Founded in 1986 as the city’s first professional opera company, Austin Opera employs hundreds of local and international artists each year to produce operatic productions designed to inspire, entertain, and instigate discussion among Austin audiences.
Kelly stars as Macaria in the world premiere of Ofrenda.
Its nearing Día de los Muertos and Macaria, an immigrant mother, has prepared an ofrenda to honor her deceased husband. Her daughter Pina shows no interest in taking part and starts to express doubt about her future while Macaria reminds her of the sacrifices made so that Pina could have what she didn’t.
While on the bus heading to her custodial shift at the hospital, Macaria has an encounter with death (La Señora). Moved by Macaria’s kindness, Señora sheds a tear of life into Macaria’s water bottle, giving her the power to heal anyone. She returns home to find an ill Pina and applies the elixir—by morning, her daughter is lively once again. Macaria begins tending to other ailing patients, but the price for such power will eventually catch up with her.As the story unfolds, Ofrenda reflects the hopes and sacrifices we make for our children’s well-being, and a daughter’s journey toward understanding and honoring those who came before her.
Kelly stars as Macaria in the world premiere of Ofrenda.
Its nearing Día de los Muertos and Macaria, an immigrant mother, has prepared an ofrenda to honor her deceased husband. Her daughter Pina shows no interest in taking part and starts to express doubt about her future while Macaria reminds her of the sacrifices made so that Pina could have what she didn’t.
While on the bus heading to her custodial shift at the hospital, Macaria has an encounter with death (La Señora). Moved by Macaria’s kindness, Señora sheds a tear of life into Macaria’s water bottle, giving her the power to heal anyone. She returns home to find an ill Pina and applies the elixir—by morning, her daughter is lively once again. Macaria begins tending to other ailing patients, but the price for such power will eventually catch up with her.As the story unfolds, Ofrenda reflects the hopes and sacrifices we make for our children’s well-being, and a daughter’s journey toward understanding and honoring those who came before her.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m Performance starts at 7:00 p.m.
in collaboration with the Consulate General of Mexico in Austin and Ópera de Bellas Artes
Join us for a tour-de-force celebratory concert of Latinx music and opera on April 4, 2023, at the stunning open-air Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park. The program features three studio artists from the national opera company of Mexico, Ópera de Bellas Artes: Génesis Betania Moreno González; Ricardo Ceballos de la Mora; and Jorge Alain Echeagaray Gutiérrez. They will be joined by Austin Opera Curator for Latinx and Hispanic Programming, Claudia Chapa, and the Austin Opera Orchestra, led by Timothy Myers, Austin Opera’s Sarah and Ernest Butler Principal Conductor & Artistic Advisor. Also featured are San Antonio-based Mariachi group Trío Chapultepec, comprising Vincent Pequeño, Israel Alcala, and William Carlton Galvez, and classical guitarist, Arnold Yzaguirre.