Other Stages

SFO volunteers from left to right: Les Dye, Deborah Forslund, Susan Gutheim, Tom Morris

Volunteer Recognition

Did you know that volunteers play a vital role in nearly every department at the Santa Fe Opera? From crafting props and costumes to creating digital archives and assisting guests in the Opera Shop, hundreds of people generously give their time, energy and abilities to help make our festival season a success each year. A group of volunteer gardeners carefully tends our beautiful grounds, and volunteers with our Overture program welcome guests before each performance. Volunteers are also instrumental in our Backstage Tour program, with a team of over thirty committed docents providing tours six days a week during the summer! Even our Board of Directors and the Guilds of the Santa Fe Opera are dedicated volunteers. While it is difficult to choose amongst such a vibrant pool of passionate volunteers, Santa Fe Opera staff recognized several outstanding volunteers at the annual volunteer appreciation breakfast in August. Leslie Dye, Barbara Forslund, Susan Gutheim, Tom Morris, Jon Owen, Audie Reval and Deborah Tulchin all received awards for their contributions to the 2023 Season. Thank you to all our fabulous volunteers!

ALTO & Arts Integration

Since 1993, the Santa Fe Opera’s Active Learning Through Opera (ALTO) program has worked directly with educators and students across New Mexico to support the healthy development of the whole child through the arts. ALTO began as a student-produced opera program, sending teaching artists (TA’s) to collaborate with teachers and students across the state to create, rehearse and perform original operas. Students engage with an evolving spiral of challenges fueled by the delight of crafting an original story and share that story with families and students from other schools. Today this foundational model remains an integral component of ALTO. To date ALTO has worked with 2,500+ students on 180+ student produced opera projects across New Mexico. During the pandemic, ALTO worked remotely with students at 10 schools in Rio Rancho and Albuquerque, writing, rehearsing and recording original pieces. The work movingly expressed the anxieties and resilience of these young artists. With new research in neurobiology and education informing changes to best practices, ALTO continues to evolve. Dating back to 2012, ALTO entered a formal alliance with public school districts in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Rio Rancho and Los Lunas to foster arts integrated teaching in all four districts. Through arts integration, ALTO draws on the power of the arts to create meaningful connections with academic content areas. The arts make learning stick! Since 2012, ALTO has sponsored nearly 450 arts integrated residencies for students and almost 250 Professional Learning workshops for NM educators.

Cristina González, Fine Arts Coordinator of the Santa Fe Public Schools writes, “The ALTO program is the only district-supported PD program for arts integration that is open to all K-12 teachers across SFPS. With the backdrop of an ever-changing and always-challenging educational landscape, the ALTO program closes teaching and learning gaps in Santa Fe. Teachers and students leave inspired and connected to learning.”

The Pueblo Opera Program 50th Anniversary Documentary Premiere

Five Decades of Impact: The Santa Fe Opera and the Pueblo Opera Cultural Council Celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Pueblo Opera Program through a New Documentary Film which Premiered on July 30, 2023


The Lensic Performing Arts Center marquee for the film's premiere

The Santa Fe Opera’s 2023 Season marked the 50th anniversary of the Pueblo Opera Program (POP). Since 1973, more than 100,000 children and families from New Mexico’s 23 Sovereign Nations have attended the Santa Fe Opera. The Pueblo Opera Program thrives on the shared value and belief in the power of storytelling. It is led by an advisory council that includes many past participants and Tribal Elders from around the state. Over the years POP members have participated in Youth Nights, student-produced operas, fashion shows and the historic offering of a corn dance before and during performances of Doctor Atomic in 2018.

Marita Hinds from Tesuque Pueblo, a member of 
the Pueblo Opera Cultural Council and SFO Board

The documentary, titled The Pueblo Opera Program: And What Could Be Next, explores the program's future, including initiatives to expand its reach to more communities and engage a wider audience in the power of opera as a tool for cultural exchange and understanding. Its premiere at The Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe invited everyone to join the free event honoring this remarkable milestone. The film has since become an Official Selection for screening at the 15th Annual Santa Fe International Film Festival, October 18-22, 2023.


Beverly R. Singer, Director of the documentary 
film, The Pueblo Opera Program: And What Could 
be Next

Support for The Pueblo Opera Program: And What Could Be Next is generously provided by the Hankins Foundation, Inc., Principal Sponsor of Education at the Santa Fe Opera; Newman’s Own Foundation, in memory of Arthur Newman; a Civic Practice Grant from OPERA America’s Opera Fund; and PNC Foundation.

Volunteers photo, Mariah Bolla Olesen; Film Premiere Photos, Robert Godwin

Georgia O'Keeffe
Susan Eddings and Gallery 716
Other Stages

SFO volunteers from left to right: Les Dye, Deborah Forslund, Susan Gutheim, Tom Morris

Volunteer Recognition

Did you know that volunteers play a vital role in nearly every department at the Santa Fe Opera? From crafting props and costumes to creating digital archives and assisting guests in the Opera Shop, hundreds of people generously give their time, energy and abilities to help make our festival season a success each year. A group of volunteer gardeners carefully tends our beautiful grounds, and volunteers with our Overture program welcome guests before each performance. Volunteers are also instrumental in our Backstage Tour program, with a team of over thirty committed docents providing tours six days a week during the summer! Even our Board of Directors and the Guilds of the Santa Fe Opera are dedicated volunteers. While it is difficult to choose amongst such a vibrant pool of passionate volunteers, Santa Fe Opera staff recognized several outstanding volunteers at the annual volunteer appreciation breakfast in August. Leslie Dye, Barbara Forslund, Susan Gutheim, Tom Morris, Jon Owen, Audie Reval and Deborah Tulchin all received awards for their contributions to the 2023 Season. Thank you to all our fabulous volunteers!

ALTO & Arts Integration

Since 1993, the Santa Fe Opera’s Active Learning Through Opera (ALTO) program has worked directly with educators and students across New Mexico to support the healthy development of the whole child through the arts. ALTO began as a student-produced opera program, sending teaching artists (TA’s) to collaborate with teachers and students across the state to create, rehearse and perform original operas. Students engage with an evolving spiral of challenges fueled by the delight of crafting an original story and share that story with families and students from other schools. Today this foundational model remains an integral component of ALTO. To date ALTO has worked with 2,500+ students on 180+ student produced opera projects across New Mexico. During the pandemic, ALTO worked remotely with students at 10 schools in Rio Rancho and Albuquerque, writing, rehearsing and recording original pieces. The work movingly expressed the anxieties and resilience of these young artists. With new research in neurobiology and education informing changes to best practices, ALTO continues to evolve. Dating back to 2012, ALTO entered a formal alliance with public school districts in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Rio Rancho and Los Lunas to foster arts integrated teaching in all four districts. Through arts integration, ALTO draws on the power of the arts to create meaningful connections with academic content areas. The arts make learning stick! Since 2012, ALTO has sponsored nearly 450 arts integrated residencies for students and almost 250 Professional Learning workshops for NM educators.

Cristina González, Fine Arts Coordinator of the Santa Fe Public Schools writes, “The ALTO program is the only district-supported PD program for arts integration that is open to all K-12 teachers across SFPS. With the backdrop of an ever-changing and always-challenging educational landscape, the ALTO program closes teaching and learning gaps in Santa Fe. Teachers and students leave inspired and connected to learning.”

The Pueblo Opera Program 50th Anniversary Documentary Premiere

Five Decades of Impact: The Santa Fe Opera and the Pueblo Opera Cultural Council Celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Pueblo Opera Program through a New Documentary Film which Premiered on July 30, 2023


The Lensic Performing Arts Center marquee for the film's premiere

The Santa Fe Opera’s 2023 Season marked the 50th anniversary of the Pueblo Opera Program (POP). Since 1973, more than 100,000 children and families from New Mexico’s 23 Sovereign Nations have attended the Santa Fe Opera. The Pueblo Opera Program thrives on the shared value and belief in the power of storytelling. It is led by an advisory council that includes many past participants and Tribal Elders from around the state. Over the years POP members have participated in Youth Nights, student-produced operas, fashion shows and the historic offering of a corn dance before and during performances of Doctor Atomic in 2018.

Marita Hinds from Tesuque Pueblo, a member of 
the Pueblo Opera Cultural Council and SFO Board

The documentary, titled The Pueblo Opera Program: And What Could Be Next, explores the program's future, including initiatives to expand its reach to more communities and engage a wider audience in the power of opera as a tool for cultural exchange and understanding. Its premiere at The Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe invited everyone to join the free event honoring this remarkable milestone. The film has since become an Official Selection for screening at the 15th Annual Santa Fe International Film Festival, October 18-22, 2023.


Beverly R. Singer, Director of the documentary 
film, The Pueblo Opera Program: And What Could 
be Next

Support for The Pueblo Opera Program: And What Could Be Next is generously provided by the Hankins Foundation, Inc., Principal Sponsor of Education at the Santa Fe Opera; Newman’s Own Foundation, in memory of Arthur Newman; a Civic Practice Grant from OPERA America’s Opera Fund; and PNC Foundation.

Volunteers photo, Mariah Bolla Olesen; Film Premiere Photos, Robert Godwin

Georgia O'Keeffe
Susan Eddings and Gallery 716