Before I could read, I found Frida in the pages of an art book in my mother's home library, the only woman in a multi-volume set of "great artists." My mother pointed out how Frida was small, brown, and creative like us; moreover, of thick brow, disabled and a daughter of both Europe and Latin America like me. Images in her paintings danced in my dreams for years, both the joyful and the haunting, and as I matured and understood more of Frida's very human biography, she took on a heroic status for me. - Gabriela Lena Frank
San Francisco Opera presents the Bay Area premiere of Gabriela Lena Frank and Nilo's Cruz's El último sueño de Frida y Diego on June 13, 2023, with new cast members Daniela Mack in the role of Frida Kahlo, Yaritza Véliz as Catrina, and Jake Ingbar as Leonardo along with Alfredo Daza returning in the role of Diego. A livestream of this production will be available on June 22, at 10:30PM EST. A replay of this performance will be available for 48 hours beginning June 23 at 1PM. The production is co-produced with San Diego Opera, who presented the world premiere in October 2022 and is directed by Lorena Maza, with Roberto Kalb on the podium.
Co-commissioned by San Francisco Opera, San Diego Opera, Fort Worth Opera and DePauw University, El último sueño de Frida y Diego (The Last Dream of Frida and Diego) is Gabriela Lena Frank’s long-awaited first opera, set to an original Spanish-language libretto by her longtime collaborator and Pulitzer-winning playwright Nilo Cruz. Currently serving as Composer-in-Residence with the storied Philadelphia Orchestra and included in the Washington Post's list of the most significant women composers in history (August, 2017), identity has always been at the center of composer/pianist Gabriela Lena Frank's music.
[Gabriela Lena Frank] has a highly refined ear, which results in string writing that is exceptionally smooth and idiomatic yet that in its imitation of panpipes and other indigenous instruments bursts with color and fresh individuality. - Los Angeles Times
[Nilo] Cruz’s words, however, are poetic and poignant, reminiscent of Alice Goodman’s librettos for the John Adams operas 'Nixon in China' and 'The Death of Klinghoffer,' which occupy a dreamy realm between historical fact and ethereal enigma. - New York Times
San Francisco Opera’s website features an interview with Frank in which you can learn more about the inspirations behind the opera and Frank’s personal connection to Frida as a mestiza and creative artist. For tickets and more information, see the SFO website.
For more information, please contact your local Wise Music Promotion Team.
