Santa Fe Opera 2022

Santa Fe Opera House from the parking lot

Photo by Lisa Hirsch

First out of the gate with a season announcement: Santa Fe Opera, as always (but later than usual for them). 

• Carmen, with a good cast: Harry Bicket/Isabel Leonard, Bryan Hymel/Michael Fabiano, Michael Sumuel, Sylvia D'Ermano, David Crawford.
• Tristan und Isolde, James Gaffigan/Simon O'Neill, Tamara Wilson, Jamie! Barton!, Nicholas Brownless, Eric Owens.
• Falstaff, Paul Daniel/Quinn Kelsey, Alexandra LoBianco, Roland Wood, Elena Villalón, Eric Ferring, Ann McMahon Quintero, Megan Marino.
• The Barber of Seville, Iván López-Reynoso/Emily Fons, Jack Swanson, Joshua Hopkins, Kevin Burdette, Ryan Speedo Green.
• M. Butterfly, Carolyn Kuan/Kangmin Justin Kim, Mark Stone, Hongni Wu, Kevin Burdette, Joshua Dennis.

The Tristan is a must-see for me, because Tamara Wilson and Jamie Barton are must see in those roles. Carmen: I never want to see it again, but maybe Bryan Hymel will sing all of his assigned performances? And if not, perhaps Michael Fabiano is covering! Falstaff is a favorite opera and Quinn Kelsey is a fine singer, but oh man I panned Paul Daniel both times I saw him conduct, in very different works many years apart: Die Walküre at ENO in 2004 and The Thirteenth Child (admittedly a hapless work) in 2019 on my last trip to Santa Fe. It's definitely a conductor's opera.