FRIDA

No one was more “All for Art” than the incredible Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo, and her life story takes Steinmetz Hall by storm this January as Opera Orlando presents Robert Xavier Rodriguez’s operatic celebration of the artist in Frida. This poetic and beautiful retelling of Frida’s life reveals a woman of extreme magnetism and originality, an artist whose sensual vibrancy came straight from her experiences: her childhood during the Mexican Revolution; a devastating accident at age eighteen that left her crippled and unable to bear children; her tempestuous marriage to muralist Diego Rivera and intermittent love affairs; her association with the Communist Party; her absorption in Mexican folklore and culture; and her dramatic love of spectacle.

Robert Xavier Rodríguez’s score, written for chamber orchestra, mixes mariachi-style orchestrations, classical opera, and hints of Mexican folk songs for an authentic, alluring musical reflection of Frida all played masterfully from the pit by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Argentinian Maestro Jorge Parodi, who makes a return to the Company. Collaborating with Maestro Parodi in developing this all-new production will be stage director John de los Santos making his Company debut. Opera Orlando welcomes back Mexican-soprano Cecilia Violetta López to sing the iconic title role, and Venezuelan-baritone Bernardo Bermudez makes his Company debut as Frida’s formidable husband Diego Rivera.