FRIDA More of the MainStage

Opera Orlando continues its 2023-24 All for Art season On the MainStage with a celebration of Mexican art and culture. Robert Xavier Rodriguez’s opera Frida, about the trailblazing surrealist painter Frida Kahlo, takes the stage on January 26 at 7:30 p.m. and January 28 at 2 p.m. in Steinmetz Hall at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are on sale now, but Opera fans can also get to know more about Frida as a historical figure, the amazing cast and creative team developing the opera, and the production in general through a variety of lead-up events hosted by the Company.

 

“We have really been celebrating Frida all season with México Canta! at the Orlando Museum of Art this past September in partnership with Casa de México, and the touring production of Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World in November, that reached more than 1,000 elementary school students in Osceola County,” shared general director Gabriel Preisser. “As we ring in the New Year, we are thrilled to have welcomed the cast and creative team of the opera Frida and are looking forward to connecting them to our Central Florida community through our More of the MainStage series of events and activities.”

 

FRIDA MORE OF THE MAINSTAGE EVENTS:

 

MASTERCLASS WITH THE MAESTRO

Saturday | January 13 at 6:30 p.m.

Broadway United Methodist Church

 

FREE EVENT  |  RSVP required

 

Argentinian conductor Jorge Parodi returns to Orlando to conduct Frida, and this coming Saturday he will host a masterclass to discuss the opera, while also working one-on-one with members of the Studio Artists program who are also featured in the upcoming production.

 

 

SHOP TOUR

Tuesday | January 16 at 10:30 a.m.

Opera Orlando Scene Shop  |  4560 LB McLeod Road

 

FREE EVENT  |  RSVP required

 

Get an exclusive sneak peek into Frida as it comes to life in the Opera’s workshops. Be the first to see the original sets and costumes for this all-new production.

 

 

OPERAINSIGHTS : screening of Julie Taymor’s acclaimed movie Frida

Thursday | January 18 at 12 p.m.

Enzian Theater

 

$75 per person | RSVP required

(discount for Opera Orlando Ambassadors)

 

Enjoy lunch and a movie as the Opera screen’s the Julie Taymor movie Frida, starring Selma Hayek. Also get some exclusive insight into Opera Orlando’s upcoming production from conductor Jorge Parodi and stage director and choreographer John de los Santos.

 

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OPERA ON THE MAINSTAGE

 

Frida |  music by Robert Xavier Rodríguez with book by Hilary Blecher & 

lyrics and monologues by Migdalia Cruz

sung in English and some Spanish with English and Spanish supertitles * 

 

Friday  |  January 26, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday  |  January 28, 2024 at 2 p.m.

 

Full of life, full of death, full of wonder, full of pain: Frida is an operatic ride of the most satisfying sort—a sweeping tale of a woman who fulfills her most passionate desire and remains true to herself. Rodríguez’s score, written for chamber orchestra, mixes mariachi-stylings, 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. 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.

 

Age advisory: PG-13 (this production contains overt sexual content and strong language)

 

Estimated run time is two hours and twenty minutes with one intermission. A pre-show talk with the conductor and stage director, free for all ticket holders, will be held on stage fifty minutes prior to each performance.

 

* translations projected above the stage for the audience to follow along with the action

 

Opera Orlando is also providing a shuttle service from its offices to Dr. Phillips Center for both performances of Frida. Full details HERE. 

 

Individual tickets for Frida start at just $29 and are on sale through the Dr. Phillips Center’s Bill & Mary Darden Box Office (445 S. Magnolia Avenue, Orlando), online at www.DrPhillipsCenter.org, or by calling (407) 839-0119, ext. 0. 

 

See YOU at the Opera!

 

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About Opera Orlando:     Celebrating, expanding, and sharing the world’s greatest art form,  the 2023-24 season marks Opera Orlando’s eighth season producing high-quality operatic entertainment and educational programs that engage Central Florida audiences.

 

Stay up to date with Opera Orlando’s season via their website at www.OperaOrlando.org, and follow and like the Opera’s Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter accounts to share in all the Company has planned for 2023-24.