Some artists consistently remain in the spotlight, not only for their creative output but also for their life stories and distinctive artistic approaches and personal style. Frida Kahlo is one of them. Frida fans may be happy to know that both an opera and a ballet are currently paying homage to her legacy.
Scheduled for performances in November and December by the LA Opera in Los Angeles, "El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego" boasts music composed by Grammy Award-winning composer Gabriela Lena Frank and a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz.
The narrative unfolds on November 2, 1957, the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), blending elements of fantasy, art, and dance.
The story revolves around the passionate love affair between Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. As the story commences, villagers assemble in a cemetery to honor their departed loved ones, invoking their memories and names. According to Mexican tradition, on this day, the deceased return to visit their beloved ones.
Three years have passed since Frida (portrayed by Daniela Mack) departed from this world, and now an ailing Diego (played by Alfredo Daza) appears among the villagers. Diego reaches out to Frida, singing an aria titled "Come Back to Me," revealing all his fears and solitude. Yet, Frida is hesitant to return to the world that brought her immense pain, preferring the sanctuary of darkness and silence of the underworld.
However, her perspective changes when she encounters another departed soul, the young actor Leonardo (Key'mon Murrah). Leonardo appears in the guise of a Greta Garbo impersonator, with a desire to return to Earth to honor a devoted fan of the real Garbo. Leonardo inspires Frida to look back at the art (and the man) she once loved and at returning to paint a new Frida, one free from the anguish that plagued her throughout her life.
Unfortunately, things don't proceed as expected, and Frida finds herself grappling with pain once more. It is at this juncture that a deus ex machina enters the scene, bringing catharsis to the tumultuous love-hate saga between Frida and Diego. Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec god of death and ruler of Mictlán, the underworld, ensures their eternal togetherness.
The production features costumes by Eloise Kazan, an accomplished production and costume designer known for her work in various fields, including theater, opera, dance, interior architecture, and film. The show features a few captivating fashion moments, from the caravan of the Departed Souls entering with bundles of fabric and clothing as they prepare for their return, to Leonardo's transformation of Frida, adorning her in one of her iconic outfits, complete with ribbons and flowers. Additionally, the costume worn by Catrina (Ana María Martínez), the Keeper of the Dead, is striking and offers inspirations for Halloween attires (keep it in mind for next year, maybe), integrating skeletal elements and bones.
The performance is a symphony of shifting colors and moods, with yellow gold and orange hues dominating the crowd scenes in the cemetery and the Underworld. At times, more minimalist settings allow the audience to focus on individual characters like the ingenious use of empty frames that recreate portraits of the characters, highlighting various phases of their lives.
If ballet is more to your liking, then mark your calendar for February next year to experience "Frida," by Colombian-Flemish choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa at the Dutch National Ballet.
Lopez Ochoa's journey with Frida Kahlo's legacy began in 2016 when, inspired by Julie Taymor's film "Frida," she created the choreography for "Broken Wings" for the English National Ballet.
Upon the request of Dutch National Ballet director Ted Brandsen, Lopez Ochoa expanded this short ballet into a full-length production in 2020, featuring an original score by Peter Salem. Notably, Lopez Ochoa became the first female choreographer in over three decades to create a full-length ballet for the Dutch National Ballet.
Pain serves as the driving force behind both the narrative and the ballet's performance. Frida Kahlo's life was marked by adversity, beginning with polio at the age of six; at eighteen a devastating bus accident left her with irreversible damage to her pelvis and spine. Lopez Ochoa derived inspiration from Frida's physical immobility and pain, transforming it into an energetic and visually vibrant ballet.
The ballet, with costumes and sets designed by Dieuweke van Reij, does not adopt a biographical approach, instead, it comprises a sequence of scenes staged within and around black boxes, symbolizing Frida's bedridden days. Together with the black cubes, six skeletons evolve into recurring motifs, while Frida (Maia Makhateli) and Diego (James Stout) stand as the central figures.
Among the other characters there are Frida's alter egos, drawn from her paintings. These alter egos serve to unveil her innermost desires and dreams. Ten male dancers representing ten different Fridas spin like swirling dervishes and recombine Frida's femininity with a strength that her body never had.
As the ballet is deeply rooted in Frida Kahlo's heritage, it features references to Mexicanismo and to the two-dimensionality that characterized some of her paintings. This influence is evident in the choreography of the "10 Male Fridas," that features angular and frontal movements.
"Frida is such a powerful woman," choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa aptly notes in the program. "She had a difficult life, with a lot of pain. But rather than wasting away, she used her situation as a source of inspiration for her art. At the same time, painting was Frida's way of taking her mind off the pain for a while."
While this performance may not prove a favorite one for fans of the classical ballet tradition and while at times it seems to replicate the rhythm and pace of the film that inspired it, it remains an accessible ballet for a wide audience.
Yet, to avoid reducing Frida to her iconic unibrow, braided hairstyle and floral headpiece, or to her physical pain, try and read more about Frida Kahlo's life before going to see any performance about her.
A little background on her life and work will allow you to grasp better the complexity of her legacy, enhance the experience of seeing an opera or a ballet about her and, well, help you spotting weak moments that may have been improved in these performances.
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