Santa Fe Opera 1: A Quiet Storm

Although the Santa Fe Opera has been going for some sixty-five years, it was not until the present season that it gave its first ever performance of Tristan und Isolde; before that, the only other Wagner opera to have appeared at the festival was Der fliegende Holländer (last performed in the 1980s, but scheduled to return next year). The relative absence of Wagner is perhaps not surprising: the open-air amphitheatre, which sits on the west-facing side of a hill in the majestic wilderness of northern New Mexico, is one of the great North American opera venues, but the fact that performances can’t begin until the sun goes down – usually around half-past eight during the height of summer – naturally precludes many of the longer works in the standard repertoire. Yet the presence of Tristan in this year’s programme was most welcome, and on…