More than three centuries after it was first published, "Primero Sueño," a masterpiece of the Hispanic Baroque, has found a home in Upper Manhattan.

“The first thing we did was begin to understand the symbology of the work, which is an interesting intersection of African, indigenous and Spanish worlds,” Paola Prestini, a composer, said.

The opera, a collaboration between renowned artists Prestini and Magos Herrera, has brought a poem by Mexican writer Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz to the Met Cloisters, where it will have its world premiere.

“I think it’s such a beautiful and eloquent way to present Sor Juana, for those that don’t know her. This particular work, 'Primero Sueño,' is about the pursuit of knowledge, which was Sor Juana’s main pursuit,” Herrera said.

The project is site-specific and was designed for four unique experiences, taking the spectators on a journey through the Cloisters in a space that, for Prestini, is a living, breathing relic.

“There’s something extraordinary about hearing new music inspired from hundreds of years ago in a space that has its own history and its own dialogue with the work,” Prestini said.

This is the first time Prestini and Herrera have worked together since their album “Con Alma” was released during the pandemic. It’s a project not limited to the opera form, exploring baroque folk and electronic music.

“I don’t think in music anymore in terms of genre, but in terms of storytelling and I align myself to whatever the story demands,” Herrera said.

Herrera has also taken on the role of Sor Juana, and is accompanied by the German vocal ensemble Sjaella and musicians Celso Duarte and Luca Tarantino.

For Herrera and Prestini, the opera has allowed them to explore in greater depth the work of this feminist and visionary nun, drawing parallels with the women of today.  

“Her work resonates till our days in terms of what does it mean to dream and to be capable of actually living your dreams and your potential,” Herrera said.

“Many of the struggles we’re seeing in terms of women’s bodies and rights are things that she definitely experienced. She went into the cloister in order to be free, in order to study. And so the fact that we have her words and they have such resonance and we’re able to bring them to a new audience hundreds of years later, I think, should give us hope that the fights that we have are not ones for our lifetime. They’re generational,” Prestini said.