John de los Santos has been called a “brilliant combination of literary insight and choreographic creativity.” He has staged a range of productions that include opera, musicals, plays, concerts, and ballet. His productions include the world premiere of The Astronaut Love Show at the Kraine Theater (NYC), The Rose and the Knife, Otello, and Le Comte Ory (called “a perfect fusion” by The New York Times) for LoftOpera (NYC), La Cage Aux Folles for Skylight Music Theatre, La Fille du Regiment for Arizona Opera, South Pacific for Ashlawn Opera, María de Buenos Aires for San Diego and Fort Worth Opera, and Lexington Philharmonic, and Green Sneakers for Opera Birmingham and the Southside Theatre at San Francisco’s historic Fort Mason Center. He choreographed the world premiere of Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally’s Great Scott, directed by Jack O’Brien, for the Dallas Opera. His choreography has also been seen at the Washington National, Florida Grand, Philadelphia, Des Moines Metro, Utah Festival, and Austin Lyric Opera Companies.

John’s first libretto with composer Clint Borzoni, When Adonis Calls, was selected for inclusion in Fort Worth Opera’s 2015 Frontiers showcase and Opera America’s 2017 New Works Forum.  It had its world premiere at Asheville Lyric Opera in 2018, directed and choreographed by the librettist. John’s second collaboration with Borzoni, The Copper Queen, won the top prize Arizona Opera’s commission program, Arizona SPARK. John and Clint are currently in development with The American Opera Project on a new holiday opera, The Christmas Spider. John was  commissioned by Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative to create an original work with composer Christopher Weiss. The resulting piece, Service Provider, premiered at The Kennedy Center in 2015, and has since been performed by Urban Arias, Opera Memphis, Hawaii Opera Theater, Virginia Opera, Opera Idaho, Westminster Opera Theatre, and was selected as the first opera performed by the Lake George Music Festival. In 2019, his one-act collaboration with Scott Bradley Joiner, The Shower, premiered at the Vienna Summer Music Festival. John serves as librettist-in-residence for  Opera Lab at The Juilliard School.

www.johndelossantos.com

FEATURED IN