operas by Dr. Patricia A. McFate
in memory of Ambassador Sidney N. Graybeal

The performances of Rolando Villazón are supported by
Gene & Jean Stark

The performances of Lauren Snouffer are supported by
The MacKay Fund for Debut Artists

Creative Team
Conductor Harry Bicket
Stage Director Yuval Sharon*
Visual Environment Alex Schweder*, Matthew Johnson*
Costume Designer Carlos J Soto
Lighting Designer Yuki Nakase Link*
Projection Designer Hana S. Kim*
Sound Designer Mark Grey
Chorus Master Susanne Sheston
Fight & Intimacy Directors Rick Sordelet, Christian Kelly-Sordelet, Shireen Yehya
Associate Producer Julie Kim*

Cast
Orfeo Rolando Villazón*
La Musica/Speranza Lauren Snouffer*
La Messaggera Paula Murrihy+ (through August 16)
La Messaggera Lucy Evans= (August 24)
Euridice Amber Norelai*=
Caronte James Creswell
Plutone Blake Denson
Proserpina Caitlin Aloia*=
La Ninfa Lucy Evans*= (through August 16)
La Ninfa Meridian Prall= (August 24)
Apollo Christian Simmons*=
First Pastore Philippe L’Esperance*=
Second Pastore Brandon Bell=
Third Pastore Luke Elmer*=
Fourth Pastore/First Spirit Younggwang Park*=
Fifth Pastore/Second Spirit Le Bu*=

The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra & Chorus

*Santa Fe Opera Debut, =Current Santa Fe Opera Apprentice, +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice

Debuting Artists

Brandon Bell= (Baritone); Brendan Gonzales Boston (Associate Scenic Designer); Ben Brady= (Bass-Baritone); Raehann Bryce-Davis (Mezzo-Soprano); Le Bu= (Bass-Baritone); Blake Denson (Baritone); Sam Dhobhany= (Bass-Baritone); Kai Edgar (Treble); Luke Elmer= (Countertenor); Tessa Fackelmann= (Mezzo-Soprano); Alden Gatt (Conductor); Dylan Gregg= (Bass-Baritone); Lydia Grindatto= (Soprano); Thomas Guggeis (Conductor); Spencer Hamlin= (Tenor); Samantha Hankey (Mezzo-Soprano); Leah Hawkins (Soprano); Matthew Johnson (Visual Environment); Katharina Eva Kastening (Associate Director); Hana S. Kim (Projection Designer); Julie Kim (Associate Producer); Gretchen Krupp= (Mezzo-Soprano); Zeb Lalljee (Costume Realizer); Marie-Jeanne Lecca (Costume Designer); Philippe L’Esperance= (Tenor); Yuki Nakase Link (Lighting Designer); Jordan Loyd= (Tenor); Ilanah Lobel-Torres= (Soprano); Nico Muhly (Composer); Kaylee Nichols= (Mezzo-Soprano); Amber Norelai= (Soprano); Younggwang Park= (Bass); Sir David Pountney (Stage Director); Meridian Prall= (Mezzo-Soprano); Spencer Reichman= (Baritone); Huw Montague Rendall (Baritone); Morris Robinson (Bass); Amelia Scott (Projections Associate); Christian Simmons= (Bass-Baritone); Alex Schweder (Visual Environment); Yuval Sharon (Stage Director); Chad Shelton (Tenor); Reginald Smith, Jr. (Baritone); Lauren Snouffer (Soprano); Emma Rose Sorenson= (Mezzo-Soprano); Freddie De Tommaso~ (Tenor); Rolando Villazón (Tenor); Keith Warner (Stage Director); Robert Watson (Tenor); Mary Elizabeth Williams (Soprano); Shireen Yehya (Fight and Intimacy Director); Lidiya Yankovskaya (Conductor)

Returning Artists
With most recent opera appearance

Singers

Raymond Aceto (La Fanciulla del West, 2016); Angel Blue (Angel Blue in Concert, 2021); Nicholas Brownlee+ (Tristan und Isolde, 2022); Bille Bruley+ (The Thirteenth Child, 2019); James Creswell (The Marriage of Figaro, 2021); Lucy Evans= (M. Butterfly, 2022); Susan Graham (Die Fledermaus, 2017); Joshua Guerrero (Madame Butterfly, 2018); Elza van den Heever (Alcina, 2017); Zachary Nelson+ (La bohème, 2019);  Paula Murrihy+ (Die Fledermaus, 2017); Ailyn Pérez (Roméo et Juliette, 2016); Dale Travis (La bohème, 2019)

Conductors

Harry Bicket (Carmen, 2022); John Fiore (Madame Butterfly, 2018)

Directors

David Alden (Jenůfa, 2019); Netia Jones (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021)

Designers
Allen Hahn (Mitridate, 2001); Constance Hoffman (The Tales of Hoffmann, 2010); Netia Jones (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021); Ashley Martin-Davis (Roméo et Juliette, 2016); Mark Grey (The Lord of Cries, 2021); Malcolm Rippeth (Alcina, 2017); Duane Schuler^ (Carmen, 2022); Carlos J Soto (Tristan und Isolde, 2022); Paul Steinberg (The Beggar’s Opera, 1992); Leslie Travers (Salome, 2015); D.M. Wood (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021)

Fight and Intimacy Directors
Rick Sordelet (2022 Season); Christian Kelly-Sordelet (2022 Season)

Choreographers
Nicole Bowie (Madame Butterfly, 2018); Maxine Braham (Jenůfa, 2019);

Chorus Master
Susanne Sheston (2022 Season)

=Current Santa Fe Opera Apprentice; +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice; ~U.S. Debut,
^50th production with the SFO

About The Santa Fe Opera – The Santa Fe Opera annually draws 85,000 people from New Mexico and around the globe. Nestled atop a mountain vista in northern New Mexico, 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 over 2,000 performances of 179 operas by 91 composers spanning five centuries of opera, creating a legacy of 45 American premieres and 18 world premieres. In November 2022, the company was recognized as “Festival of the Year” at the International Opera Awards.