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OPERAGRAM
D e c e m be r 2020│ J a nuar y 2021
V olum e 15, N um be r s 3& 4
SEASONS GREETINGS
Dear Members,
The end of another year is fast approaching, along with
one of the most challenging times in the history of our
state, our nation, and the greater world community. The
Santa Fe Opera Guild faced many daunting tasks and
much uncertainty due to COVID-19, but by pulling
together our resources, we survived and kept delivering
opera events to our members. As volunteers, we stretched
our time and efforts to absorb new technologies and
learned to innovate to preserve the opera tradition.
There is much to be grateful for as 2021 brings
anticipated new vaccines to protect us from the
coronavirus, promising a return to a normal ebb and flow
in our lives. The announcement of a 2021 Santa Fe Opera
Festival Season not only brought hope and joy to the city
of Santa Fe, but to opera lovers the world over.
On behalf of myself and the Santa Fe Opera Guild’s
Board of Directors, we wish you a safe holiday season,
filled with hope, love, and the anticipation of a bright and
shiny New Year.
Warmest Wishes,
Shelly Brock
Board President, Santa Fe Opera Guild
Credit: D. DeSantis
“Frame your mind to mirth and merriment, which bars a thousand harms and lengthens
life…” William Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew
ZOOM MEETING: VIRTUAL VIVACE BOOK CLUB
VIRTUAL VIVACE BOOK CLUB
MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2021 6:00PM-7:30PM MT
VIRTUAL CHECK-IN, 5:50PM MT
ZOOM VIRTUAL MEETING FORMAT
BERNADETTE SNIDER, GUEST FACILITATOR
COMPLIMENTARY
Monday, January 11, 2021: Eugene Onegin. The Santa Fe Opera
Guild is wasting no time getting ready for the 2021 Festival Season.
Our first meeting of the new year will take place on Monday,
January 11 at 6:00PM and will feature a discussion of Eugene
Onegin, the literary basis for Tchaikovsky’s eponymous opera that
will premiere on Saturday, July 24, 2021. This opera was last seen in
Santa Fe in 2002. Eugene Onegin is to Russian literature as To Kill a
Mockingbird is to the American canon-an undisputed classic.
Written originally as a serial that ran from 1825 to 1832, it was first
published in its entirety in 1833. The work is set in 1820s Russia
and follows the lives of three men and three women. Remarking on
Pushkin’s use of verse for this story, one reviewer enthused, “This
flowed so well! I didn't even notice it was a poem. I just enjoyed the
story and the flow of the language.” Another noted that Eugene
Onegin is “a must-read for anyone who loves Tchaikovsky's operatic
version of this story and wants to get closer to the literary source.”
We suggest the translation by James E. Falen, published by Oxford
University Press. Vivace has partnered with Collected Works, which
will carry this edition. Books can be ordered by calling the store at
(505)988-4226 on Monday through Friday 10:00AM – 4:00PM,
Saturday 10:00AM – Noon, or by ordering online at
collectedworksbookstore.com. Books can also be picked up
curbside during the hours above or shipped anywhere in the USA.
To register for the January 2021 Virtual Vivace Book Club meeting,
click here. We will send a link the morning of January 11. If you have
questions, please email educationvp@santafeoperaguild.org.
SAVE THE DATE: VIRTUAL ANNUAL LUNCHEON
We are thrilled to announce that our Annual Luncheon will happen-virtually-on Monday, January 25, 2021 from 2:00PM-
3:00PM MT. The speaker is Chelsea Dennis, Production Director, Santa Fe Opera, who will discuss her new role and the
impact of the pandemic on every aspect of mounting this coming summer’s slate of operas. She will provide an insider’s look
at what is necessary to execute the artistic vision of composer, director, and soloist.
Please reserve time on your calendar to attend this event. Further details about the program, and a registration link will be sent
via eblast, directly to the email you have recorded with your membership. What a great way to begin 2021!
AN AMERICAN PUSHKIN
What would the nobleman Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin,
Russia’s most loved poet, think about his distant American
relative Kenneth Pushkin? He no doubt would recognize
Kenneth’s love for his Russian heritage, artistic nature, and
adventuresome spirit as akin to his own.
And Pushkin would likely admire Kenneth’s free-spirited
nature, one that led him to spend 20 years among the Yupiq
Eskimos, collecting ancient artifacts and observing the
customs, traditions and music of the Old Bering Sea culture,
a culture passed down through millennia without a written
language.
When did the weight of his lineage resonate in Kenneth’s
life? His response: “Prior to the demise of the USSR, I did
not pay much attention, but after I first travelled to Russia (in
early 1992), my eyes were opened to the rich culture and
history. I immersed myself in travel and study, and with
important Pushkin-related connections in Russia became
involved in the arts and cultural diplomacy.
In 1992, I met Admiral Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, the
namesake and patriarch of the family who identified me in
the family tree, embraced me, introduced me to the
descendants in Moscow, and invited me on
several pilgrimages to Pushkin sites.”
Kenneth Pushkin
Kenneth founded the Pushkin Legacy in 1997 with Stanford
University where the International Pushkin Conference was organized in 1999 – on the Poet’s 200th birthday. That same year,
the Russian counterpart, International Pushkin Fund, was registered in Moscow and Kenneth created the Pushkin Golden
Autumn Ball. At first, it was simply a grand party celebrating the 200th anniversary of Pushkin’s birth, but evolved into a
major charitable cultural event, held annually through 2010 in the world - renowned Throne Room at Catherine Palace in the
town of Pushkin, outside of St. Petersburg.
Kenneth eagerly awaits the production of Eugene Onegin to be mounted by the Santa Fe Opera this summer. When asked about
his thoughts about the novel, he stated “There are many translations: Vladimir Nabokov, Walter Wendt, James Falin and
others - each distinct in style and cadence. Onegin is considered the timeless narrative of Russian life, society, and personality.
In Russia, it is as topical today as it was 200 years ago. Regarding the opera, I have seen it performed many times in Russia at
the Bolshoi and Mariinsky, but my favorite production outside of Russia was in 2004 at the Kennedy Center in Washington
with Valery Gergiev conducting.”
Kenneth’s fervent wish is “…to resume and reignite the diplomatic potential of the Pushkin Legacy if Russia opened up
(diplomatically) as it was in the late 90s early 2000s, but I am not holding my breath and time moves on. I am grateful that we
were fortunate to capture and demonstrate the possibilities of cultural diplomacy under the banner of this great humanitarian
poet at an extraordinary moment in history.”
In Santa Fe, Kenneth is also the recognizable owner of The Pushkin Gallery - that resided on Canyon Road for 17 years. It
now operates in a “smart warehouse”, which he regards as the future-oriented, business model for purveyors of fine art. His
focus is Post-War Russian art. Click pushkingallery.com to view the collections, read about the history of Russian art and
artists, and learn more about the Pushkin Legacy in the United States.
Kenneth has continued another poignant family tradition. When asked to give a toast, he echoes the simple, elegant words of
Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, “Druzia Moe, Prekrasen Nash Soyuz - Friends, ours is a warm reunion.”
NEWS FROM THE SANTA FE OPERA
Songs of the Season
Songs of the Season from the Santa Fe Opera features tenor Joshua
Dennis, mezzo-soprano Briana Hunter, pianist Robert Tweten, along
with the Young Voices of the Santa Fe Opera. Listeners will enjoy the
following selections: Nessun Dorma from Puccini's opera Turandot;
Morten Lauridsen’s Sure on this Shining Night, based on a poem by James
Agee, and Pilgrims' Hymn, from Stephen Paulus' opera, The Three Hermits.
The program was filmed at Las Placitas Presbyterian Church, Old San
Ysidro Church, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, and at the
Santa Fe Opera Ranch; we hope you will enjoy these beautiful musical
moments wherever you find yourself this season. The concert will
premiere on the Santa Fe Opera’s YouTube channel on December 6
at 3:00PM MT and will also be available following the premiere.
Consider the Source
In January 2021, the Santa Fe Opera will introduce the digital offering,
Consider the Source Conversations and Consider the Source
Seminars. Led by the incomparable Jennifer Rhodes, the series will be
based on the source material for each opera of the 2021 Santa Fe Opera
Festival Season. Each month, Dr. Rhodes and her guests will explore
how the text underlay of the opera at hand has influenced the set Robert Tweten Briana Hunter Joshua Dennis
designs, costumes, interpretation, and productions. Registrants can
choose to participate in the Consider the Source Conversations, Seminars, or both.
Participants are encouraged to read the selection prior to the Conversation and Seminar. It is hoped that attendees will support
local businesses by purchasing their books through Collected Works Bookstore & Coffeehouse or other local bookstores.
Consider the Source Conversations are free of charge and will take place on the following Tuesdays at 6:00PM MT:
January 19, February 16, March 16, April 20, and May 18. Conversations will run for approximately 25 minutes.
Consider the Source Seminars take a deeper dive into the source material for the four operas of the 2021 festival season and
include opportunities for participants to engage in discussions. Seminars are $30 per session, or $150 for all five sessions, and
will take place at 1:00PM MT on the following Thursdays: January 21, February 18, March 18, April 22, and May 20. Registration
is limited to 15 participants. Seminar sessions will run for 75 minutes.
January’s reading is playwright Pierre Augustin Caron De Beaumarchais’ Plays of Beaumarchais, which provides the source
material for Marriage of Figaro. February’s reading is William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the second opera of
the 2021 season. Alexander Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin, considered a classic of Russian literature, is the March reading selection.
The April and May selections are the basis for the Santa Fe Opera’s world premiere of Lord of Cries. Bram Stoker’s Dracula and
The Bacchae by Euripides are director James Darrah’s inspiration for the dream-like realm that will frigh [Grab your reader’s
attention with a great quote from the document or use this space to emphasize a key point. To place this text box anywhere on
the page, just drag it.]
ten and excite audiences.
Jennifer Rhodes specializes in the relationship between text, music, and the visual and performing arts. She has recently
completed a PhD in Italian and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, where her dissertation explored Richard
Wagner's influence on the novels of Gabriele d'Annunzio, Marcel Proust, and Thomas Mann. She teaches Masterpieces of
Western Literature for Columbia's Core Curriculum, drawing heavily upon multimedia sources as she guides students through
the literary lineage from Homer to Toni Morrison. However, her primary area of interest is in operatic adaptation and
translation. She has been a member of The Santa Fe Opera Titles Department since 2000.
Registration is limited for Consider the Source Seminars. Starting on December 9, please contact Anna Garcia,
agarcia@santafeopera.org, to make your reservation. An email link will be provided to Seminar participants. The Opera will
provide a public link through email and social media posts for Conversations.
COMING ATTRACTIONS: OPERAGRAM 2021
The announcement in mid-October that the Santa Fe Opera was mounting four operas, a special event, and new Apprentice
Scenes, caused a ripple of excitement throughout the world of opera…and the Operagram staff! The release of the names of the
operas, along with their directors, conductors, vocal artists, and set designers provided exciting content, and structure, for the
Operagram from February through August, 2021. Much will be written about the opera’s 2021 season, so as to avoid
redundancy, Operagram articles will focus on topics of interest that pertain to all aspects of an opera production, from stage
direction, to conductors, debut artists, composers, and apprentice programs. The following are some of the articles that will
appear in upcoming issues:
Art and Imagination: The Genius of Opera and Theater Director Laurent Pelly
In the Pit: The Conductors of the 2021 Season
The Countertenors: Anthony Roth Costanzo and Isyln Davies
Focus on the Score: The Festivals’ Four Composers
Welcome to the Santa Fe Opera: Debut Artists 2021
Recruiting for the Apprentice Programs – Virtually!
Angel Blue in Concert: A Must-See Debut in Santa Fe
Fill your 2021 calendar with events from the Santa Fe Opera and the Santa Fe Opera Guild. To purchase tickets to this
summer’s operas, click here. To view the performance calendar and to review the seating chart, click here.
ZOOM CLASSES
Do words and phrases like “webinar,” “Zoom session,” and “breakout room” leave you puzzled? The Santa Fe Opera Guild
has been using Zoom for more and more of our activities – lectures, the Vivace book group, and most recently the Opera Salon.
The Guild is committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure that all our members are able to access the programs we offer. No
one should be left behind simply because of an unfamiliarity…or fear of… technology. Technology should be a bridge, not a
barrier to education and entertainment.
To facilitate a proficiency with Zoom technology, Steve Kerchoff, chair of the Guild’s Technology Committee, will be offering
Zoom orientation sessions for Guild members. A technology trainer with three decades of professional experience, Steve first
offered Zoom orientation to the Guild’s board members when they began holding their monthly meetings via Zoom. He also
provided Zoom orientation for Guild members in April when the Vivace book group began meeting via Zoom. He has kindly
offered to provide additional sessions in December for any Guild member interested in learning more about Zoom.
Zoom orientation sessions are currently scheduled for:
• Monday, December 7 at 11:00AM
• Friday, December 11 at 1:00PM
• Tuesday, December 15 at 2:00PM
Please let the Technology Committee know which practice session you prefer to attend, and we will send you the log-in info for
that session. Please email the committee at technology@santafeoperaguild.org to reserve a space at one of these sessions.
We will limit the number of participants in each session to facilitate the best learning experience for each individual. If the
December sessions reach maximum capacity, we will offer additional sessions in the new year.
HONORARY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
As the year 2020 draws to a close, we are saddened we are unable
to celebrate Beethoven’s 250th birthday as planned. Covid
shuddered music venues the world ‘round that were set to mount
tributes to the remarkable musician and composer. In Bonn,
Beethoven’s city of birth, programs had been planned for every
day in 2020. Our City Different’s efforts to fete him were
thwarted by the growing threat of contagion.
We hereby take this opportunity to hail Beethoven before year’s
end by “spotlighting” his Ninth Symphony, which in jts finale
captures both soaring idealism and humanity, transcending
national borders and cultural differences. From its debut on May
7, 1824 in Vienna, the Ninth leapt from the concert halls to take
on social and ethical dimensions. The Ode to Joy of the finale
glorifies the individual heroic of the Third and Seventh Symphonies
in favor of a universal heroism that celebrates all mankind. In
strictly musical terms, it was a revolution, the first time a
composer had included vocalists and chorus in a symphonic piece.
Music critics and concert goers were of course familiar with
Beethoven’s previous works, but the Ninth confounded and
bewildered while dazzling and awing its listeners.
Imagine yourself at the Theater am Kantnetor that night. The
opening bars sound like musicians just tuning up so you are not
Ludwig van Beethoven sure if the symphony has begun; nor are you certain of its key.
Suddenly, it bursts forth fortissimo into dramatic themes, moves
rapidly from soft to loud, demands incomprehensible scales, shifts suddenly from tonal to atonal. Many composers of the day
were disgusted by the work; but nothing new--they had been shocked before by Beethoven’s radical unconventionality.
Though it is almost impossible to comprehend, Beethoven composed his most celebrated works when he was to some degree
without the faculty of hearing; at The Ninth’s debut, he was virtually without it. Regardless, Beethoven insisted on being on
stage to set tempos and que styling and dynamics. But, unbeknownst to himself, he became “lost” in the score. When the
piece ended, the audience burst into ecstatic applause. Handkerchiefs and hats were thrown in the air during the first of five
standing ovations. Beethoven, however, was still conducting, hearing only the tempo in his head. Twenty-year-old mezzo-
soprano soloist, Caroline Unger, approached the maestro and turned him around to see the audience’s exuberant reaction. He
bowed in appreciation.
Today, we take heart that Beethoven and his works are not for just a year or even decades, but for all time. Our celebration of
him will last forever…Happy Birthday, Ludwig!
Beethoven Links
Click here to listen to Beethoven’s Symphony No 9, conducted by Christopher Hogwood with the London Symphony Chorus
(1989, Academy of Ancient Music). The musicians played authentic instruments from the 1820’s.
Beethoven composed one opera, Fidelio, originally titled Lenore. Click here to hear soprano Lise Davidson sing Komm Hoffnung
at the Royal Opera House, July 24, 2020.
Classical Notes© website by Peter Gutman is a trove of information about the history of Fidelio. The site includes a curated
selection of Mr. Gutman’s favorite recordings of Beethoven’s opera. To browse the Classical Notes© website, click here.
BEETHOVEN FOR KIDS
Charles Schultz is the legendary cartoonist who created the Peanuts gang lead by the indomitable beagle Snoopy and his
beleaguered companion, Charlie Brown. The characters were funny, wise, precocious, vulnerable…and relatable to people of
all ages, all around the globe. Through the eyes of the gang we saw our own childhoods, our dreams, our failures-and laughed,
sometimes with tears in our eyes and forgiveness in our hearts.
Through one of his characters, Schroeder, Schultz let his love of
Beethoven romp across the pages of his comic scripts. Who does
not remember Lucy flinging herself across the piano in an effort to
seduce Schroeder, while he continues to play his beloved Beethoven?
Never underestimate the power of Snoopy and Charlie Brown’s
influence on the lives of children. We may never know how many
children were influenced to learn piano by Schroeder’s mini-
Beethoven concerts. Or merely learned to love Beethoven.
There are wonderful videos on You Tube featuring Snoopy and his
pals. One such clip features several vignettes where Schroeder is
playing Beethoven, oftentimes bothered by Lucy, the temptress.
Click here to experience 4:42 minutes of the joy of Beethoven.
Please Note: The best way to watch the clip is with a child…or
someone who has remained one.
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
With the greatest pleasure, we welcome Barbara Aycock, Oliver Prezant, and Howard Sherry to the Santa Fe Opera Guild. We
look forward to meeting you at our programs and events when social distancing restrictions are lifted. Thank you so much for
joining us.
DECEMBER MEMBERS: ITS TIME TO RENEW
When your renewal comes due, you will receive an email alert. Renew by clicking RENEW NOW! We accept four major
credit cards and PayPal, or mail a check to The Santa Fe Opera Guild, Membership, P.O. Box 2371, Santa Fe, NM,
87504 -2371. Send membership questions via email to Leslie Veditz at VPMembership@santafeoperaguild.org, or
telephone her at (888)666-3430 ext. 502. The Membership Committee will send your membership tax receipts and
membership cards to you by email.
Those of you without email will continue to receive these communications by US mail. If you do not have a printer at home or
if you still prefer a hardcopy tax letter and membership card, please let us know and we will mail them to you.
DIVERSIONS
Performance Santa Fe presents the series PSF@Home, featuring virtual performances that can be viewed exclusively by
Annual Fund members. Several offerings will be mounted in each of the upcoming winter months. In December there are two
virtual events-Winter Tales, Monday, December 7, 2020 at 7:00PM MT and Journey of Jazz Dance, Thursday,
December 10, 2020 at 7:00PM MT. Click here for program details and Annual Fund membership.
Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra: Ensembles Royales will be presented virtually from the Santa Fe Children’s Museum,
December 1-8 at 5:00PM. Tickets are $20.00 per household. Click here to purchase tickets for Ensembles Royales. The
Symphony also presents Christmas Treasures on Sunday, December 13, 2020 at 4:00PM MST, virtually from the Basilica
Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. Click here to purchase tickets for Christmas Treasures. In January, Mozart, Hyden &
Fung, a partnership of the Santa Fe Symphony with seven orchestras nationwide, will take place virtually from The Lensic
Theater on Sunday, January 17, 2021 at Noon. For ticket information, click here.
New Mexico Performing Arts Society: NMPAS Recital Series 1 is virtual from Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel,
Saturday, December 19, 2020 from 7:00PM - 9:00PM. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
Know the Score, published weekly by The Guardian, is a rich hybrid of print and visual offerings, each installment about one
famous Western composer. Beethoven, Brahms, Verdi, and Stravinsky have been subjects. Click here for information.
The Met continues its free daily opera streams. Click here to access the website. The Met will mount Met Stars Live in
Concert: New Year’s Eve Gala on Thursday, December 31, at 4:00PM ET. The performance features sopranos Angel
Blue and Pretty Yende, and tenors Javier Camarena and Matthew Polenzani-live from the Parktheater in Augsburg, Germany.
The program will include arias, duets, and ensembles from Donizetti to Puccini, as well as arrangements of operetta and
Neapolitan songs. Please note that this replaces Yende and Camarena’s previously announced concert, and tickets purchased
for that original event will be valid for this new date. Tickets for the concert are $20. To purchase tickets, click here.
Idagio continues with Fridays with Fred Plotkin and Thomas Hampson’s World of Songs. Click here.
Opera Wire offers a list of opera houses streaming free performances. Click here.
The Cleveland Orchestra presents Operatic Fire, Jan 7-10, 2021, virtually from Severance Hall, Cleveland, OH. For more
information, click here.
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
The Operagram would not be possible without the dedicated members who contribute articles each month. We are grateful for
their support. This month’s list of contributors are as follows:
Bernadette Snider: Operagram Editor: Coming Attractions, Operagram 2021; Beethoven for Kids
Cate Bellanca: Diversions (recurring feature), Photographer
Shelly Brock: Holiday Greetings
Rebecca Jensen: News from the Santa Fe Opera
Steve Kerchoff: Zoom Classes
Judy Kostlow: Virtual Annual Luncheon
Kenneth Pushkin, Bernadette Snider: An American Pushkin
Dennis Snider: Honorary Member Spotlight: Ludwig van Beethoven
Lucinda Surber: Web support, Guilds, Inc.
Leslie Veditz: All membership-related articles (recurring features)
Graphic Support: Michael Motley
Publicity: Jackie M, Martha Baker
THE SANTA FE PLAZA: 2020
Photo Credit: Cate BellancaYou can also read
