August 28, 2025
Gilda Cruz-Romo, the internationally acclaimed soprano and former professor at the University of Texas at Austin's Butler School of Music, has died at the age of 85.
Born on February 12, 1940, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Cruz-Romo rose to global stardom, earning a place among the most distinguished operatic sopranos of the 20th century. She studied at the Mexico City Conservatory before launching her professional career in 1962 with her debut in Mexico City as Ortlinde in Wagner’s Die Walküre.
Her career quickly gained international momentum. In 1969, she debuted at the New York City Opera in Boito’s Mefistofele, a performance that catapulted her into the international spotlight. Just a year later, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, portraying Cio-Cio-San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, a role that would become one of her signatures. Between 1970 and 1984, Cruz-Romo appeared 160 times at the Met, performing in cornerstone operas such as Aida, La Traviata, Il Trovatore, Otello, Don Carlo, Tosca, and La Forza del Destino.
She also performed at major opera houses across the United States, including in Chicago, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, New Orleans, Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Her international résumé was equally impressive, with appearances at renowned venues such as the Royal Opera House in London, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Wiener Staatsoper, Arena di Verona, Teatro La Fenice, and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, among others.
After retiring from the stage, Cruz-Romo dedicated herself to teaching, bringing her experience and artistry to a new generation of singers as a professor at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas in Austin.