California opera houses co-produce new work on Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera

San Diego Opera and San Francisco Opera have co-produced "El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego," a new opera about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, after fifteen years in development. The music is by Gabriela Lena Frank, the libretto by Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz, direction by Lorena Maza, and musical direction by Lina González-Granados. The story is set on November 2, 1957, Día de los Muertos, where an aging Diego invokes the spirit of Frida, who has been dead for years. The character Catrina, inspired by Rivera's mural "Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central" (1947), is sung by soprano Ana María Martínez and serves as a queen of the underworld. The opera avoids stereotypes and folkloric clichés, instead exploring a musical language of suspensions, transparency, and clarity. Humor runs throughout, including a subplot with Leonardo (countertenor Key'mon W. Murrah) returning to perfect his impersonations of Greta Garbo. The production features sets by Jorge Ballina, costumes by Eloise Kazan, choreography by Ruby Tagle Willingham, and lighting by Victor Zapatero. The opera has been a public success, with critics urging European theaters to take note.