The Santa Fe Opera Unveils Casting and Repertory Plans for the 2025 Season

 The Santa Fe Opera has announced casting and repertory plans for the company’s 2025 Season running June 27 through August 23, 2025. The 68th Festival Season features 38 performances of three new productions, a beloved Santa Fe Opera revival, and the remount of an award-winning international production, each in harmony with the company’s time-tested programming model of a balanced and varied repertory of new, lesser-performed and standard works. 

Opening Weekend centers on a new production of Puccini’s La bohème directed by James Robinson and a revival of 2021’s beloved production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro directed by Laurent Pelly. From July 12, the company will present a new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto by Julien Chavaz in an international co-production with Irish National Opera and Opera Zuid. Opening July 19 will be Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, staged by Louisa Muller in a Canadian Opera Company production originated at Garsington Opera. Rounding out the season on July 26 is Wagner’s masterpiece Die Walküre, presented by the SFO for the first time in a new production by director Melly Still. To best accommodate audiences, all performances of Die Walküre will begin at 8:00 pm. The popular Apprentice Scenes featuring the opera’s singing and technical apprentices are reimagined to provide a wider range of performance and training opportunities for tomorrow’s stars.The first performance on August 10 honors the longtime tradition of staged scenes from the repertoire. The second performance on August 17 will feature the singers in a concert alongside the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra conducted by Iván López-Reynoso.

Says General Director Robert K. Meya, “Now more than ever people are seeking new and immersive experiences. A night at the Santa Fe Opera offers first-time visitors and longtime patrons just that. From live performances to the fun of tailgating, Preview Dinners, Tours and free Prelude Talks, we have something for everyone. I hope you will consider joining us for what promises to be a sensational summer!” Individual tickets and subscriptions for both the 2024 and 2025 Seasons are on sale now at santafeopera.org.

La bohème

The Santa Fe Opera’s 68th Festival Season opens on June 27 with Puccini’s operatic treasure and audience favorite, La bohème set in the vibrant playground of 1920s Paris by director James Robinson. In this golden age of artistic revolution, Puccini's timeless tale of love, longing and sacrifice takes on resonance anew. With scenery by Allen Moyer, costume design by Constance Hoffman and lighting by Duane Schuler, audiences can expect a visual feast that complements the emotional depth of a work that has captivated in every medium: the opera house, on Broadway and in film.

Conductor Iván López-Reynoso leads a talented international cast, with several making company debuts: Chinese tenor Long Long is Rodolfo, American soprano Emily Pogorelc is Musetta and Mexican-American baritone Efraín Solís is Schaunard. Polish baritone Szymon Mechliński makes both his American and company debut in the role of Marcello. American soprano and former Apprentice singer Sylvia D’Eramo sings Mimí, American bass Soloman Howard returns to the SFO stage as Colline and American bass Kevin Burdette portrays Benoît and Alcindoro. The chorus master is Susanne Sheston.  

11 performances are scheduled: June 27; July 2, 5, 11, 18, 28; August 2, 6, 14, 19 and 23, 2025.

The Marriage of Figaro

Back by popular demand! Mozart’s The Marriage Figaro, a revival of French director Laurent Pelly’s stylish production, opens on June 28. Originally brought to life in the 2021 Season under challenging circumstances, Pelly directed remotely from Paris due to COVID-19 restrictions and visa regulations. In 2025, the production team will finally realize their production in person. 

Set in the late 1930s just before World War II, scenic designs by Pelly’s longtime collaborator Chantal Thomas further enhance the production's aesthetic. The opera occurs within a 24-hour timeframe, with the action beginning and ending at the same hour; thus a turntable resembles a large clock, with rotating oversized brass gears. Over the course of the opera, the characters are swept away by forces stronger than themselves and by Act IV, all falls apart, including the clock. Noted Fred Cohn forOpera News, "You could marvel at the production team’s cleverness, as the turntable whizzed around and pieces of set went through intricate rearrangements."

With costumes conceived by Pelly himself, Jean-Jacques Delmotte serves as Associate Costume Designer and internationally recognized lighting designer Duane Schuler returns to Santa Fe to further illuminate this beautiful and timeless production. Susanne Sheston is the chorus master. 

Santa Fe Opera Music Director Harry Bicket conducts the international cast. He writes, “I am thrilled that we are able to finally put Laurent Pelly’s new production of The Marriage of Figaro on our stage after all the restrictions placed on us before. With a fabulous cast and Mozart’s unbeatable music, it is truly a marriage made in heaven.” The Santa Fe Opera is proud to present the following American debuts: Italian bass Riccardo Fassi in the title role, French baritone Florian Sempey as Count Almaviva and Spanish soprano Marina Monzó as the Countess. Chinese mezzo Hogni Wu sings Cherubino and American soprano and former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice singer Liv Redpath sings Susanna. Three more company debuts are noted with Maurizio Muraro as Bartolo, mezzo Lucy Schaufer as Marcellina and Steven Cole as Don Basilio.

Nine performances are scheduled: June 28; July 4, 9, 31; August 4, 9, 12, 16 and22, 2025. 

Rigoletto

Verdi’s Rigoletto opens July 12 in a new co-production with the Irish National Opera and Opera Zuid. Through the omnipresent figure of Rigoletto, jester to the Duke of Mantua, portrayed as both character and ubiquitous mask, audiences are invited to explore themes of desire, betrayal and the relentless forces of fate that shape the lives of those caught in its grip. Making his Santa Fe Opera directorial debut is Julien Chavaz, General Director of the Theater Magdeburg, with a production that draws inspiration from the rich allure of Renaissance paintings and the strange ambiance of the circus world. Sets by 

Jamie Vartan, costumes by Jean-Jacques Delmotte and lighting by Rick Fisherwork together to create a powerful and dreamlike environment. Nicole Morel serves as movement director and the chorus master is Susanne Sheston.

Italian conductor Carlo Montanaro in his company debut leads the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra and a dynamic cast. Spanish baritone Gerardo Bullón makes his American debut in the title role. Cuban-American soprano and 2024 Richard Tucker Career Grant recipient Elena Villalón makes her role debut as Gilda. Former Apprentice singer and tenor Duke Kim undertakes the role of the Duke. Also making American debuts are bass Stephano Park in the role of Sparafucile and mezzo Marcela Rahal as Maddalena. Former Apprentice singer Le Bu sings Monterone. 

Seven performances are scheduled: July 12, 16, 25, 29; August 7, 15 and 20, 2025.

The Turn of the Screw

On July 19 the Santa Fe Opera will present Britten’s The Turn of the Screw,exceptionally staged by Louisa Muller in a Canadian Opera Company production originated at Garsington Opera. Based on the 1898 novella by Henry James, the story follows a young governess who is sent to a remote country estate to care for two young children. As disturbing events occur, she grapples with increasing paranoia that plunges everyone into a realm of psychological suspense. With scenery and costumes by Christopher Oram and lighting by Malcolm Rippeth, audiences will be immersed in a haunting atmosphere that mirrors the eerie tension of the narrative. 

The Guardian called Muller’s production of The Turn of the Screw at Garsington, “A truly great achievement, devastating and unforgettable,” and named the production one of the Top Ten Classical Music Performances of the Year. As Muller’s first international production, it marked a major turning point in her career by also winning the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Best Opera Production. Muller writes, “The Turn of the Screw is a work of utter perfection: spine-tingling, thought-provoking and heart-wrenching in equal measure. This production was a major highlight of my career thus far, and I feel lucky for the opportunity to build it again with new artists and to share it with a new audience.”

New Zealand-born conductor Gemma New takes the podium for her company debut. The cast features former Apprentice singer and soprano Jacquelyn Stucker as the Governess, Christine Rice in her company debut in the role of Mrs. Grose, soprano Wendy Bryn Harmer as Miss Jessel and tenor Brenton Ryan as Peter Quint/Prologue.

Four performances are scheduled: July 19, 23; August 1 and 5, 2025.

Die Walküre

The 2025 Season is made complete with the company premiere of Wagner’s Die Walküre, which marks only the third Wagner opera in the company’s 67-year history and follows on the heels of two highly acclaimed productions: Tristan und Isolde(2022) and The Flying Dutchman (2023).

English director Melly Still makes her Santa Fe Opera directorial debut. She asks, “What was the ripple that created the ripples? Where will it end?” These questions guided the thinking of her team in developing a new production that delves right into the action: a barren land where rules no longer apply, corruption and manipulation are at large and those in power are driven by fear and insecurity. The answer to an existential crisis trickled down from the Gods is that only when there is real love does nature respond. And so, the drama centers around Brünnhilde’s evolving moral compass. Still adds, “She is determined to dismantle the corruption she is wrapped up in. Is Brünnhilde the hope of the future?”

Spanish designer Ana Inés Jabares-Pita oversees scenic and costume design. Malcolm Rippeth returns to design the lighting and Scottish video designer Tim Reid makes his company debut as the video and projection designer. Choreography is by Tinovimbanashe Sibanda in her company debut.

Conductor James Gaffigan returns to the podium to lead a stellar cast that includes three-time Grammy-Award-winning bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green in his role debut as Wotan. American tenor Jamez McCorkle makes his role and company debut as Siegmund and Lithuanian-born soprano 

Vida Miknevičiūtė makes her American and company debut as Sieglinde. Bass Soloman Howard portrays Hunding and former SFO Apprentice singer Sarah Saturnino makes her company debut in the role of Fricka. The 2016 Richard Tucker Award winner Tamara Wilson returns to sing Brünnhilde following her praiseworthy interpretation of Isolde in 2022. Jessica Faselt makes her company and role debut as Helmvige, Wendy Bryn Harmer performs Ortlinde and former Apprentice singerGretchen Krupp is Waltraute.

Five performances are scheduled: July 26, 30; August 8, 13 and 21, 2025. Please note that all performances of Die Walküre begin at 8:00 pm. 

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