John Crosby (conductor) - Founding The Santa Fe Opera, 1957

Founding The Santa Fe Opera, 1957

During the three years preceding Santa Fe’s first season in 1957, Crosby meticulously planned for its creation, helped and encouraged by Dr. Sachse. Asked in a 1991 interview why he founded the SFO, Crosby responded: "Because of Rudolf Bing" and he went on to explain that Bing's influential productions at the Met in the 1950s had caused him to regard opera "as a serious art form".

By this time Crosby's parents had bought a second home on land located about three miles (5 km) north of Santa Fe. Close to this location, the San Juan Ranch, a 199-acre (0.81 km2) guest ranch, became available and, sponsored by his father with a loan of $200,000 (of which $115,000 would build the theatre and the balance would buy land) the purchase was completed.

From this location Crosby and Sachse (who was to be artistic director) carefully selected the specific site of the open-air theatre, which was planned to seat 480 and to be “the only outdoor theatre in America exclusively designed for opera”. In addition, Crosby calculated that about $60,000 was needed to be raised to support the first summer’s operations; in the end, only $50,000 was raised but $40,000 was taken at the box office with about 12,850 people attending.

Several things characterized Crosby’s approach to the presentation of opera in Santa Fe: all operas were to be sung in English to make them as accessible as possible; staging, costuming and lighting were emphasized, as was acting. The thirteen singers who were engaged were mostly young (all between 21 and their early thirties); and the innovation which was most revolutionary in the world of opera in America in the 1950s was the creation of the apprentice system, whereby the company hired a group of young singers to serve as chorus members, understudies for the main roles, and singers in secondary roles. As Crosby noted:

"In this country young artists have to do something which is impossible – gain experience. But with our plan, these young people will be scheduled in small roles and will have the opportunity of working with their older brothers and sisters who have already won their spurs. To get such experience now, a young artist has to go to Europe”.

The current Apprentice Program for Singers and Technicians (Technicians were added in 1965) continues at The Santa Fe Opera today. Annually (as with the 2012 season), 1,000 singer applicants competed for 40 positions and, of the 900 technician applications, 90 were chosen as apprentices. Some apprentices are invited to return for a second season.