
Frida Kahlo
Opens June 13, 2023
NEW SAN FRANCISCO OPERA CO-COMMISSION
By Gabriela Lena Frank and Nilo Cruz
Learn more about how to support this production.
Dates
June 13–30, 2023
Composer
Gabriela Lena Frank
Price
Starting at $31
Run Time
Approximately 2 hours 17 minutes including one intermission
Language
Sung in Spanish with English and Spanish supertitles
Libretto
Nilo Cruz
It's been three years since she passed. Now on the Day of the Dead in 1957, a lonely, ailing Diego Rivera makes a final wish: to see his wife Frida Kahlo once more. And the underworld heeds his call.
Journey through this bold world of desire and release in a pioneering new opera by Bay Area composer Gabriela Lena Frank and the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz.
Best Availability
June 22
June 30
TUE, JUN 13, 2023
7:30 PM
SAT, JUN 17, 2023
7:30 PM
THU, JUN 22, 2023
7:30 PM
SUN, JUN 25, 2023
2:00 PM
FRI, JUN 30, 2023
7:30 PM
"[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
"[Daniela Mack] sang with an irresistible combination of tonal luster and bravado, bringing energy and charm to her coloratura passages and delicate wit to her characterization."
-San Francisco Chronicle
It’s 1957. Three years have passed since the Diego Rivera lost his wife, artist Frida Kahlo. But on the Day of the Dead, he’ll beg her to return—and the underworld will grant his wish.
* San Francisco Opera Debut
Performances
June 13, 17, 22, 25, 30, 2023
New San Francisco Opera co-commission with San Diego Opera, Fort Worth Opera, DePauw University, School of Music, and with support from The University of Texas at Austin College of Fine Arts
Get a sense of Gabriela Lena Frank and Nilo Cruz's work with this digital short, “The Five Moons of Lorca," produced by LA Opera, based on the life of Spanish playwright Federico García Lorca.
Dive deeper by exploring articles before or after the opera!
This production is made possible, in part, by Norby Anderson; Bob Ellis; John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn; Koret Foundation; Denise Littlefield Sobel; and Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem.
Celebrate the Centennial with your support!