If the stunning oasis of Santa Fe, New Mexico isn’t on your musical travel wishlist, it should be.

 

Devotees of opera and classical music know that summertime, while the big companies are on hiatus, is festival time. The most famous of these festivals are the European ones: names like Salzburg, Glyndebourne and Bayreuth appear on most music lovers’ dream itineraries. But the United States has its share of festival destinations, too, and the most spectacular of these is Santa Fe, New Mexico, a desert city which has become something of an oasis for the arts.

Founded at the foot of New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo mountains in 1608, Santa Fe is the country’s oldest capital city, and its spectacular landscape has long since made it a magnet for painters and sculptors: Georgia O’Keeffe worked and lived in the area for many years. Drive into town from nearby Albuquerque (commercial flights into Santa Fe’s own airport are limited by its size and altitude). This is a...