The Santa Fe Opera Announces an Ambitious 2022 Season on Sale Now

The Santa Fe Opera Announces an Ambitious 2022 Season on Sale Now

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New productions of Bizet’s CARMEN and Rossini’s THE BARBER OF SEVILLE open the 2022 Season on July 1 & 2

A new co-production of Verdi’s FALSTAFF with Scottish Opera opens on July 16

Wagner’s TRISTAN UND ISOLDE receives its company premiere on July 23

The company’s 18^th world premiere, M. BUTTERFLY 蝴蝶君,
by Huang Ruo & David Henry Hwang opens on July 30

Two evenings of APPRENTICE SCENES take center stage on August 14 & 21

The 65^th Festival Season runs July 1 through August 27, 2022
5 New Productions
38 Performances
1 World Premiere
1 Company Premiere
1 International Co-Production
26 Debut Artists
29 Returning Artists
9 Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artists

2022 Season tickets are on sale now. Visit santafeopera.org or call 800-280-4654.
No in-person purchases are available at this time.

Santa Fe, NM — The Santa Fe Opera’s General Director Robert K. Meya today announced the repertory and casting for the company’s 65^th Festival Season running from July 1 through August 27, 2022. Speaking from the Scene Shop in the Poole Production Center, Meya shared that the Santa Fe Opera will present 38 performances and five new productions. The ambitious season includes the company’s 18^th world premiere M. Butterfly by Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang directed by James Robinson; the company premiere of Wagner’s masterpiece Tristan und Isolde co-directed by Zack Winokur and Lisenka Heijboer Castañón; a poignant retelling of Bizet’s Carmen by Mariame Clément; Verdi’s comic final opera Falstaff in a co-production with Scottish Opera by Sir David McVicar; Stephen Barlow’s inventive take on Rossini’s most popular opera The Barber of Seville; and two Apprentice Scenes featuring the opera’s talented singing and technical apprentices.

The 2022 Season celebrates the creation of new opera that explores topical themes such as gender identity, and offers fresh twists on beloved classics by Bizet, Rossini, Verdi and Wagner. Some of today’s most exciting talent is featured singing in four languages — English, French, German and Italian — instantly translated into English and Spanish on the company’s next-generation Avenir Electronic Libretto System. Says Meya, “I hold great hope for a return to normalcy in 2022. Three of our five featured productions were originally scheduled for 2020, so this coming season will be a healing of sorts for the lost year of the pandemic. There will be humor, tragedy, boundless tales of love and something entirely new. There’s truly a show for everyone.”

The Santa Fe Opera will continue its commitment to protecting the health and safety of its staff, artists and audiences. Meya noted, “We anticipate requiring proof of vaccination, or a negative COVID-19 test for entry to The Crosby Theatre.” It is expected that all audience members will be required to wear a mask. The company is currently reviewing all additional activities including Prelude Talks, Preview Dinners, Shuttles, Backstage Tours and Family Nights, to determine what can be offered while still ensuring safety. As plans progress for the 2022 Season and events are added to the calendar, updates will be made to the opera’s dedicated Health and Safety webpage.

CARMEN

The cards are not in her favor.

Bizet’s most popular opera, Carmen, opens the season on July 1, 2022 in a retelling by French director Mariame Clément in her company debut. Colorful sets and costumes by German designer Julia Hansen, choreography by Mathieu Guilhaumon and lighting by internationally recognized designer Duane Schuler bring this tragic tale to life.

Santa Fe Opera Music Director Harry Bicket leads a talented cast that includes three-time Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as the defiant Carmen opposite internationally acclaimed tenors Bryan Hymel and Michael Fabiano who share the role of Don José. Bass-baritone Michael Sumuel makes his company debut as the toreador, Escamillo. Soprano and former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice singer Sylvia D’Eramo makes her company debut as Micaëla and bass David Crawford sings Zuniga in his company debut. The Chorus Master is Susanne Sheston.

Carmen was written for the Opéra-Comique and premiered in 1875. But with its unrestrained sexuality, immoral characters and onstage murder, Carmen shocked the Parisian audience, who met the world premiere not with boos or jeers, but with deadly silence. The reviews ranged from disappointed to horrified. Despite its disastrous opening run, critics nonetheless recognized Bizet’s undeniable talent — the music of Carmen brilliantly communicates its characters’s emotional and psychological states, sometimes subtly and sometimes directly and forcefully. Clément admits that Carmen is intimidating, noting, “The usual preconception is that it’s a joyful, colorful piece, but it’s actually a very dark and gloomy piece.” The general setting for the action will be an amusement park. As Clément puts it, “…it’s almost a mental landscape for Carmen. You always say Carmen is free and it’s a celebration of freedom. I beg to differ. Yes, she’s free to die in the end. So, it’s a very limited kind of freedom.” She adds, “Another essential idea in our conception was a little girl who would be a recurring character, especially in the overture and the interludes, who would just appear there like a young Carmen or a little girl from the community of travelers…like something blurred and dreamlike coming into focus.”

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE

Figaro here, Figaro there, Figaro everywhere!

The 2022 Season continues on July 2, 2022 with Rossini’s most popular comedy, The Barber of Seville, in a new production whose playful energy springs directly from his ebullient music. In Stephen Barlow’s witty interpretation, Seville and Santa Fe meet and merge in a sunny and whimsical world where anything can happen. The familiar sunbaked colors of southern Spain meld seamlessly with Santa Fe Opera’s beloved and unique natural backdrop, and a clever revolving stage adds a multiplicity of possible locales to the usual interior and exterior settings of this opera. Designer Andrew D. Edwards’s elegant and colorful costumes based on 18th-century period clothing freely embrace fantasy and Mitchell Harper’s choreography surprises at every turn in this charming production illuminated by lighting designer Chris Akerlind.

Mexican conductor Iván López-Reynoso makes his company debut leading eight performances with an exciting cast that includes Santa Fe Opera audience favorite Joshua Hopkins as the resourceful Figaro and former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice singers Emily Fons and Jack Swanson who will dazzle as Rosina and Count Almaviva. Bass Ryan Speedo Green makes his company debut as Don Basilio and bass Kevin Burdette sings the role of Doctor Bartolo. Susanne Sheston is the Chorus Master.

Based on Le Barbier de Séville (1775), the first play of the ‘Figaro Trilogy’ by the French Revolutionary-era author Pierre Caron de Beaumarchais, Rossini’s opera traces the efforts of clever Figaro to win for his master Count Almaviva his chosen bride, Rosina. Rossini himself was a delicate balance of 18th-century craftsman and 19th-century trailblazer and with Barber he created an opera whose modesty belies its mastery, a structure buttressed by the most sophisticated musical dramaturgy but whose facade is sheer fun.

FALSTAFF

All the world’s a joke and only the jolly are wise.

Opening July 16, 2022 is Verdi’s comedic opera Falstaff in an exciting co-production with Scottish Opera. Sir David McVicar’s production plays as classic Shakespearean humor in the form of disguise and trickery. McVicar’s unit set is a wooden structure that includes a galleried upper level linked by side stairs, harkening back to theaters of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. True to the period, excessive decoration is avoided, and everything is kept as simple and functional as possible. Audiences can expect costumes that are a kaleidoscope of fabrics featuring richly colored silks, magnificent brocades, period ruffs, fur trimmings and black leather — truly a feast for the eyes. While the garments are in keeping with the period, McVicar has drawn inspiration from the paintings of some of art’s great masters, including Rembrandt, Vermeer and Botticelli. The third act set in Windsor Park showcases the entire cast in masquerade including a cavalcade of witches, elves and even the Fairy Queen herself. The Scotsman wrote, “There’s never a moment in this hurtling production where the eye is bored.” McVicar is joined by lighting designer Lizzie Powell and choreographer Andrew George, both making their Santa Fe Opera debuts.

Maestro Paul Daniel leads a talented ensemble headlined by baritone Quinn Kelsey in the title role. Joining him are Alexandra LoBianco and Elena Villalón in their company debuts as Alice and Nannetta, former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice singers Ann McMahon Quintero and Eric Ferring in their company debuts as Mistress Quickly and Fenton and former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice singer Megan Marino as Meg Page. Roland Wood is Ford and Susanne Sheston serves as the Chorus Master.

Falstaff is Verdi’s final opera, composed at the age of 80, five years prior to his death in 1901. He lovingly referred to his composition as “Il Pancione” or “The Big Belly” and with it he left behind the traditional building blocks of Italian opera. He forgoes the expected overture, abandons traditional arias and frequently places the melody in the orchestra rather than the vocal line. Beautiful musical ideas arrive and depart before an audience has a chance to fully grasp or savor them, likening them to quicksilver. Rossini was known to have said Verdi was incapable of writing a comedy. Following the tremendous success of Otello, Verdi commented, “After having relentlessly massacred so many heroes and heroines, I have at last the right to laugh a little.”

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE

Surrender to desire.

Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, a company premiere and the first piece by Richard Wagner to be seen on the Santa Fe Opera stage in over 30 years, will be presented in a new production opening on July 23, 2022. Debuting directors Zack Winokur and Lisenka Heijboer Castañón conjure a mesmerizing production of eloquent, elemental simplicity which emphasizes character, emotion and ideas. “Opera is the field where all disciplines collide,” Winokur observes, “…and I want to smash these different methods of performance and expression together to produce a thing of power, meaning, matter and beauty.” The timeless set, designed by the cutting-edge architects Charlap Hyman & Herrero, serves as a canvas for a masterful play of light and shadow by lighting designer John Torres and projections designer Greg Emetaz. Rounding out the creative team is costume designer Carlos J. Soto, who is a longtime collaborator with Robert Wilson.

Conductor James Gaffigan returns to the Santa Fe Opera podium to lead a stellar cast that includes exciting company debuts in the title roles: tenor Simon O’Neill as Tristan and soprano Tamara Wilson as Isolde. Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton sings Brangäne, bass Nicholas Brownlee is Kurwenal and bass Eric Owens performs King Marke. Susanne Sheston is the Chorus Master.

Wagner wrote Tristan und Isolde under the twin influences of the gloomy philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer and of Mathilde Wesendonck, his married lover — both of whom taught him a thing or two about unfulfilled longing. He conveyed his musings on love, sex and death in intensely chromatic music of deferred resolution, conveyed in tidal waves of full-throated singing and lush orchestral sound. Its prelude’s opening with the famous yearning “Tristan chord” is often cited as the birth of modern music, unleashing an unstoppable wellspring of musical possibility. The work’s unprecedented chromaticism, tonal ambiguity and stunning orchestral color changed every composer who came after, influencing everything from Expressionism to film music to Heavy Metal.

In order to best accommodate audiences, all performances of Tristan und Isolde will begin at 8:00 pm.

M. BUTTERFLY 蝴蝶君

Love has no boundaries.

Rounding out the Santa Fe Opera’s 2022 Season will be the world premiere of Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly on July 30, 2022. The piece is the company 18^th world premiere, further building upon a long legacy of commissioning new works. It is based upon Hwang’s Tony Award-winning play of the same name, inspired by the true story of a French diplomat who carried on a 20-year love affair with a star of the Peking Opera who has an astonishing secret. The story’s many parallels with Puccini’s well-known Madama Butterfly are echoed in the new opera’s music which has itself been an iconic work at the Santa Fe Opera, having opened all three theaters in 1957, 1968 and 1998. In many ways, M. Butterfly is a logical progression for the Santa Fe Opera, honoring the company’s history while championing new operatic works.

M. Butterfly will be staged by James Robinson and the same creative team that prepared the Santa Fe Opera’s widely praised American premiere of Huang Ruo’s Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 2014, including Allen Moyer (scenic design), James Schuette (costume design) and Chris Akerlind (lighting design). Greg Emetaz will serve as the projections designer. Their gripping production captures the lyricism of Huang Ruo’s music and reveals the blurred lines between fantasy and reality. Maestra Carolyn Kuan, Music Director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, returns to the Santa Fe Opera podium. Baritone Mark Stone sings the role of René Gallimard. Countertenor Kangmin Justin Kim (Song Liling) and mezzo-soprano Hongni Wu (Comrade Chin/Shu Fang) make exciting company debuts. Tenor and former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice singer Joshua Dennis creates the role of Marc and Santa Fe Opera audience favorite Kevin Burdette performs the roles of Manuel Toulon and the Judge. Susanne Sheston is the Chorus Master.

Librettist David Henry Hwang writes, “When Huang Ruo and I began looking for our next project together, it seemed time to finally embark upon my dream of bringing M. Butterfly back to the world of opera, which in many ways strikes me as its most natural home. I am grateful to the Santa Fe Opera for investing the time, resources and artistic support necessary to develop and realize this work. Because opera is the most theatrical of stage forms, one which most effectively facilitates an audiences’ suspension of disbelief, Huang Ruo and I believe it will allow this story to take wing more beautifully and powerfully than ever
before.”

2022 DEBUTS

Lisenka Heijboer Castañón (Stage Director); Mariame Clément (Stage Director); David Crawford (Bass); Sylvia D’Eramo+ (Soprano); Andrew D. Edwards (Scenic & Costume Designer); Greg Emetaz (Projections Designer); Eric Ferring+ (Tenor); Andrew George (Choreographer); Ryan Speedo Green (Bass); Julia Hansen (Scenic & Costume Designer); Mathieu Guilhaumon (Choreographer); Mitchell Harper (Choreographer); Charlap Hyman & Herrero (Scenic Designer); Kangmin Justin Kim (Countertenor); Alexandra LoBianco (Soprano); Iván López-Reynoso (Conductor); Sir David McVicar (Stage Director); Simon O’Neill (Tenor); Lizzie Powell (Lighting Designer); Ann McMahon Quintero+ (Mezzo-soprano); Carlos J. Soto (Costume Designer); Michael Sumuel (Bass-Baritone); John Torres (Lighting Designer); Elena Villalón (Soprano); Tamara Wilson (Soprano); Hongni Wu (Mezzo-Soprano)

RETURNING ARTISTS

with most recent Santa Fe Opera appearance

Singers

Jamie Barton (Faust, The Last Savage, 2011); Nicholas Brownlee (The Marriage of Figaro, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021); Kevin Burdette (The Lord of Cries, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021); Scott Conner (The Italian Girl in Algiers, 2018); Joshua Dennis+ (The Thirteenth Child, 2019); Michael Fabiano+ (La Traviata, 2013); Emily Fons+ (Roméo et Juliette, 2016); Joshua Hopkins (Die Fledermaus, 2017); Bryan Hymel (La Traviata, 2013); Quinn Kelsey (Rigoletto, 2015); David Leigh+ (The Thirteenth Child, 2019); Isabel Leonard (Cold Mountain, 2015); Megan Marino+ (The Marriage of Figaro, 2021); Eric Owens (Wozzeck, 2011); Mark Stone (Così fan tutte, 2007); Jack Swanson+ (The Italian Girl in Algiers, 2018); Roland Wood (La Traviata, 2013)

Conductors

Harry Bicket (The Marriage of Figaro, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021); Paul Daniel (The Thirteenth Child, 2019); James Gaffigan (Ariadne auf Naxos, 2018); Carolyn Kuan (Dr. Sun Yat-sen, 2014)

Directors

Stephen Barlow (Tosca, 2012); James Robinson (Vanessa, 2016); Zack Winokur (Choreographer, Lucia di Lammermoor, 2017)

Designers

Chris Akerlind (Vanessa, 2016); Allen Moyer (Die Fledermaus, 2017); James Schuette (Vanessa, 2016); Duane Schuler (The Marriage of Figaro, 2021)

Chorus Master

Susanne Sheston (2021 Season)

+Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice

CARMEN

Music Georges Bizet
Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy
Premiered March 3 1875, Opéra-Comique, Paris

New Production
10 Performances — July 1, 6, 9, 15, 22; August 2, 8, 13, 17 & 27
Sung in French with opera titles in English and Spanish

Production support generously provided by:
Robert L. Turner

Additional artistic support provided by:
Miranda & David Lind

The performances of Isabel Leonard are supported by:
Susan Esco Chandler & Alfred D. Chandler

The engagement of Mariame Clément is supported by:
The Marineau Family Foundation

Creative Team

Conductor Harry Bicket
Stage Director Mariame Clément*
Scenic & Costume Design Julia Hansen*
Lighting Design Duane Schuler
Choreographer Mathieu Guilhaumon*
Chorus Master Susanne Sheston

Cast

Micaëla Sylvia D’Eramo+*
Carmen Isabel Leonard
Don José Bryan Hymel (July), Michael Fabiano+ (August)
Escamillo Michael Sumuel*
Zuniga David Crawford*
Lillas Pastia TBA

The Santa Fe Opera Chorus & Orchestra

*Santa Fe Opera debut, +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE

Music by Gioachino Rossini
Libretto by Cesare Sterbini
Premiered February 20, 1816, Teatro Argentina, Rome

New Production
8 Performances — July 2, 8, 13; August 1, 6, 10, 20 & 26
Sung in Italian with opera titles in English and Spanish

Production support generously provided by:
David A. Kaplan & Glenn A. Ostergaard, Brautigam-Kaplan Foundation
James R. Seitz, Jr.

Additional artistic support provided by:
The Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation

The engagement of Ryan Speedo Green is supported by:
The Peter B. Frank Principal Artist Fund

Creative Team

Conductor Iván López-Reynoso*
Stage Director Stephen Barlow
Scenic & Costume Design Andrew D. Edwards*
Lighting Design Chris Akerlind
Choreographer Mitchell Harper*
Chorus Master Susanne Sheston

Cast

Rosina Emily Fons+
Count Almaviva Jack Swanson+
Figaro Joshua Hopkins
Doctor Bartolo Kevin Burdette
Don Basilio Ryan Speedo Green* (August 1, 6, 10 & 20)

The Santa Fe Opera Chorus & Orchestra

*Santa Fe Opera debut, +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice

FALSTAFF

Music by Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto Arrigo Boito
Premiered February 9, 1893, La Scala, Milan

Co-production with Scottish Opera
7 Performances — July 16, 20, 29; August 4, 9, 16, & 25
Sung in Italian with opera titles in English and Spanish

Production support generously provided by:
The Wyncote Foundation, as recommended by Frederick R. Haas & Rafael Gomez
Robert & Ellen Vladem

Creative Team

Conductor Paul Daniel
Stage Director David McVicar*
Scenic & Costume Design David McVicar*
Lighting Design Lizzie Powell*
Choreographer Andrew George*
Chorus Master Susanne Sheston

Cast

Alice Alexandra LoBianco*
Nannetta Elena Villalón*
Meg Page Megan Marino+
Mistress Quickly Ann McMahon Quintero+*
Fenton Eric Ferring+*
Bardolfo TBA
Dr. Caius TBA
Falstaff Quinn Kelsey
Ford Roland Wood
Pistola Scott Conner

The Santa Fe Opera Chorus & Orchestra

*Santa Fe Opera debut, +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE

Music and Libretto by Richard Wagner
Libretto based on Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg
Premiered June 10, 1865, Königliches Hof- und Nationaltheater, Munich

New Production
6 Performances — July 23, 27; August 5, 11, 19 & 23
Sung in German with opera titles in English and Spanish

Production support generously provided by:
The Avenir Production Fund

Additional artistic support provided by:
Gene & Jean Stark

The performances of Tamara Wilson and Simon O’Neill are supported by:
The Wagner Society of Santa Fe

The performances of Jamie Barton are supported by:
David & Frances Ertel

Original production support generously provided by:
The Wyncote Foundation, as recommended by Frederick R. Haas & Rafael Gomez
Sarah Billinghurst Solomon & Howard Solomon
Gene & Jean Stark
Jane Stieren Lacy in memory of Arthur T. Stieren
Robert L. Turner
The Wagner Society of Santa Fe
The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation

Creative Team

Conductor James Gaffigan
Stage Director Zack Winokur and Lisenka Heijboer Castañón*
Scenic Design Charlap Hyman & Herrero*
Costume Design Carlos J. Soto*
Lighting Design John Torres*
Projections Designer Greg Emetaz*
Chorus Master Susanne Sheston

Cast

Isolde Tamara Wilson*
Brangäne Jamie Barton
Tristan Simon O’Neill*
Kurwenal Nicholas Brownlee+
King Marke Eric Owens, David Leigh+ (Aug. 11)

The Santa Fe Opera Chorus & Orchestra

*Santa Fe Opera debut, +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice

M. BUTTERFLY 蝴蝶君

Music by Huang Ruo
Libretto by David Henry Hwang
World Premiere July 30, 2022, The Santa Fe Opera
Based on the stage play “M. Butterfly” by David Henry Hwang
Commissioned by The Santa Fe Opera

5 Performances — July 30; August 3, 12, 18 & 24
Sung in English with opera titles in English and Spanish

Production support generously provided by:
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Agnes Hsu-Tang & Oscar Tang—Tang Fund
Edward & Betsy Cohen – The Aretê Foundation

The engagement of James Robinson is supported by:
Douglas Dockery Thomas

Original production support generously provided by:
The Marineau Family Foundation
Linda Pierce
The Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation

Creative Team

Conductor Carolyn Kuan
Stage Director James Robinson
Scenic Design Allen Moyer
Costume Design James Schuette
Lighting Design Chris Akerlind
Projections Designer Greg Emetaz
Chorus Master Susanne Sheston

Cast

René Gallimard Mark Stone
Song Liling Kangmin Justin Kim*
Comrade Chin/Shu Fang Hongni Wu*
Manuel Toulon/Judge Kevin Burdette
Marc Joshua Dennis+

The Santa Fe Opera Chorus & Orchestra

*Santa Fe Opera debut, +Former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice

2022 SEASON INFORMATION

Performance Start Times*: July 1 — July 30, 8:30 PM | August 1 — August 27, 8:00 PM
*All performances of Tristan und Isolde will begin at 8:00 pm.

2022 Tickets & Subscriptions

Tickets for the 2022 Season are now on sale. Make purchases or learn more at santafeopera.org or by calling the Box Office at 505-986-5900 (toll-free at 800-280-4654) between 9:00 am to 5:00 pm MT Monday through Friday. No in-person purchases are available at this time.

Apprentice Scenes

Staged scenes from the operatic repertory showcasing the remarkable talent of Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Singers and Technicians will be presented on two consecutive Sunday evenings, August 14 and 21, 2022. One of the best entertainment values of the summer at $15 for Adults and $5 for youth (ages 6-22). Make purchases or learn more at santafeopera.org or by calling the Box Office at 505-986-5900 (toll-free at 800-280-4654) between 9:00 am to 5:00 pm MT Monday through Friday. No in-person purchases are available at this time.

Discounted Ticket Programs

The Santa Fe Opera is pleased to offer discounted day-of ticket programs for seniors, students and military. To learn more please call the Box Office at 505-986-5900 (toll-free at 800-280-4654) between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm MT Monday through Friday. No in-person purchases are available at this time.

Your Visit

All additional on-campus activities, including Prelude Talks, Preview Dinners, Shuttles, Backstage Tours and Family Nights, are currently being reviewed. In the coming months the opera will determine what can be offered while still ensuring the safety of its staff, artists, audience and community. Updates will be posted at santafeopera.org as decisions on each activity are made.