InsightALT

InsightALT - OFRENDA

Composer: Jorge Sosa
Librettist: John de los Santos

Commissioned by Austin Opera under the auspices of the Residency for Latinx Creatives

Conductor: Kamna Gupta

Ofrenda is a powerful story inspired by Día de los Muertos traditions, curanderas (traditional healers) in México, and the mysticism that surrounds them. The opera centers on Macaria, and her daughter, Pina. Macaria, a custodian at a hospital, has an encounter with death (La Señora) on a bus ride after her shift. 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. As the story unfolds, Ofrenda reflects the hopes we hold for our children, the sacrifices we make for their well-being, and a daughter’s journey toward understanding and honoring those who came before her.

*Tickets for OFRENDA are $25, or purchase an InsightALT Day Pass for $35 and enjoy both Ofrenda at 3pm and The Shadow at 7pm.

InsightALT - THE SHADOW

Composer: Ivette Herryman Rodríguez
Librettist: Samuel Norman

Developed under the auspices of the Composer Librettist Development Program at American Lyric Theater

CONDUCTOR: Kelly Kuo

A simple experiment goes terribly wrong. A man accidentally detaches himself from his shadow, which flits off into the night. No matter how hard he tries, he’s unable to recover it, and eventually he is forced to move on… until the evening he receives an unexpected visitor. Adapted from the twisted tale by Hans Christian Andersen, THE SHADOW explores the fragility of identity, and how easily reality itself can be usurped by a good story.

*Tickets for The Shadow are $25, or purchase an InsightALT Day Pass for $35 and enjoy both Ofrenda at 3pm and The Shadow at 7pm.

InsightALT events were created to give the public an intimate, insiders look behind the scenes of creating new operas. Each event features a concert reading of a new opera in development, featuring guest singers from the world's leading opera houses, followed by an interactive discussion between the audience and the writers behind each work. These conversations, moderated by ALT's founder, Lawrence Edelson, use Liz Lerman's Critical Response Process to engage with those experiencing the opera for the first time to help the writers on their journeys.