Laura Jobin-Acosta
SYNOPSIS
Felisa Rincón de Gautier served as mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico for 22 years — the first woman ever to hold that office. La Alcaldesa imagines her inner journey: the emotional and political terrain she had to navigate as a woman claiming power in a world built by and for men.
Told in English and Spanish, the opera draws on the rhythms and musical traditions of Puerto Rico while operating fully within the operatic form. It is a story about ambition, tenderness, resilience, and what it costs a woman to lead — told through a figure whose name most of the world has never heard.
La Alcaldesa was developed through Laura's IDEA Residency at Opera America and received its workshop premiere at the National Opera Center in New York in May 2022, conducted by David Bloom with the ensemble Contemporaneous.
SCALE
Full-length opera
2 acts
LANGUAGE
English & Spanish
FORCES
Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Bass-Baritone
String Quartet, Percussion
STATUS
Workshop complete
Score in progress
WORKSHOP PREMIERE
National Opera Center, New York — May 7, 2022
Developed through the Opera America IDEA Residency · Conducted by David Bloom · Contemporaneous, ensemble
Melisa Bonetti, mezzo-soprano
Juan Hernández, tenor
José Luis Maldonado, baritone
José Cuartas, baritone
Cristina María Castro, soprano
WATCH WORKSHOP RECORDING →
CREATIVE TEAM
COMPOSER
Laura Jobin-Acosta
New York-based composer and soprano. Kennedy Center, Beth Morrison Projects, Opera America Composer-in-Residence.
