Opera Southwest (formerly known as Albuquerque Opera Theatre) is an American professional opera company based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1972, it has presented many world premieres of new operas in addition to the standard repertoire. In 2015, its production of Franco Faccio's Amleto, the opera's first performance in 143 years, was a finalist in the International Opera Awards. Anthony Barrese, who joined the company in 2007 as Music Director, has been its Artistic Director and Principal Conductor since 2011. Its Director of Artistic Operations and Principal Stage Director is David Bartholomew.[1]