John Crosby (conductor)

John O’Hea Crosby (12 July 1926, in Bronxville, New York – 15 December 2002, in Rancho Mirage, California) was an American musician, conductor and arts administrator.

A bout of asthma interrupted Crosby’s early studies in Connecticut; this caused him to attend the Los Alamos Ranch School in New Mexico for a year.

After graduating from The Hotchkiss School, Crosby served in the US Army for two years between 1944 and 1946, with time spent in Europe and some with the 18th Regimental Band handling piano, violin, trombone and double bass.

In 1951, during a period of regular attendance at the Met as a standee, Crosby saw the Alfred Lunt production of Cosi fan tutte,[3] which influenced him greatly in developing a concept for the future Santa Fe Opera.

There were two fairly popular ones, Madama Butterfly (presented on 3 July 1957, opening night) and Il barbiere di Siviglia; a world premiere, on this occasion Marvin David Levy’s The Tower (coupled with Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona); a Richard Strauss opera, Ariadne auf Naxos (many more – including many American premieres – were to follow in later seasons due to Crosby's love of that composer's work); and, finally, a major coup for Crosby and the company, Igor Stravinsky’s The Rake's Progress with the composer present for two weeks in July.

The first six performances were sold out and, in spite of some rainouts during what turned out to be one of Santa Fe’s wettest summers, the season was an unquestionable success, creating both national and international attention.

[6] Igor Stravinsky was to return to Santa Fe each summer until 1963 during which time he was given “an unmatched musical pulpit”[7] with performances of six operas ranging from Oedipus Rex (1960) to Le Rossignol (1962 and 1963).

In the case of two singers, Kiri Te Kanawa (in 1971 as the "Countess", prior to beginning her international career later that year in England) and Bryn Terfel (in 1991), these were US debuts.