How do artists create? The documentary film RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE: THE MAKING OF A WESTERN OPERA captures the process behind a new opera. We witness how a composer turns an idea into a score and then welcomes different artists, singers, and artisans to build a rich, dimensional story told through music, writing, visual arts, and the human voice. We meet cowboy scholars and film buffs to discover what made Grey’s novel so successful its themes influenced Westerns for years to come; and delve into the controversy around Zane Grey’s characterization of 19th century Mormons to discern the historical reality and true grit of those who settled of the West.

Filmed throughout the development and mounting of the opera, the documentary wrapped principle production with the opera's World Premiere in 2017.  The documentary, RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE: THE MAKING OF A WESTERN OPERA, will be released in 2019. Arizona Opera's world premiere of the entire opera, captured live with a seven camera switch, is also available a broadcast or streaming companion to the documentary, and as a stand-alone television program.

A film about Place, Process & Performance

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PRODUCTION TEAM

Kristin Atwell Ford

Director/Producer • Watershed Films

As an Emmy Award-Winning filmmaker, Kristin draws on her theater training and sensibilities as a wilderness guide to create documentaries that focus on the synthesis of people and place. From environmental issues like water sustainability and wildfire in the West, to social justice on the border, and the historical events that influence our lives today, Kristin’s films blend real life experiences with artful storytelling.

Kristin's film & TV credits include: FIRE & WATER, PROTECTING THE SOURCE, THE CENTENNIAL SERIES with JUSTICE SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR, THEODORE ROOSEVELT DAM: Arizona's Living Legacy, and QUARTZITE'S FALL: A Wilderness Tale. 

Atwell & Davis on location. Photos by Robert Pflumm (top) & Steven Snow

Bill Davis

Producer/Director of Photography
Quantum Leap Productions

Bill mixes the latest technology with an elegant cutting sensibility to give RIDERS a classic film aesthetic. Bill started his career in production at PBS. He is an owner at Quantum Leap Productions and has spent over twenty five years as an editor and motion graphics designer delivering commercials, marketing campaigns, and TV shows. Bill's industry awards are numerous. 

Bill's film & TV credits include: LIQUID EXTREMES, LEATHER and IRON, LOST WAX CASTING, ARIZONA ART & CULTURE SERIES

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PRODUCTION TEAM 
• Executive Producers Billie Jo & Judd Herberger
• Produced by Quantum Leap Productions & Watershed Films
• Co-Producer Zachery Hayhurst, Arizona Opera
• Camera: Bill Davis, Robert Pflumm, ​Greg Voigt, Steven Snow
• Audio: James Baldwin, Paul Baldwin, Charlie Ethridge 
• Fiscal Sponsor: Arizona Community Foundation
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FILMED ON LOCATION
Arizona Opera Center
​​​Desert Mountain Communities
Ed Mell Gallery​
​Mormon Lake Lodge
National Opera America Center
Navajo National Monument
The Navajo Nation
Phoenix Symphony Hall
Pipe Spring National Monument
Rim Country Museum & Zane Grey Cabin
Scottsdale's Museum of the West