The Santa Fe Opera
And Its Special Connection to Mozart
By Peter Pabisch
Top Photo: The Santa Fe Opera’s Crosby Theater. Robert Godwin/ Santa Fe Opera
It sounds far-fetched to think that New Mexico, then called Nuevo Mexico, was part of the Habsburg Empire for almost 200 years (until 1700). And Santa Fe, its capital, existed since 1610 as the most northern official administrative city of Latin America since 1610, under the rule of Philip III of the Habsburg family, the son of Philip II who had built the Escorial in Madrid and had presented the famous Spanish Riding School to his relatives in Vienna. Until 1848, the entire Southwest of the United States constituted two thirds of the Mexican land mass, until the MexicanAmerican War was decided in favor of the northern power player. Yet, even to this day, New Mexico has a flavor of its own relating much more to Catholic Europe (Spain, Italy, and Austria), rather than reflecting the politically correct protestant tradition of this country going back to the Pilgrim Fathers and Plymouth Rock.
Thus, Santa Fe is much closer to home than Washington, DC and the entire East of the United States. It therefore comes as no surprise that at the Santa Fe Opera (SFO), an unintended continuation of this bond seems to thrive at the cultural level since its inception in 1957, given that the opera has performed quite a few works by Austrian composers or those who thrived in Vienna, the capital from the times of the Holy Roman Empire until modern-day Austria – with its rich and renowned music tradition and, in fact, its “premier league” position in this regard.
John Crosby, the founder of the SFO, who enjoyed the assistance of Igor Stravinsky during the first few years, thus allowing for grandeur right from its difficult beginnings, had a liking for Richard Strauss, a few Italians –Rossini, Puccini and Verdi, and, of course, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Remarkably, the first season in 1957 offered Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, and Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. The other two operas of the traditional five pieces to be produced each year were Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier, and as a world premiere, Marvin David Levy’s The Tower.
In over sixty years of performances in Santa Fe, the genius from Salzburg will have occupied the lead in almost every category among the 85 composers presented during this time span. Three of Mozart’s operas were among the most performed pieces – The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute and Cosi fan tutte. Virtually no other operas were performed that often, though other composers from Mozart’s home grounds like Alban Berg, Arnold Schoenberg, Johann Strauss jun., or Franz Lehár made it onto the program as well. Furthermore, librettists like Hugo von Hofmannsthal or the Italian Lorenzo da Ponte -who thrived at the court of Emperor Joseph II and emigrated to the United States in 1805 after his successful collaboration with Mozartare celebrated in Sante Fe as well.
In 2015 Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera constituted a well-received introduction to the SFO’s offerings of this composer, and in the 2019 season, Cosi fan Tutte continued the Mozart boom in the impressive 7,000 feet high, cloudy surroundings of this unique opera house. In his first season as General Director, Robert K. Meya had big shoes to fill, taking over from long time General Director Charles MacKay, to again enchant the public with a memorable, powerful, cultured summer season.
And all those who know of Austria’s contributions to the world of music, do find the mythical formula AEIOU (Austria est in orbe ultima) contained in every Mozart piece – outstandingly so in Santa Fe!
Peter Pabisch is Professor Emeritus of German Studies and Literature at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.