In a new edition of the Spanish magazine Ópera Actual, our Executive Director, Paulina Ricciardi, offers an overview of contemporary Latin American opera and the stories told by recent works premiered in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and Chile. “Listening to these operas—whether in a theatre or on streaming platforms—is also an act of opening oneself to other realities, other ways of feeling, thinking, and narrating. At a time when intercultural dialogue is no longer optional but urgent, Latin American opera has much to say,” writes Paulina in her column.

By Paulina Ricciardi Mondino, Executive Director of Ópera Latinoamérica (OLA)

Photo: © Andreas Simopoulos

Il Guarany, by the Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Gomes, was the first Latin American opera to be performed in Europe, premiering at La Scala in Milan in 1870. One hundred and fifty-five years later, exchange between Europe and Latin America remains vibrant—an essential practice in a global context where borders blur due to the constant movement of people, and where opera allows us to know and understand one another, build connections, and coexist on a global stage.

What stories are Latin American operas telling today? In Mexico, three new works have been premiered at the Palacio de Bellas Artes: Gabriela Ortiz’s Únicamente la verdad, which recounts a femicide in the context of narcotrafficking; Marcela Rodríguez’s La Sunamita, based on a short story by Inés Arredondo; and Lorena Orozco’s Zorros chinos, about women facing poverty and machismo.

In Colombia, Juan Pablo Carreño created a version of Calderón de la Barca’s La vida es sueño; La Digitale, about the effects of intoxication by digitoxin; and the music for the silent film Garras de oro, which addresses the separation of Panama from Colombia. Rodolfo Acosta, meanwhile, premiered the community opera Utopía, which explores hope and reconstruction in a context of conflict.

Brazil remains an inexhaustible source of creativity: at the Theatro São Pedro in São Paulo, André Mehmari premiered El Machete, inspired by Machado de Assis’s short story of the same name, and Flo Menezes presented Oposicantos, a multimedia work that raises doubt as a principle of human intelligence. João Guilherme Ripper, the prolific creator of Domitila, premieres this year Candinho, an opera based on the childhood memories of the painter Cândido Portinari.

From Argentina, a recent example is Pablo Ortiz’s Kassandra, which takes migration and marginalisation as its backdrop. Another key figure, with a catalogue of more than ten operas, is Oscar Strasnoy, who will premiere Dementia in 2026, with texts by Ariana Harwicz. In Chile, Sebastián Errázuriz is the composer of Patagonia; Víctor Hugo Toro created Llacolén—based on the legend of the daughter of the Mapuche chief Galvarino and a Spanish captain; and Miguel Farías presented El Cristo de Elqui at the Teatro Municipal de Santiago, based on the novel by Hernán Rivera Letelier.

With stories that explore the past through critical lenses, lyrical adaptations of literary works, or narratives rooted in contemporary life, Latin American opera reflects the region’s identity through diverse styles and sound worlds—all resonating with a shared concern: a sense of responsibility to portray social realities. Listening to these operas—whether in a theatre or on streaming platforms—is also an act of opening oneself to other realities, other ways of feeling, thinking, and narrating. At a time when intercultural dialogue is no longer optional but urgent, Latin American opera has much to say.