Arizona Opera Cast Members & Creatives

Héctor Armienta, a nationally recognized composer, focuses on creating work that explores the Mexican and Mexican-American cultural experience. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, he is one of the few Chicano opera composers to have had his work performed nationally and internationally. His awards and commissions include those from Meet the Composer, the NEA, the MapFund, Forth Worth Opera, the Pacific Symphony, Opera Southwest, Oakland East Bay Symphony, and others. His work for orchestra, theater, and opera has received support from six NEA grants in artistic excellence. Most recently, he was awarded a 2022 CCSRE Arts Mellon Fellowship at Stanford University and a 2021 Map Fund award.

Notable projects included the opera Bless Me Ultima (based on Rudolfo Anaya's novel), the opera Zorro, and the animated opera film - Mi Camino. Upcoming projects include La Muerte (Part III of Armienta's opera trilogy Aguas Ancestrales) and a new immersive VR opera project - Campesinos.

​Armienta is also the founder and director of Ópera Cultura, whose mission is to explore music theater and opera through a cross-cultural lens. He holds a BM degree in composition from California Institute of the Arts and an MM degree in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He also sits on the board of Opera America.