[3] John Crosby, who was a New York-based conductor, founded the company in 1956, initially with the financial support of his parents, who helped in the acquisition of the land and the building of the first opera house.

One goal was to give American singers the opportunity to learn and perform new roles while having ample time for rehearsal and preparation in the context of a summer festival situation with the presentation of five operas in repertory.

[9] In addition to being the opera company's founding general director, Crosby had simultaneously served as its de facto first principal conductor.

[10][11] In July 2007, Edo de Waart was named as chief conductor, effective 1 October 2007, with an initial contract was of four years.

It runs annually from late June or the beginning of July to the third week of August, with five operas presented in rotating repertory.

For modern works, US premiere productions of contemporary operas include Thomas Adès' The Tempest (2006), Tan Dun's Tea: A Mirror of Soul, Kaija Saariaho's Adriana Mater,[24] the July 2009 world premiere of The Letter, by composer Paul Moravec and librettist Terry Teachout, and the first full production of Lewis Spratlan's Life Is a Dream in July 2010.

The opera tells the story of the day before the atomic bomb was tested at the Trinity Site just a couple hundred miles south of Santa Fe and the man who helped to create it, J. Robert Oppenheimer.

With a lead from Mike VanAartsen, the Santa Fe Opera began to build protocol surrounding the pandemic, working towards their upcoming season.Their COVID-safe protocols book pulls from VanAartsen's experience with OSHA, federal COVID and Emergency regulations, and suggestions from the AGMA (American Guild of Musical Artists).

[32] Pushing to maintain their audience and keep appealing to the younger generations, simulcasts of the dress rehearsals and shows were broadcast outside as a drive-in theater.

[33] General Directors Conductors in leadership positions In his first season, Crosby created the Apprentice Singer Program, whereby eight young people were to be given living expenses and paid per performance to be members of the chorus and to cover (understudy) major roles.

The program has formal academic goals in addition to the "hands on" experience provided by the preparation for and participation in professional productions.

Seminars and master classes are conducted; singers receive coaching in voice, music, body movement, career counseling, and diction.

These five crews perform the majority of work on the daily changeovers between the five operas of the summer season and also fill positions crucial to the live running of productions.

[36] Some major American opera singers who have been company apprentices include the sopranos Susanna Phillips (2004), Judith Blegen (1961), Ashley Putnam (1973 and 1975), and Celena Shafer (1999–2000); mezzos Joyce DiDonato (1995), Susan Quittmeyer (1978), and Michelle DeYoung (?

); tenors Carl Tanner (1992,93), William Burden (1989–90), Richard Croft (1978), Chris Merritt (1974–75), and Neil Shicoff (1973); baritones David Gockley (1965–67; later general manager of the Houston Grand Opera and the San Francisco Opera) and Sherrill Milnes (1959); and basses Mark Doss (1983), James Morris (1969) and Samuel Ramey (1966).

Each has been located on the same site on a mesa, with the audience facing West toward an ever-changing horizon of sunsets and thunderstorms, frequently visible throughout many productions when no backdrops are used.

More social aspects of the performance starting time include giving opera-goers the opportunity to observe New Mexico sunsets against the surrounding landscape and the tradition of tailgate dining.

The Santa Fe firm of McHugh, Hooker, Bradley P. Kidder and Associates were architects for the original theatre; lead architects John W. McHugh and Van Dorn Hooker worked with the acoustical engineer Jack Purcell of Bolt, Beranek and Newman (Boston and Los Angeles).

A huge fund-raising operation took place, backed by Igor Stravinsky, and $2.4 million was raised to rebuild the theatre in time for the following season.

It was built during extensive reconstruction, which followed the tearing down of the auditorium of the 1968 theatre at the end of the opera season in late August 1997.

Like the previous opening nights of 1957 and 1968, it featured a performance of Madama Butterfly this time sung by Miriam Gauci, the Maltese soprano who had her debut in the same role at the SFO in 1987.

With fewer storm-related problems (and, with a higher stage roof providing a better view of the Westward landscape), the theatre now seats 2,128 plus 106 standees, although it has a strikingly intimate feel.

It added a wider and more complete roof structure, with the new front and rear portions supported by cables and joined together with a clerestory window.

A performance of The 13th Child on August 9, 2019, was paused for twenty minutes due to inclement passing weather, a first in the Santa Fe Opera's history.

Along with operas, the Crosby Theatre has also played host to numerous concerts in recent years, such as: The B-52s,[42] Wilco,[43] and also St. Vincent and Andrew Bird.