Carla Lucero

Carla Lucero, (Composer/Librettist), focuses on social justice and giving voice to silenced and marginalized communities. She gravitates to biographical stories that challenge long-held stereotypes, especially stories centered around women. Her goal is to contribute to positive change with her work, which is often multilingual. 

Lucero and her critically acclaimed operas — WUORNOS (2001, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts), Juana (2019, Co-Librettist, Alicia Gaspar de Alba; commissioned by Opera UCLA), Las Tres Mujeres de Jerusalén (2022, commissioned by LA Opera), The Everywhere of Her (2023, Velina Hasu Houston, Librettist; commissioned by The Ebell of Los Angeles), t o u c h (2024, Co-Librettist, Marianna Mott Newirth; commissioned by Opera Birmingham), and ¡Chicanísima! (2024, commissioned by Quinteto Latino) — have received grants and awards from OPERA America, Creative Work Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, San Francisco Arts Commission, San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music, Zellerbach Family Foundation, The Getty Foundation, InterMusic SF, and others. 

Originally from Los Angeles, she graduated from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in 1986 and serves on the faculty of Academy of Art University, teaching music theory, composition, and orchestration. She is also a mentor to OPERA America’s 2024–2025 Discovery Grant recipients and serves on the Advisory Committee of the Ebell Institute for the Study of Women in Los Angeles. 

Lucero’s instrumental and choral works have been performed by internationally recognized choirs, orchestras, and chamber ensembles in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Mexico City, Santiago, Havana, Madrid, Calgary, and elsewhere. She is currently commissioned for three upcoming operas — Hello, Star (2025 Opera Parallèle; Jarrod Lee, Librettist), The Tower of Babel (2026 LA Opera), and Tea (2027 Hawaii Opera Theatre; Velina Hasu Houston, Librettist). Lucero also has one in early development, Muriel & Anita, a haunting true crime story that takes place in Napa CA, where she currently resides with her wife, Jenna.