A Road Trip to New Mexico

August 12-17, 2001

The Santa Fe Opera

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(Click on Image for Enlarged View)

Approaching the Theatre from the Parking Lot	The Main Entrance	The Box Office
Wind Breaks on the South Side of the Auditorium	Postcard View of the Opera House as Rebuilt in 1998	The Santa Fe Opera 1968 - 1997
The Egyptian Helen by Richard Strauss	Die Aegyptische Helena 1988	The Original Santa Fe Opera in 1956

I arrived in Santa Fe late Tuesday afternoon, and spent two days there. I was able to attend a performance of Verdi's last opera, Falstaff, on Tuesday night and The Egyptian Helen by Richard Strauss on Wednesday night at the Santa Fe Opera.

Since I had recently attended opera in Colorado at the Central City Opera, it is tempting for me to make a comparison between the two venues. But it is hard to compare the effect of being in a small house like Central City, which seats 550, with a much larger theatre like the new building at Santa Fe, which seats 2180.

I liked the Falstaff very much, because it had an excellent ensemble cast that was able to bring a strong sense of slapstick and vulgarity to Verdi's all too "human" comedy. It was a delight.

The Egyptian Helen was quite enjoyable for its rarity and luscious music, but the cast was not always up to the demands of the difficult score, and John Crosby in the pit needed to bring a bit more "sweep" to his interpretation. He is just getting too old for this sort of thing.

The new theater at Santa Fe Opera was inaugurated for the 1998 season. At the end of the 1997 season, they completely rebuilt and enlarged the theatre in one year, including a completely covered auditorium and expanded seating from about 1700 to 2180. It is open on the sides and the back of the stage, and so is still an "outdoor" theater. I got these facts from one of the ushers.

This is the third version of the theater. The first building burned in the late 60's and was rebuilt. I was in Vietnam at the time, subscribed to Opera News magazine, saw an ad, and sent them $50 from Danang. It was quite a thrill for me to attend my first opera performance there in 1972, while I was still in college at North Texas State University in Denton, TX. Since then, I have made a point of returning to Santa Fe and the opera every few years. I love the city, the opera, and New Mexico. It is one of God's chosen places on Earth.

This trip was my first in the new theatre. They have kept the same look and feel, and just improved it. The sub-title system they use is the same one in use at the Met in NY. The seat I was in is actually pictured on the postcard. I was just behind the aisle in the front of the back section, on the left side of the theatre looking at the stage. It was a good seat, and the acoustics were wonderful.