Santa Fe, NM, opera announces 2011 season, hires new chief conductor
By APWednesday, May 5, 2010
Santa Fe, NM, opera hires new chief conductor
SANTA FE, N.M. — French conductor, composer, pianist and author Frederic Chaslin has been hired as the new chief conductor of the Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico.
The opera’s general director, Charles MacKay, introduced Chaslin during a new conference Tuesday. He says the conductor’s three-year appointment will end a nearly two-year search that included extensive conversations with orchestra members, artists and other leaders in the music field.
Chaslin will start Oct. 1. He fills the spot left vacant when Edo de Waart resigned at the end of the 2008 season.
The opera also announced its 2011 season on Tuesday.
Chaslin will open the next season with a new production of Charles Gounod’s “Faust.” That will be followed by four other productions, including the first major U.S. production of Antonio Vivaldi’s “Griselda.”
Tags: Arts And Entertainment, Music, New Mexico, North America, Santa Fe, United States
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May 21, 2010: 1:27 pm
I was most disturbed to see a startling omission when I read the announcement of the 2011 season in Santa Fe: 2011 will be one of the rare years in the company’s history without a performance of a Mozart opera. Mozart was performed each year for the Opera’s first 21 years, and each year since 1990. Indeed there have only been four years since the Opera’s founding not graced with a Mozart production. Operagoers such as myself have long since come to regard Mozart as a foundation component of the Santa Fe production tradition. I trust that this break with the Santa Fe Opera’s tradition will not be repeated in future years. A world-class Opera season in Santa Fe is simply impossible without the presence of the world’s greatest musical genius. |
John