Art that moves people to action with Santa Fe Opera Chief Artistic Officer David Lomelí

Destination Santa Fe Opera

What has all the compelling drama of a marathon finish line and the adrenaline rush of a Formula One championship? Santa Fe Opera’s 2022 Season, of course!

Or so says Jane’s guest. She sits down with Chief Artistic Officer David Lomelí to learn more about the incredible titles and talents set to grace the Santa Fe Opera stage next summer. The pair also charts David’s path from his hometown in Mexico to the rarified stages of Europe and, finally, to his dream job here in the desert, where he’s poised to break the clichés of opera programming, demystify the genre, and broaden the audience experience.

It’s impossible to not respond to David’s enthusiasm for all things opera. Even the logistical complications brought about by COVID-19 inspire him. “It was such a beautiful challenge,” he says about the 2021 Season. “I gained so much perspective,” he adds, citing the physical safety precautions put into place, as well as the collective emotional support of everyone eager for a return to what David dubbed “big voices in an American house.”

So much of the front-facing activity in that house runs through the Artistic office: the Orchestra, the Apprentice Programs, the music staff, the principal artists. It’s no surprise, then, that David spends his days on what he cleverly calls player personnel evaluation. “We have to manage the architecture of the sound,” he says, describing how his efforts transform wish lists of individual talents into cohesive, magical casts.

Next summer promises to deliver even more signature moments beginning with Carmen, the 2022 Season opener. After such a crowd-pleasing start, it would be easy for SFO to coast on the classics but “we're an international opera house [and] there's so many stories,” David says, explaining that the Santa Fe Opera’s legacy of fostering new works offers audiences an opportunity to experience fresh perspectives. “I think that at the end of the day, it is [about] making the highest possible level of art that moves people to do action.”

Unveiling the 2022 Season

CREDITS

Destination Santa Fe Opera is a Santa Fe Opera podcast, produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Mixed by: Edwin R. Ruiz

Hosted by: Jane Trembley

Featuring:

David Lomelí

Chief Artistic Officer

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