Archiscape Blog

Santa Fe Opera

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Karin • Filed under:

A lightning storm on the horizon provides a dramatic backdrop for the evening’s event. Photo,  Angelo Accomando

The Santa Fe Opera is located 7 miles (11 km) north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch.

John Crosby a New York-based conductor, founded the Santa Fe Opera in 1956. His goal was to give American singers the opportunity to learn and perform new roles while having ample time for rehearsal and preparation. Its first season began on 3 July 1957.

The original, totally open-air theater was designed to seat 480 and was built for $115,000 on a site carefully selected by Crosby and an acoustician friend, who fired off a series of rifle shots until they found the perfect natural location for an outdoor theatre. It was “the only outdoor theatre in America exclusively designed for opera”.  Audience members sat on benches. A mezzanine was added in 1965 but, on 27 July 1967, four weeks into the season, a fire demolished the theater, causing the company to move to a local high school for the remainder of the season. From the Sweeney Gymnasium, they completed the season, albeit without most of the original costumes or sets. A huge fund-raising operation took place, backed by Igor Stravinsky, and $2.4 million was raised to rebuild the theatre in time for the following season.

The second theatre, a new open-air house seating 1,889, was ready for the start of the new season on 26 June 1968. The new theatre was designed by the Santa Fe firm of McHugh and Kidder. One of its principal features was the partial opening of the roof towards the middle of the orchestra section, provided by the curving, audience-facing slope of the stage roof and the thrust of the mezzanine and rear orchestra roof forward. Also, the auditorium’s sides were open, as was the rear of the stage (although sliding doors could be closed). It provided for spectacular Westward views – as well as giving some centrally located audience members a view of the night sky. Most of the theatre’s backstage facilities, including scenery construction and storage and costume and props production, were constructed below the stage level in order to preserve the open views to the West.

The present theatre was designed by the architectural firm headed by James Polshek of New York. The new theatre was completed in ten months for an early July 1998 opening of the new season. Like the previous opening nights of 1957 and 1968, it featured a performance of Madama Butterfly this time sung by Miriam Gauci, the Maltese soprano who had her debut in the same role at the SFO in 1987.

The theater now seats 2,128 plus 106 standees, although it has a strikingly intimate feel. It added a wider and more complete roof structure, with the new front and rear portions supported by cables and joined together with a clerestory window. This offers protection from the sky, but with the sides remaining open to the elements. The presence of wind baffles and Stieren Hall has helped improve exposure on the southern, windward side of the auditorium.

Information from Wikipedia