Who knew that moving to Santa Fe would make me an opera convert? I’ve always loved chamber music but never thought I liked opera, until I moved here. But moving to Santa Fe, I realized that going to the opera, is one of the major attractions. So, I bought a ticket to one opera, the first summer I was here. What I didn’t realize was that buying a ticket meant not just attending an opera, but getting involved in a whole experience!
Tailgating was a must. And I’d never seen such elaborate tailgating. Nor in such a beautiful place! As the sun changed the colors on the Sangre de Cristo mountains, people in fancy clothes were sitting at tables set up with tablecloths, silverware, fancy glasses and fake candles! One could wander between the cars, just enjoying the spectacle, or sit in your lawn chair enjoying whatever you brought, watching the landscape as the sun sets behind you.
After eating, you slowly make your way towards the opera house, which itself is a beautiful architectural delight that has open air sides and rises like a ship from the hill it sits upon. As the opera begins, the stage is set up to look to the west where the sun has just set behind the horizon and you watch the New Mexican landscape change colors beyond the opera walls, as Act one begins. I’ve seen all kinds of added drama - moon rises or thunder and lightning depending on the night! And at intermission, you go out on the terraces and gaze at the stars.
At first, I was hooked on just the whole experience of going to the opera. But over time, with the help of the extremely entertaining and interesting free talks by Oliver Prezant, I have come to appreciate opera for itself. Oliver helps audiences know what to listen for and notice. He is completely engaging in his presentations; they start in late spring and then continue to shorter presentations given just before the performance.
And before I knew it, I was attending at least three, sometimes four operas every summer. Each season, I feel like I make a new discovery. Last year it was Wagner’s Valkyrie. it was so different from all the operas I had seen previously that it felt like I had been taken into new territory.
And this summer it was Mozart’s Magic Flute. I already knew much of the Magic Flute music from my experience in 7th grade at Cambridge Friends school where we sung many of the parts. And as one famous pianist commented, "The Magic Flute is great for kids as it’s a mixture of opera and Sesame Street!” Yet this time, after having seen Bergman’s famous film of it again, I began to grapple with the more serious ideas it embraces.
Watching it this time, I noticed more keenly its relation to the Bible. I already had been told that Mozart wrote this opera on his death bed and after becoming a Free Mason. And as I watched, it occurred to me that the opera begins with a reference to the dragon in Revelation. It encompasses the concept of the “second death” and wrestles with the story of Adam and Eve. The subtlety of evil is explored and the nature of Eve as temptress. But I think finally it returns to the first chapter of Genesis where God created man and woman equal and “everything he saw was very good.”
The flute takes on the role of “rod and staff,” and music is what is given by the angels watching over us, helping to lead us all to salvation. That’s a lot in a nutshell, but I think this opera covers all of it! But there’s more, the opera is also funny! And in this version the comical side of human nature was brought out wonderfully.
This being my third opera of the season, and the person I was meeting not being able to come early, I decided to skip the tailgating and went straight to Oliver’s 6pm talk. Getting to the parking lot before 6pm is crucial, because it means I can park where they allow the cars to leave on the road they came in, so one doesn’t get stuck in the parking lot jam of traffic after the show. I find I am home about fifteen minutes after the show ends after a bracing walk through the cars and buses lined up ready to leave going out the other way.
Unlike the 7pm talk that Oliver also gives, his 6pm talk is never full. So, I can walk right in, and find a good seat. And it’s such a wonderful refresher of the music, the history and what to look for, all condensed into half an hour. Leaving his talk, one has a strong sense of anticipation for what is to come! At 6:30 you walk out of the talk along the long line of people already waiting to get in for the 7pm. Not everyone who wants to get in will be able to…so I was glad I went at 6!
But since I now had time before the start of the performance, I decided to explore some of the outdoor terraces around the building and watch the light change on the landscape also seeing the moon rise. At first, I was the only one there, enjoying the quiet beauty when suddenly a group of high school students enthusiastically spread out over the terrace. They all looked like they were going to the prom! As I sat on a bench, the band directors sat down next to me and rolled their eyes when one of the students announced he had accidentally dropped his ticket over the edge of the wall. It was fun to be reminded of what it was like to be with high school kids, and I got into a long conversation with the band leaders who had brought them. One of them teaches not only music but math! Both love living here, but say it’s very difficult to find housing they can afford. They get paid too much for the “affordable housing” that’s being built in Santa Fe, but not enough to be able to afford housing at the current market rate! Fortunately, one of them has parents from Texas who bought a house here that he lives in and looks after. The other one has resorted to signing up for a long-term Airbnb which can only be for six months.
They were on the terrace because Oliver’s 7pm talk filled up before they could get in with their group of 20. But he promised them he would do a special talk just for the kids at 7:40. And there he was, surrounded by these young ones, who were totally enthralled by what he was telling them, just as I met my friend and joined the rest of the crowd looking for their seats.
Maybe those high school students will also become opera converts!
