SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The Santa Fe Opera will present the world premiere of “The Righteous” by composer Gregory Spears with a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy K. Smith on July 13 next year.
The opera, set among church communities in the American Southwest, stars baritone Michael Mayes as a preacher who becomes governor during a period stretching from the Iran hostage crisis in 1979 to the Gulf War in the 1990s, the company announced Wednesday. The cast includes countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, bass-baritones Greer Grimsley and Nicholas Newton, sopranos Amber Wagner and Elena Villalón, and mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano.
Spears and Smith collaborated on “Castor and Patience," which premiered at the Cincinnati Opera last July. Smith won the 2012 and was the .
Jordan de Souza conducts a production directed by Kevin Newbury, which will be given six performances through Aug. 13, 2024.
Santa Fe's 2024 season includes a new Louisa Muller production of Verdi's “La Traviata” opening June 28, starring soprano Mané Galoyan and conducted by Corrado Rovaris; a new Stephen Barlow staging of Mozart's “Don Giovanni” opening June 29, starring bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green and conducted by Harry Bicket; a staging of Strauss' “Der Rosenkavalier” first seen at Britain's Garsington Opera in 2021 and starring Rachel Willis-Sørensen; and a revival of Stephen Lawless' 2009 production of Donizetti's “L’Elisir d’Amore (The Elixir of Love).