CAU > Seminars and Study Tours > Opera in Santa Fe

Opera in Santa Fe

August 3-8, 2008

The registration period for this program has passed.
Please contact us if you have any questions.

Overview

As music lovers everywhere know, the Santa Fe opera festival has long marked one of the highpoints of the international musical calendar. Not only do the Western, Hispanic, and Native American traditions and the splendid mountain backdrop of northern New Mexico not detract from opera--they enrich it. After all, like opera, Santa Fe creates its marvelous effects by stimulating all the senses. The city and the opera are both stages for grand performances, one by day, the other under the stars. We intend to experience and enjoy both.

August 2008 will mark another year of enticing programming for the Santa Fe Opera. While the season will include Mozart's marvelous repertory standard The Marriage of Figaro, the company will also be offering some infrequently performed masterpieces: "going for Baroque" with Handel's Radamisto, experimenting with Verdi's final (and comic) masterpiece, Falstaff, exploring Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd for the first time, and offering the American premiere of Kaija Saariaho's new opera, Adriana Mater. We'll see all but Saariaho's Adriana, but tickets will be available and those who wish to extend their hotel stay for an additional night will be able to do so at the program rate.

Faculty

Our mentor and guide will be CAU favorite Art Groos, Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities; professor of German studies, medieval studies, and music at Cornell; founding co-editor of the Cambridge Opera Journal; and past leader of numerous CAU seminars. Each morning we'll prepare for and discuss the evening performances we'll enjoy in the Santa Fe Opera's redesigned amphitheater. Afternoons will be devoted to exploring Santa Fe and its surroundings. Options we're considering include a visit to the feast day at Santo Domingo Pueblo, with the spectacular corn dances by hundreds of dancers (and Koshare clowns), a trip to the Chimayo trading post on the high road to Taos, and a specially arranged demonstration/firing of traditional Native American pottery by world-famous artists Robert Tenorio and Gilbert and Paulita Pacheco.

Our home for the week will be the very elegant and accommodating Eldorado Hotel, perfectly located in the historic center of Santa Fe.

Program Cost and Travel Arrangements

The program fee of $2,995 (per-person, double-occupancy) includes all lodging, many meals, best-in-the-house seats at and transportation to all performances, all taxes and gratuities, full escort services, and the full educational program. The supplement for single occupancy is $770. Participants will be responsible for their own travel to and from Santa Fe.

Program Notes

This is not a strenuous program, but we will be doing some walking, and climbing steps. Weather this time of year should be delightful, though a stray shower is always a possibility and nights can be chilly.

Note: Please register early. The refund deadline is January 31.