John de los Santos

Librettist John de los Santos’ was commissioned by Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative with composer Christopher Weiss to create Service Provider, which premiered at the Kennedy Center and has since had over a dozen productions across the country. His first collaboration with composer Clint Borzoni, When Adonis Calls, had its premiere under his direction at Asheville Lyric Opera. His second collaboration with Borzoni, The Copper Queen, premiered as a feature film in 2021 and had its stage premiere the following season at Marble City Opera. The Christmas Spider, his third libretto with Borzoni, premiered in December of 2023 under his direction. In 2020, John and Marc Migó were commissioned by UrbanArias to write an operatic film for the Decameron Opera Project. Their piece, The Roost, was directed by John and was recently included in the archives of the Library of Congress. John also served as a librettist and director for The Julliard School’s Opera Lab. His newest work with composer Tony Solitro, Requiem Tomatina, will premiere this fall at White Snake Projects in Boston. He is currently a librettist with Minnesota Opera’s New Works Initiative. John’s productions as director/choreographer include Sweet Potato Kicks the Sun (world premiere, Santa Fe Opera), Ghosts (world premiere, San Diego Opera), Don Giovanni (Wolf Trap Opera), Le Comte Ory (Loft Opera), Flesh and Stone (New Camerata Opera), Daughter of the Regiment (Minnesota Opera), Before Night Falls (Opera Southwest), Frida (Opera Orlando), Maria de Buenos Aires (Arizona Opera), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Manhattan School of Music). johndelossantos.com