page_title: Santa Fe Opera
section_title: Theatres and other facilities
hierarchical_section_title: Santa Fe Opera / Theatres and other facilities
caption_attribution_description: English: Wind/rain panels placed on the south side of the Crosby Theatre at the Santa Fe Opera
context_page_description: Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located 7 miles north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the Opera Association of New Mexico in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby, oversaw the building of the first opera house on a newly acquired former guest ranch of 199 acres.
  The company has presented operas each summer festival season since July 1957, and is internationally known for introducing new operas as well as for its productions of the standard operatic repertoire. Since its inception, Santa Fe Opera has staged 43 American premieres and 15 world premieres, as of 2017.
context_section_description: There have been three theatres on the present site of The Santa Fe Opera's approximately (now) 150 acres of land. Each has been located on the same site on a mesa, with the audience facing West toward an ever-changing horizon of sunsets and thunderstorms, frequently visible throughout many productions when no backdrops are used. Over the years, because of the first and second theatres' exposure to weather, rains covered audiences and orchestra members (and threatened the latter's instruments), requiring occasional cancellations, postponements, or extended intermissions. This situation, along with other factors (e.g. the general wish to improve acoustics, to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, to improve patron facilities, and to provide more seating) led to the decision to construct the third theatre.
  Three key features of each of the theatres has been the fact that, unlike a conventional opera house or theatre, there is no fly system to allow for scenery to be lowered from above, there is no proscenium arch (and thus no curtain nor means of projecting surtitles), the sides of the house are open, and the rear of the stage may be completely opened to provide westward views.
  Performances begin close to sunset, so that the lighting of the productions is not compromised by the sides of the theatre being open to the outside environment. Since the 2011 season, the starting time has been moved up by one half-hour from the original 9pm time. More social aspects of the performance starting time include giving opera-goers the opportunity to observe New Mexico sunsets against the surrounding landscape and the tradition of tailgate dining.
caption: Wind and rain baffles on the south side of the theatre
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