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Our classical music and opera groups saw pandemic impacts lessen during the 2023-2024 season, with attendance continuing to rebound and activity levels at pre-COVID levels.

On the organizational front, the year’s most encouraging development was the merger of the ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Symphony and the ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Youth Symphony, which was fueled by the mutual realization that their complementary missions and programs would have more impact under the same roof.

The most concerning was Performance ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe’s self-induced immolation scene, in which every full-time staff member was fired or resigned over the course of a few weeks last November and December. The rebuilding organization is offering a slimmed-down calendar of events in the upcoming season; here’s hoping it’s the prelude to a more robust future.

David J. Kitto, Steven Ovitsky’s successor as the ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Chamber Music Festival executive director, resigned after less than a year on the job, citing altitude-related health issues. Jim Griffith, president and CEO of a Fort Myers, Florida, arts center, will take over as the festival’s new artistic director starting October 1.

Notable events in the 2024-2025 calendar include Kristin Chenoweth’s December 21 appearance under the Performance ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe banner, Opera Southwest’s American premiere of Luigi Boccherini’s Doña Clementina on April 6, the New Mexico Philharmonic’s May 3 performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 (which requires about 200 musicians), and the ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Symphony’s presentation of Hector Berlioz’s “dramatic legendâ€� The Damnation of Faust on May 18.

If you’re one of those ho-ho-ho types, you can mark your calendar for November 15 when Pasatiempo’s holiday events guide will be published. (For those in the no-no-no camp, there’s a special section of tinsel-free attractions.) Meanwhile, our annual survey of the fall classical music and opera scene follows. Check each group’s website for complete details and up-to-the-minute news.

CHATTER

Center for Contemporary Art, 1050 Old Pecos Trail,

Harold Budd’s five-movement String Quartet 2003 and Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 16, the last major work he completed, six months before his death, are featured on Chatter’s September 14 program. On September 28, Chatter, ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Pro Musica, and the Academy for the Love of Learning join forces for a multidisciplinary event titled Whitman on Walls! The Whitman of the title is the American poet Walt; Pasatiempo’s September 27 issue will likely have full details on the project. Violist Kim Fredenburgh, oboist Kevin Vigneau, and pianist Judith Gordon will perform Rebecca Clarke’s Passacaglia on an Old English Tune, Camille Saint-Saëns’ Oboe Sonata in D Major, and Charles Loeffler’s Two Rhapsodies on October 12.

Sneak Peek: Chatter announces repertory and puts tickets on sale about two months in advance of performance dates, so our sneak peek can’t go too far into the future. However, we can disclose that violinist Rachel Lee Priday will be featured on November 2, performing Christopher Cerrone’s Sonata for Violin and Piano with keyboardist Judith Gordon. They’ll be joined by violinist David Felberg, violist Margot Schwartz, and cellist James Holland for Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F Minor. Two weeks later, Chatter goes in the opposite direction from the New Mexico Philharmonic, performing Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6, with its typically large performing forces, in an arrangement for chamber orchestra.

LENSIC PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

211 W. San Francisco Street, 505-988-1234;

The crystal ball must have been extra-clear when the Lensic was programming its new season — five events, including appearances by Melissa Etheridge, Fran Lebowitz, and Yo-Yo Ma, are already sold out. But don’t despair — you can always call to check on returned tickets, and meanwhile, the event calendar still offers a great deal to choose from. Executive Director Joel Aalberts’ picks for the fall include an October 3 appearance by the touring company from The Second City comedy juggernaut (“It’s so iconic, and they have the election to work with,� he says), Robert Mirabal and ETHEL (“They combine native flute with Western string quartet in the creative way that blends the cultures so successfully�) on October 10, and Ira Glass of This American Life on November 2 (“He’s absolutely magical onstage�).

Sneak Peek: Ballet Folklórico de México will be at the Lensic on February 12, Twyla Tharp’s 60th Anniversary Tour has a two-night stand on February 25 and 26 that includes her iconic choreography to Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, and the Paul Taylor Dance Company celebrates its 70th year with an April 23 performance.

LOS ALAMOS CONCERT ASSOCIATION

Duane W. Smith Auditorium, Los Alamos High School, 1300 Diamond Drive, 505-662-9000;

The Calidore String Quartet and Venezuelan composer-pianist Gabriela Montero open the LACA season on October 19 with Antonín Dvorák’s Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major and Montero’s just-composed Canaima Quintet for Piano and Strings; Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 5 in A Major is also on the program. Ukrainian pianist Dmytro Choni, bronze medal winner at the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, offers a solo recital on November 24.

Sneak Peek: The celebrated period-instrument group Apollo’s Fire plays music by Bach, Telemann, and Vivaldi on February 16; classical violinist and folk fiddler from Kentucky Tessa Lark performs in Los Alamos on April 6.

THE MET: LIVE IN HD

Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco Street, 505-988-1234;

After a season that was notable for its emphasis on contemporary works, the Met’s Live in HD series has backtracked to the traditional for 2024-2025, with just one score dating from later than 1905.

The Tales of Hoffmann (October 5) stars Benjamin Bernheim as the tormented poet of Offenbach’s title role; his three lovers are played by Erin Morley (Olympia), Pretty Yende (Antonia), and Clémentine Margaine (Giulietta). Jeanine Tesori’s Grounded (October 19) explores the ethical conflicts and psychological damage caused by modern-day warfare technologies. Her opera received mixed reviews in its 2023 premiere at the Washington National Opera, although there was unanimous praise for Emily D’Angelo in the lead role of the fighter pilot; she repeats her performance in this staging. Red-hot soprano Lise Davidsen makes The Met’s Tosca (November 23) worth a look.

Sneak Peek: Angel Blue and Piotr BeczaÅ‚a star in Tosca on January 25, while Lise Davidsen returns to the Met in Beethoven’s Fidelio on March 15; she’s partnered by Ying Fang (Sophie in this summer’s Der Rosenkavalier at the ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Opera) as Marzelline. The Marriage of Figaro (April 26), Salome (May 17), and The Barber of Seville (May 31) round out the Met’s video broadcast season.

NEW MEXICO PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETY

Multiple venues, 505-474-4513;

Thanks to a collaboration with New Mexico Highlands University and the Las Vegas and Taos community choirs, the New Mexico Performing Arts Society will be first out of the gate with a Messiah performance this fall; it’s on November 3 at the university’s Ilfeld Auditorium.

Sneak Peek: Most NMPAS events are in the winter and spring at ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe’s Unitarian Universalist Church, including a January 10 performance of music for vocal quartet and piano, a March 22 performance of J.S. Bach’s Cantata BWV 21 along with two contemporary Psalm settings by Aaron Alter, and an opera highlights program on June 6.

NEW MEXICO PHILHARMONIC

Multiple venues, 505-323-4343;

Heavy-duty Romantic-era pieces open the New Mexico Philharmonic’s Popejoy Classics series on October 12, with frequent guest performer Olga Kern featured in Rachmaninoff’s fearsomely challenging Piano Concerto No. 3, followed by Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, one of the Austrian composer’s most popular works. November seems to be Tosca month in New Mexico, with Puccini’s opera onstage in a November 16 concert performance by the New Mexico Philharmonic. (The Met’s Live in HD broadcast follows a week later.) Soprano Carmen Giannattasio is Tosca, tenor Matthew White is Cavaradossi, and baritone Leonardo Neiva is Scarpia.

Sneak Peek: On May 31, Music Director Roberto Minczuk, mezzo-soprano Lilia Istratii, and the choral group Quintessence tackle Mahler’s seldom-performed Symphony No. 3, the largest and longest symphonic work in the repertory. The six-movement piece requires nearly 200 performers and has a running time of around 100 minutes; in a 2016 survey of 150 conductors by the BBC Music Magazine it was voted one of the top 10 symphonies of all time.

OPERA SOUTHWEST

Multiple venues,

Opera Southwest opens its 52nd season with Matilde, a substantial one-act opera by Carlo Coccia, a contemporary of Gioachino Rossini. It’s performed by the company’s five apprentices outdoors at the Albuquerque Museum amphitheater on September 13, 14, and 15. The plot is about clearing the path for the soprano and tenor to get married (of course), but the complications include her father’s nagging fear that the groom might just be her half-brother! Next, Cecilia Violetta López and Hak Soo Kim star as Cio-Cio-San and Pinkerton, respectively, in Puccini’s ever-popular Madama Butterfly on October 27 and 30, as well as November 1 and 3.

Sneak Peek: The world premiere of Llantos 1492 (Cries 1492) by flamenco guitarist and composer Adam Del Monte takes place in February. Set in Spain as the Reconquista, which drove the Moors out of Spain, is ending and the Inquisition is beginning, it centers on a lawyer who defends gitanos against false accusations.

PERFORMANCE SANTA FE

St. Francis Auditorium, 107 W. Palace Avenue, 505-984-8759;

There’s just one fall event on the Performance ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe schedule, an October 28 piano recital by Alexander Malofeev. Now age 22, Malofeev won the gold medal and first prize at the 2014 International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians. His ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe concert includes works by Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Aleksandr Scriabin.

Sneak Peak: Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth brings her holiday program to the Lensic Performing Arts Center on December 21. PSF’s spring event is an April 5 performance by the Las Vegas (Nevada)-based Contemporary West Dance Theatre, also at the Lensic.

SANTA FE PRO MUSICA

Multiple venues, 505-988-4640;

Colin Jacobsen’s second season as Pro Musica’s music director continues the wide-ranging exploration of musical traditions from diverse cultures that characterized his first. On September 29, Mexican jazz singer and composer Magos Herrera and her trio are featured with the Pro Musica orchestra in songs from her 2023 album Aire. Music by Vivaldi and Peruvian American composer Gabriela Lena Frank is also on the program. The Sphinx Organization’s Catalyst Quartet launches Pro Musica’s quartet series on October 13 with music by Ravel, Gershwin, Paquito D’Rivera, and Astor Piazzolla. On November 9 and 10 Syrian clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh joins Jacobsen and the orchestra for two of his own works, Concertino Grosso and Wedding, along with concertos grosso by Vivaldi, Scarlatti, and Bloch.

Sneak Peek: Pipa virtuoso Wu Man returns to ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe for January 25 and 26 concerts that include Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Pipa and Strings, Mozart’s Symphony No. 29, and Wu’s own composition Blue and Green, in an arrangement by Jacobsen.

SANTA FE SYMPHONY

Multiple venues, 505-983-1414;

The symphony’s September 22 concert, titled American in Paris, opens with Mozart’s stupendous “Jupiter� Symphony No. 41, then continues with Clayton Stephenson as the soloist in Maurice Ravel’s jazz-influenced Piano Concerto in G Major, saving George Gershwin’s An American in Paris, French taxi-horns and all, for the program finale. (A possibly apocryphal story: While in Paris, Gershwin asked to study with Ravel, who replied, “Why be a second-rate Ravel when you are already a first-class Gershwin?�) A double dose of dance music is on tap October 20, starting with selections from Tchaikovsky’s score for Swan Lake and ending with the four-movement suite extracted from Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka for concert hall performance. A free event showcasing the symphony chorus takes place on October 27 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

Sneak Peek: The Music of Latin America concert on February 23 ranges more imaginatively than usual with such programs; it includes Astor Piazzolla’s Aconcagua Concerto for Bandoneón, with soloist J.P. Jofre and Miguel del �guila’s “Conga,� with the composer as conga soloist. The Damnation of Faust, Hector Berlioz’ genre-busting hybrid of opera and oratorio, will be conducted by symphony Music Director Guillermo Figueroa on May 18.

TAOS CHAMBER MUSIC GROUP

Various venues, 575-224-2106;

If you take the high road and I take the low road, we’ll probably arrive in Taos around the same time. (We’re nae in Scotland, ye ken ...) It’s a beautiful drive no matter the route and on select Saturdays and Sundays, you can combine it with a Taos Chamber Music Group performance, most of which take place at the Harwood Museum of Art.

On September 27, the American String Quartet offers a program that includes Felix Mendelssohn’s Quintet in Bb Major, Op. 87, a late work that reflects his youthful string quintet from two decades earlier in its outer movements and his mature compositional voice in the second and third, as well as Dmitri Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 13 in Bb Minor, an intense, ominous one-movement piece written when the composer’s health was deteriorating. They’re back two days later with Beethoven’s final string quartet, Op. 135, a surprisingly jovial work, as well as Brahms’ late and even more exuberant Quintet in G Major, Op.111. A program titled Viaje Especial (Special Journey) on November 2 and 3 features music from Spanish, Cuban, Argentinian, and Brazilian composers.

Sneak Peek: On January 11 and 12, soprano Tara Khozein and members of the Chatter ensemble perform Kate Soper’s chamber opera Ipsa Dixit, which The New Yorker called “Comprehensively astounding,� and “A 21st-century masterpiece.� A multimedia event on March 29 and 30 combines music by Olivier Messiaen, Andrew List, and Andrew Norman with projections of Paul Gaugin artwork. ◀