The Santa Fe Opera announces Leah Hawkins will perform Tosca in all remaining performances for the 2023 Season, replacing Angel Blue

July 5, 2023

Emily Doyle Moore | media@santafeopera.org | 505-986-5908

The Santa Fe Opera announces Leah Hawkins will perform Tosca in all remaining performances for the 2023 Season, replacing Angel Blue

Santa Fe, NM — The Santa Fe Opera announces soprano Leah Hawkins will sing all remaining performances of Tosca, which opened the 2023 Season on June 30 and runs for 11 performances through August 26. This comes as a result of the withdrawal of Angel Blue, who was most recently scheduled for four performances: July 14, 21, August 1 and 7. Blue has stepped down owing to an unexpected family emergency and has also withdrawn from all other upcoming engagements in the month of July.

Writes Ms. Blue, “I am deeply saddened to confirm that, due to an unexpected family emergency, I will be canceling all of my professional engagements in the month of July and therefore will be unable to sing the role of Tosca at Santa Fe Opera. I am heartbroken not to be performing this season, as Santa Fe Opera is truly a highlight for any opera singer, but I am confident that the audiences on those nights will be astonished by Leah Hawkins’ phenomenal talent and brilliant interpretation of the title character. I would like to extend my heartfelt apologies for the sudden change, as I know that I would not be the Tosca that Santa Fe Opera deserves while managing this personal matter. Thank you for your understanding.” The Santa Fe Opera wishes Angel Blue and her family well during this difficult time.

On June 30 rising soprano Leah Hawkins made her Santa Fe Opera debut in the titular role; early critical acclaim for her performance includes:

“Her opening night performance was riveting throughout, but her Act 2 aria “Vissi d’arte,” in which the character entreats God wondering what she has done to deserve such a fate when she only lived for love and for art, was a showstopper… those of us who saw Hawkins in the role will someday boast of catching her early in her career.”
— Julia Goldberg, Santa Fe Reporter

“In the title role, Leah Hawkins provided tonal and dynamic variety vocally, along with beautiful tone…”
—Mark Tiarks, Santa Fe New Mexican

“Hawkins truly has a splendid voice: powerful, with a golden medium range and clear‑cut high notes.”
—Christian Dalzon, Concertonet.com

About Leah Hawkins — Leah Hawkins is a graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera, 2021 winner of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Women in Classical Music Career Advancement Award and 2022 Richard Tucker Career Grant recipient. Her Santa Fe Opera debut as Tosca is her second journey into the opera world’s beloved diva. When asked for three fun facts about herself, Hawkins shared:

I started piano lessons at 9, voice lessons at 12 and I have performed 25+ operatic roles, including 5 that I premiered/created.
I love costume jewelry. One-of-a-kind, funky, geometric pieces make me happy!
I also collect magnets. They are usually from places I have visited or worked.

Media Resources for Leah Hawkins in SFO’s Tosca
Santa Fe Opera Tosca production photography (for editorial use only)
https://www.santafeopera.org/company/image-galleries-login/image-galleries/image-galleries-2023/
Please inquire with media@santafeopera.org for the password.

95.5 KHFM Classical Public Radio, Leah Hawkins on SFO’s Tosca: https://soundcloud.com/santa-fe-opera/leah-hawkins-on-sfos-tosca-part-one?

Albuquerque Journal, Soprano Leah Hawkins set to soar as the titular Tosca: https://www.abqjournal.com/lifestyle/soprano-leah-hawkins-set-to-soar-as-the-titular-tosca/article_763b88aa-0ecc-11ee-b437-6fd4e0d3b3ed.html

Santa Fe New Mexican Pasatiempo, A toast to ‘Tosca’: https://www.santafenewmexican.com/pasatiempo/opera/a-toast-to-tosca/article_0f3e6e18-0230-11ee-98ca-5354baf99c9f.html

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 Leah Hawkins 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*
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 2023 Season – Scheduled in the Santa Fe Opera’s 66th Festival Season are 38 performances including two evenings of 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. 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 July 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. Tickets are on sale now at santafeopera.org.

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.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility at the Santa Fe Opera — Opera has the power to speak truth, broaden perspectives and invite empathy. The Santa Fe Opera is committed to the continuous work of becoming an antiracist and anti-oppressive organization and incorporating the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. Our goal is to create a joyful and engaging environment in which a diverse community of artists, staff, volunteers and audiences alike belong.

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.

Discover More: santafeopera.org

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