Gabriela Cruz

Gabriela Cruz is an Associate Professor of Music at the University of Michigan, where she has been since 2012. She holds affiliations with the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia and focuses on opera studies, 19th-century music history, music aesthetics, and the intersection of music with technology and film. Prior to U-M, she taught at Tufts University, the New University of Lisbon, and the University of Coimbra in Portugal.

Her research explores topics such as phantasmagoria in opera, the role of opera under totalitarian regimes, and the remediation of grand opera. Notable works include analyses of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman and studies on Portuguese musical icon Amália Rodrigues. Cruz has contributed to scholarly debates on composers like Meyerbeer and Offenbach, emphasizing their cultural impact and historical contexts.

Her publications reflect a thematic focus on music’s relationship with politics, technology, and cultural identity, evident in works like Lisboa, terra dos sorrisos (2020) and Grand Illusion (2020). Cruz has also engaged with media studies through analyses of Disney’s engagement with bel canto traditions and the role of gesture in operatic performance.