John Crosby (conductor)

John O’Hea Crosby (born 12 July 1926, Bronxville, New York – died 15 December 2002, Rancho Mirage, California) was an American musician, conductor and arts administrator. He is most celebrated as the founding general director of the Santa Fe Opera.

Early life

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. It was Crosby’s first introduction to the West and, specifically, to the Santa Fe area. After graduating from high school, Crosby served in the US Army for two years between 1944 to 1946, with time spent in Europe and some with the 18th Regimental Band handling piano, violin, trombone and double bass.

Attending Yale as an undergraduate soon followed and, after some consideration of several future professions which included the law, airplane piloting [cite news | author=Craig Smith | title=SF Opera: John Crosby, 1926-2002 Maestro, impresario, entrepreneur | url=http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/45847.html | work=Santa Fe New Mexican | date=2 July 2006 | accessdate=2008-06-29] , and music (where he studied composition with Paul Hindemith and created musical arrangements for musical productions), he graduated with a degree in music in 1950.

Crosby's focus on opera

Having decided that music was to be his life, Crosby spent a few months as an assistant arranger for Broadway musicals before returning to graduate studies at Columbia University between 1951 and 1955. During these years, he became an opera lover, attending the Met regularly and working as the piano accompanist assistant to Dr. Leopold Sachse, the former artistic director of the Hamburg State Opera, and teacher of opera classes at Columbia.

In 1951, during a period of regular attendance at the Met as a standee, Crosby saw the Alfred Lunt production of "Cosi fan tutte" [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,815788,00.html "Mozart at the Met", "Time", 7 January 1952] ] , which influenced him greatly in developing a concept for the future Santa Fe Opera. [ in Phillip Huscher, "The Santa Fe Opera: an American Pioneer" (see below), p.32: "Crosby saw something happen on the stage of the Met that he had never seen before: "a carefully, brilliantly rehearsed evening with six superb singing actors". That, he later realized, was the spark that inspired The Santa Fe Opera..."]

The Founding of the Santa Fe Opera, 1957

During the three years preceding Santa Fe’s first season in 1957, Crosby meticulously planned for its creation, helped and encouraged by Dr. Sachse. Asked in a 1991 interview why he founded the SFO, Crosby responded: "Because of Rudolf Bing" and he went on to explain that Bing's influential productions at the Met in the 1950s had caused him to regard opera "as a serious art form". By this time Crosby's parents had bought a second home on land located about three miles north of Santa Fe. Close to this location, the San Juan Ranch, a 199-acre guest ranch, became available and, sponsored by his father with a loan of $200,000 (of which $115,000 would built the theatre and the balance would buy land) the purchase was completed.

From this location Crosby and Sachse (who was to be artistic director) carefully selected the specific site of the open-air theatre, which was planned to seat 480 and to be “the only outdoor theatre in America exclusively designed for opera” Eleanor Scott, see below] . In addition, Crosby calculated that about $60,000 was needed to be raised to support the first summer’s operations; in the end, only $50,000 was raised but $40,000 was taken at the box office with about 12,850 people attending.

Several things characterized Crosby’s approach to the presentation of opera in Santa Fe: All operas were to be sung in English to make them as accessible as possible; staging, costuming and lighting were emphasized, as was acting. The thirteen singers who were engaged were mostly young (all between 21 and their early thirties); and the innovation which was most revolutionary in the world of opera in America in the 1950s was the creation of the apprentice system, whereby the company hired a group of young singers to serve as chorus members, understudies for the main roles, and singers in secondary roles.cite news | author=Allan Kozinn | title=John Crosby, 76, Dies; Started Santa Fe Opera | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9404E5D7173DF934A25751C1A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | work=New York Times | date=17 December 2002 | accessdate=2008-06-29] As Crosby noted:

:"In this country young artists have to do something which is impossible – gain experience. But with our plan, these young people will be scheduled in small roles and will have the opportunity of working with their older brothers and sisters who have already won their spurs. To get such experience now, a young artist has to go to Europe”.Eleanor Scott, see below]

The current "Apprentice Program for Singers and Technicians" (Technicians were added in 1965) continues at the Santa Fe Opera today. Annually (as with the 2008 season), 1,325 singer applicants competed for 44 positions and, of the 700 technician applications, 70 were chosen as apprentices. Some apprentices are invited to return for a second season.

The First Season

The program for the first season was characteristic of most of the seasons which Crosby subsequently programmed. It was an adventurous one consisting of five operas in rotating repertory. There were two fairly popular ones, "Madama Butterfly" (presented on 3 July1957, 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. Photographs exist of the composer attending rehearsals.

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.

Crosby’s Achievements 1957 to 2000

Crosby’s tenure as general director was the longest of any opera company director in the US. In addition, between 1957 and 2005, the company staged 135 operas, 11 of which were world premieres and 41 were American premieres. Among the commissioned works which Crosby presented as world premieres are Carlisle Floyd’s "Wuthering Heights" during the second season in 1958 and Tobias Picker’s "Emmeline" in 1996, while distinguished American premieres include six operas by Richard Strauss (beginning with "Capriccio", also a part of the second season in 1958) and six operas by Hans Werner Henze between 1965 and 2000cite news | author=Allan Kozinn | title=Stepping Aside at an Operatic Oasis; Founding Director of the Santa Fe Opera Looks Back on 43 Years of Innovation | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E6D81339F935A3575AC0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | work=New York Times | date=6 September 2000 | accessdate=2008-06-29] .

Igor Stravinsky was to return to Santa Fe each summer until 1963 during which time he was given “an unmatched musical pulpit” [Smith, Craig, “He Changed Santa Fe”, "The Santa Fe New Mexican", 16 December 2002.] with performances of six operas ranging from "Oedipus Rex" (1960) to "Le Rossignol" (1962 and 1963).

Under Crosby’s tenure, several distinguished singers made significant appearances at the Santa Fe Opera. 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. Some singers, such as Samuel Ramey, who was a former apprentice, returned in "Carmen" in 1975; other American singers such as Jerry Hadley, Dawn Upshaw, Patricia Racette and Susan Graham and James Morris (another apprentice), appeared early in their careers and several return regularly.

As Director, Crosby’s final appearance on the podium was on 24 August 2000, conducting the last night of Strauss’ "Elektra". It was his 171st time conducting a Strauss opera and approximately his 567th time as conductor of the opera company.

Retirement and Awards

Crosby retired to Palm Springs but continued to be involved with the SFO, conducting "La traviata" during the 2002 season.

Over his career, Crosby’s involvement in the world of opera included the presidency of the Manhattan School of Music for a decade from 1976, and a four-year presidency of the opera organization, Opera America from 1976.

In addition to five honorary doctorates, Crosby received the National Medal of Arts in 1991 and, in 1992, the German Order of Merit for services to German music.

Crosby died in California on 15 December 2002. His brother James O'Hea Crosby survived him.

References

ources

* Huscher, Phillip, "The Santa Fe Opera: an American pioneer", Santa Fe, New Mexico: Sunstone Press, June 2006. ISBN 0-86534-550-3
* Scott, Eleanor, "The First Twenty Years of the Santa Fe Opera", Santa Fe, New Mexico: Sunstone Press, 1976.
* Santa Fe Opera Company, "The Santa Fe Opera − Miracle in the Desert", Santa Fe Opera Shop, 2003.

External links

* [http://Santafeopera.org Santa Fe Opera’s official website]