The Santa Fe Opera is set to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Pueblo Opera Program with an upcoming documentary.

“The Pueblo Opera Program: And What Could Be Next,” which will premiere on July 30, 2023 at the Lensic Performing Arts Center, is directed by Beverly R. Singer and produced by Pueblo Opera Cultural Council. The film focuses on the relationship between Santa Fe Opera and the Pueblo and Tribal Nations of New Mexico and how the program has inspired the local youth to engage with opera.

Since 1973, over 100,000 children and families from New Mexico’s 23 Sovereign Nations to attend performances at the Santa Fe Opera. Moreover, members of the Pueblo Opera Program have also put on student-produced operas and fashion shows as part of Youth Nights, among other major activities.

“Fifty years is probably a second and a half, but it’s also a time a child grows up and becomes an adult and leader of a community. It’s a human span and it’s a generation…by the age of 50 ready for a larger responsibility, a larger emotion, a larger imagination of what could be next,” said director Peter Sellars about the initiative.

The premiere screening kicks off at 4 p.m. local time.