‘The Righteous,’ an opera set among American Southwest church communities, to premiere in 2024

The text for the opera was written by U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith

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 Pulitzer Prize for poetry and was the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2017-19.

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).

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