The Santa Fe Opera House is a uniquely situated opera organization in the New Mexico desert. Its open-air opera house in Santa Fe with superior acoustics has won several design awards. The 155-acre campus is also home to a three-story orchestra hall. The Ranch provides housing to musicians and singers, allowing them to learn new roles and perform without the usual pressures of opera in the big city.
The Crosby Theater offers panoramic views of the Jemez and Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Originally built in 1957, it has since expanded its seating capacity from 480 to over 2,000. Each seat and standing position offers a clear view to a digital opera titles screen, which translates the operas to English. A curved roof of over 25,000 square feet has been designed to reflect the sounds of the stage to the audience, and doubles as a rain-water collector, annually capturing 60,000 gallons, which are used to maintain the opera grounds.
The Stieren Orchestra Hall was built in 2001 with a donation from opera supporters Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Stieren. The building offers over 12,000 square feet of studio space for orchestra rehearsals, as well as private rehearsal studios for singers, and climate-controlled storage for the opera’s costumes.
With an expansive campus and ample parking on the mesa above the theater, opera attendees enjoy an evening under the stars, and may attend a preview dinner before each show, order a luxury picnic, or bring their own picnics for tailgating in the parking area up to three hours prior to each performance.
Visits to the opera may be enhanced with one-hour backstage tours, or tours of the opera’s ranch. Ranch tours meet the last Friday of each month, and include a Meet the Artist presentation with one of the resident apprentice singers. Opera Insider Days take place on Saturdays throughout the summer and incorporate a light breakfast with an insider’s look at the opera, a backstage tour, and a scavenger hunt for children.
Santa Fe Opera House, 301 Opera Drive Santa Fe, NM 87506, Phone: 800-280-4654
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