Opera UCLA presents the new opera Juana, based on the novel Sor Juana’s Second Dream by UCLA Professor Alicia Gaspar de Alba, with music by Carla Lucero, a 2019 recipient of an Opera America Discovery Grant from the Opera Grants for Female Composers program. The libretto is by Gaspar de Albaand Lucero. Conducted by Mary Chun, directed by Sara E. Widzer, the opera tells the story of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a 17th-century feminist genius whose life was marked by repeated conflict with men of the Inquisition; she was an accomplished theologian, poet, author, composer, artist, and architect. 

Juana is presented in collaboration with Opera UCLA and the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s Department of Theater.

Made possible by the David and Irmgard Dobrow Fund. Classical music was a passion of the Dobrows, who established a generous endowment at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music to make programs like this possible. We are proud to celebrate this program as part of the 2018-2019 Dobrow Series.