Austin Opera's OFRENDA to Open The Company's New Butler Performance Center

Austin Opera's first production in its new Butler Performance Center will be the October 2026 world premiere of Ofrenda, a 90-minute chamber opera performed in English and Spanish and funded by the Butler Fund for Spanish Programming. Developed over years of partnership with composer Jorge Sosa and librettist John de los Santos, this new work is a celebration of family, cultural memory, and Día de los Muertos traditions. Ofrenda will open the 2026-2027 season, representing a major milestone for the company-it is Austin Opera's first commissioned work and the culmination of years of investment in developing new voices and stories that reflect Latinx communities, family, and tradition.

"I cannot think of a more ideal work to help us open the Butler Performance Center than Ofrenda, which has grown right here in Austin over the past three years through Jorge and John's work in the Residency for Latinx Creatives," said Annie Burridge, Austin Opera's General Director & CEO. "Presenting this world premiere is both a celebration of artistic innovation and an act of community representation, highlighting the power of opera to honor heritage, inspire empathy, and bring people together across cultures."

"The idea for Ofrenda came to me during COVID," said composer Jorge Sosa. "I wanted to write a work that centered around healing and celebrated essential workers. I was thinking about the curanderas (traditional healers) in México and the mysticism that surrounds them. John de los Santos has been an incredible creative partner in developing the idiosyncrasies of the characters and the bilingual libretto. The opera reads like a hospital procedural show, mixed with a healthy dose of magical realism and high drama. The main character is Macaria, a custodian at a hospital who has an encounter with death (Señora). Moved by Macaria's kindness, Señora sheds a tear of life into Macaria's water bottle, giving her the power to heal anyone. But the price for such power will eventually catch up with her."

In 2023, Ofrenda was selected by Austin Opera to receive financial and workshop support through its Residency for Latinx Creatives, a program funded by the Butler Fund for Spanish Programming, which focuses on nurturing new works by Latinx artists. During the residency, Austin Opera's artistic and administrative staff worked closely with Sosa and de los Santos. The team met regularly to provide feedback on libretto development and musical composition. A duet from the work premiered in November 2025 during Austin Opera's Celebrate Opera! concert, introducing audiences to the new piece. In July 2026, a weeklong workshop will be held in Austin. Austin Opera will premiere the chamber version of the opera; however, a full orchestration is also being composed.