City: Santa Fe, NM

Category: Annual Events & Festivals

Telephone: (505) 986-5900, (800) 280-4654

Address: 7 miles north of Santa Fe

Description: Opening night at The Santa Fe Opera means tails and tailgate parties, black ties and caviar. For the most part, Santa Fe isn’t a dress-up town, but you’d never know it tonight. Denim with diamond studs, velvet capes, lace and satin, cowboy boots shined to a high polish, the latest New York fashions, and thousands of pounds of turquoise come out for the occasion. The glitter of the audience rivals that on stage. A variety of public and private parties precede the night’s operatic performance—watch the papers or call the opera to find out what’s on the schedule. After the opening night soiree (which is either the last Friday in June or the first Friday in July), the opera season continues through late August with five productions in repertory and some special concerts by apprentice artists. (See our The Arts chapter.)