YOU’LL HAVE SUEÑOS, ALL RIGHT
If you happen upon L.A.’s Music Center on a night when El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego has a scheduled performance, be sure to check out the beautiful glowing ofrenda designed by artist Aldo Cruz just to the right of the Dorothy Chandler entrance. I met a patron who showed me the two pictures of his mother and explained to me that the opera house will assemble and disassemble the altar piece for every performance. This is a true dedication to the cultural tradition that is Día de los Muertos.
Daniela Mack as Frida Kahlo (center)
Inside, the pre-show is a royal blue screen with the title of the opera in a hand-written script surrounded by a gold frame. As the opera begins, Diego Rivera stands at the top of gigantic tiered ofrenda (sets by Jorge Ballina) at a portrait of his departed wife Frida Kahlo. In the afterlife, Catrina — the keeper of the souls — explains to Frida that Diego needs his beloved wife as his end-of-life approaches. After a lengthy bout of indecision, and an encounter with a delightful Greta Garbo impersonating cross-dressing actor named Leonardo, Frida leaves the underworld to guide Diego back to meet his fate. Kahlo does not initially want to leave the world of the dead, as Rivera tormented her in life. She agrees to go back for the opportunity — not for him but to re-paint. This first act was visually stunning in its orange flowers, flickering candles, and its amazing, colorful costumes, splendidly researched and executed by Eloise Kazan. However, the lifeless staging of director Lorena Maza, combined with a stagnant libretto, made for a slow going.
Daniela Mack as Frida Kahlo and Alfredo Daza as Diego Rivera
Fortunately, the committed singers who embody and animate the otherworldly characters are impressive. Mezzo-Soprano Daniela Mack brought a regal strength to Frida. Alfredo Daza as Diego captured the artist’s sense of loss while still managing to sparkle throughout. As Catrina, Soprano Ana María Martínez injected an entertaining playfulness into her underworld proprietress. Counter Tenor Key’mon W. Murrah owned the most fun and free moments in the opera. His self-assuredness and fluidness of movement made him a favorite character. Tenor Anthony León sang brightly and beautifully in one of the piece’s only traditional vocal moments.
Alfredo Daza (right) with Anthony León, Ryan Wolfe and Alan Williams as Three Villagers
In an abstract approach, Gabriela Lena Frank, writing her first opera, and Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer for Anna in the Tropics) decided to forego a biographical approach with a libretto and soundscape steeped in magical realism and pre-Columbian Mexican folklore — and zero drama. The result is a visually beautiful but static pageant lacking in melody and magic. Underneath the atonal vocal lines are some fine orchestrations (although, oddly, with no brass to commemorate mariachi). Columbian conductor Lina González-Granados — currently LA Opera’s Resident Conductor — urged the LA Opera Orchestra with a full-bodied flourish.
Abi Levis, Sarah Saturnino and Madeleine Lyon as Three Images of Frida
The Last Dream of Frida and Diego is a part of the trend we are seeing in opera exploring cultures and subjects heretofore not seen. This is an important movement; However, the traditional ear-pleasing legato lines and melodies and the construct of arias and duets (both in libretto and composition), seems to be getting lost in the transition. Does this influence of modern sounds, be it folklore, jazz, or otherwise, necessitate the loss of operatic tradition? If so, the role of the librettist is a much more challenging one to make sure the story is dramatically viable. What is further needed is a strong and knowledgeable director/producer who can help shape these new operas — think Franco Zeffirelli’s great productions of the previous tried-and-true classics by Puccini, Verdi, and Bizet, and the groundbreaking original musical theater productions by Harold Prince. It is strong visionaries such as these two who are needed at this time to mold new operas into great works that are truly worthy of being produced.
Ana María Martínez as Catrina
photos by Cory Weaver / LA Opera
Key'mon W. Murrah as Leonardo
El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego
LA Opera
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 North Grand Ave.
ends on December 9, 2023
for tickets, call 213. 972.8001 or visit LA Opera
