SOCORRO, N.M. – Beauty is in the eye – and ear – of the of the beholder, and both will finely focus on the Santa Fe Opera Apprentices on Tour, a Performing Arts Series program bringing “UnShakeable” to N.M. Tech’s Macey Center at 7:30 pm on Thursday, May 9

There is no admission charge to the performance. The evening’s sponsor is SMPC Architects.

The concert features the delightful and talented apprentice singers. Additionally, local performers Stipo Stentic, Rose Carilli, Valerie Gibbs, and Val Thomas will do a few songs to kick off the evening.

“Once again, the PAS is delighted and most grateful to preview the new season of the Santa Fe Opera’s summer season with its talented apprentice program,” PAS Director Ronna Kalish said. “These singers are the ambassadors for a program that has stood the test of time.”

In addition to the performance, Tech Club Macey offers, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., an optional “Night at the Opera Dinner”, ticketed separately for members ($10) and non-members ($15) – call 835-5688 for dinner tickets – featuring lemon dill pollock, fennel vegetable quinoa, parmesan-roasted potatoes, and lemon bar with raspberry drizzle. Participants will also be treated to a post-dinner Q&A with the apprentices, accompanist and stage manager.

This year The Santa Fe Opera Apprentices will perform UnShakeable, an opera composed by conductor Joseph Illick with a libretto by Andrea Fellows Walters, the Opera’s Director of Community Engagement.

Set in an abandoned theater in New Mexico 25 years in the future, UnShakeable is the story of Wyatt and Meridian, Shakespearean actors and former lovers who have varying degrees of memory loss due to Erasure, a viral pandemic resulting in memory loss. Separated from Meridian at the start of the viral pandemic, Wyatt has been searching for his love ever since. 

“This beautiful and touching story is set in a not-too-distant-future New Mexico, which is sure to hit home for so many of us,” Kalish said. 

Unshakeable explores themes of memory, connection, and the power of story, incorporating language from some of Shakespeare’s iconic works to create a modern romance. 

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