Nightlife

Santa Fe is a city committed to the arts, so it's no surprise that the Santa Fe night scene is dominated by highbrow cultural events, beginning with the world-famous Santa Fe Opera. The club and popular music scene runs a distant second.

Information on all major cultural events can be obtained from the Santa Fe Convention and Visitors Bureau (tel. 800/777-CITY or 505/955-6200) or from the City of Santa Fe Arts Commission (tel. 505/955-6707). Current listings are published each Friday in the "Pasatiempo" section of The New Mexican (www.santafenewmexican.com), the city's daily newspaper, and in the Santa Fe Reporter (www.sfreporter.com), published every Wednesday.

Nicholas Potter, Bookseller, 211 E. Palace Ave. (tel. 505/983-5434); Candyman, 851 St. Michaels Dr. (tel. 505/983-5906), and CD Café, 301 N. Guadalupe (tel. 505/986-0735), sell tickets for many events. You can also order by phone from Ticketmaster (tel. 505/883-7800). Discount tickets may be available on the night of a performance; for example, the opera offers standing-room tickets on the day of the performance. Sales start at 10am.

A variety of free concerts, lectures, and other events are presented in the summer, cosponsored by the City of Santa Fe and the Chamber of Commerce. Many of these musical and cultural events take place on the plaza; check in the "Pasatiempo" section for current listings and information.

The Performing Arts

Many performing-arts groups flourish in this city of 65,000. Many of them perform year-round, but others are seasonal. The acclaimed Santa Fe Opera, for instance, has just a 2-month summer season: late June to August.

Note: Many companies noted here perform at locations other than their listed addresses, so check the site of the performance you plan to attend.

A Home for the Arts -- The Santa Fe arts scene's best venue, The Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco St. (tel. 505/988-7050), hosts many of the city's major performances, including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, among others. The setting is wonderfully atmospheric; a multimillion-dollar face-lift brought out the 1931 movie palace's Arabian Nights charm.