Primero Sueño is a new processional opera, co-created by Paola Prestini, Magos Herrera and Louisa Proske, bringing to life the mythical poem of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz - a 17th-century poet, scholar, and nun from Mexico, and one of the most enduring and influential writers of her era. She is also recognized as one of the first feminists of Latin America.
Sor Juana’s poem Primero Sueño is widely considered one of the most important works of the Hispanic Baroque. Her own words now appear for the first time in operatic form… Through an immersive and entrancing processional experience, the Primero Sueño opera illuminates the wisdom and power of Sor Juana’s poetry, as audiences move with the performers through physical space and into the realm of visions and dreams.
The work premiered to sold-out performances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Cloisters in New York City in January 2025, and is now beginning to tour across the world.
Sor Juana was the first writer who represents the first multifaceted "Mexican" identity – so too the music takes a multifaceted approach, reflecting baroque, improv, folk, classical choral traditions, jazz, and electronic. On October 31st, the Primero Sueño studio album will be released through VIA Records. The music for the opera was co-composed by musical luminaries Paola Prestini (one of NPR’s top 100 composers in the world) and Magos Herrera ("One of the greatest contemporary interpreters of song” - The Latin Jazz Network). The record features Magos Herrera, German vocal ensemble Sjaella, Luca Tarantino (Guitar & Theorbo), and Celso Duarte (Harp & Percussion).
The project begins its global journey by bringing Sor Juana’s poetry back home to Mexico for a series of exciting performances in December 2025.
Primero Sueño expands its inclusive vision to create a large-scale public procession, transforming the Zócalo and the atrium of the Puebla Cathedral into a vast open-air dreamscape. Thousands of people from the general public will parade alongside the opera’s cast, accompanied by local community choirs whose voices will resonate through the city’s historic center, turning it into a collective meditation that flows through streets and squares, where art meets public life and a shared dream.
Location: Zócalo and Atrium of the Cathedral of Puebla Capital
Sor Juana’s Primero Sueño will echo onward in the Houses of Representatives in Mexico City - an important seat of government. The performance will bring Sor Juana’s spirit of equality, education and democracy into one the most important civic spaces in the country.
Location: Chamber of Deputies / Legislative Palace of San Lázaro, Emiliano zapata, El Parque, Venustiano Carranza, CDMX Pedestrian access through Door 1
This December, as the opera Primero Sueño arrives in Mexico, and we are launching a public campaign, "El Sueño de Todos" — celebrating Sor Juana's visionary spirit and inviting the public to share their dreams and ambitions with the world. We invite you to share your dreams, your hopes — they may be ambitions for your own life, or visions for the future of your community, your city, the country, or the world.
Your dreams will form part of a worldwide collection of dreams that we will collect throughout the tour.
The artistic team will select a collection of these dreams to integrate into the performance itself through projections and/or other creative means.
Paola Prestini, composer, librettist, and orchestrator
Magos Herrera, composer and librettist
Magos Herrera, Sor Juana
Sjaella, Sisters
Viola Blache, soprano
Franziska Eberhardt, soprano
Marie Fenske, soprano
Marie Charlotte Seidel, mezzo-soprano
Felicitas Erben, alto
Helene Erben, alto
Luca Tarantino, Theorbo & Spanish guitar
Celso Duarte, Harps & Hand Percussion
Jorrell Lawyer-Jefferson, choreographer and revival stage director
David Herrera, sculpture and mask designer
Andrea Lauer, costume, props, and wearable technology designer
Kari Love, costume and wearable technology designer
Jiyoun Chang, lighting designer
Marie Yokoyama, associate lighting designer
Christian Frederickson, sound designer
Garth MacAleavey, sound design engineer
Jorge Cousineau, projection designer
Anna Borou Yu, live camera operator
Joyce Lai, props master
Paloma Domínguez, textile artist
Camille Charara, costume design assistant
Jasmine Lewis, costume builder
Vinita Gatne, production assistant
Pintler Costumes and Technologies, costume construction
TNA Pattern Services, costume construction
Ras Dia, creative producer
Lola Newman, assistant producer
Alberto Ruiz, production manager
Peter Nictakis, stage manager
Paola PrestiniCo-Founder, Co-Artistic Director & Board MemberJeffrey ZeiglerCo-Artistic Director & Board MemberRas DiaProducing DirectorDaniel OxenhandlerImpact Producer & FilmmakerDaniella OmeruoMarketing & Production AssociateJill SteinbergPhotographer
Jill Steinberg, Board Chair
Paola Prestini, Board President
Jeffrey Zeigler, Co-Artistic Director
Ana De Archuleta, Treasurer
Teresa Toro
Nicholas Arons
Afa Dworkin
Catherine Soros
Ed Yim
Roger Weitz