Get to know: Gabriela Lena Frank & Nilo Cruz's "El último sueño de Frida y Diego"

Step into a dream where true love defies death in Gabriela Lena Frank and Nilo Cruz’s El último sueño de Frida y Diego, opening March 21 at Lyric Opera of Chicago. This surrealist production draws audiences into the complex relationship between Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera — two of Mexico’s most important painters — whose fiery passion lives on, years after Frida’s death.

This Spanish-language opera unfolds on Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in 1957, three years after the death of Frida Kahlo. Now aging and burdened by grief, Diego longs for one final moment with Frida, the love of his life. In Mictlán, the Aztec underworld, Frida has finally found peace, free from the physical pain, sickness, and heartbreak that shaped her earthly existence. However, La Catrina, Keeper of the Dead, insists she must accompany Diego as he nears the end of his life. Leonardo, the spirit of a young actor, urges Frida to return to the land of the living — not just for Diego, but for herself, her art, and the chance to paint once more unburdened by pain. Frida reluctantly agrees to return for 24 hours, bound by one rule: She cannot touch the living. What follows is a poignant reunion between two artists bound by a connection that transcends their time together.

Their reunion takes shape in magical realism as they wander through Alameda Park and return to Frida’s beloved Casa Azul. Frida begins to rediscover the beauty and joy of the physical world. Meanwhile, Diego pleads for forgiveness and the closeness of the love they once shared. As Frida’s single day amongst the living draws to a close, she breaks the one rule of her return and touches Diego, unleashing the memories of pain and trauma she had left behind in death. Yet even in pain once more, she finds clarity: art is the only way to outlive death.

With a score by American pianist and composer Gabriela Lena Frank and a libretto by Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz, El último sueño de Frida y Diego blends shimmering moments of magic with the emotional weight of traditional operatic drama. The radiant mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack stars as Frida Kahlo, returning to Lyric following her appearance in the 2024/25 production of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s The Listeners. She is joined by baritone Alfredo Daza, making his Lyric debut as Diego Rivera. Soprano Ana María Martínez, last seen at Lyric in the 2021/22 production of Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas, returns to the mainstage as La Catrina. Tenor Key'mon W. Murrah also makes his Lyric debut as Leonardo. In another stunning pair of Lyric debuts, the production is helmed by two Mexican-born artists, director Lorena Maza and conductor Roberto Kalb.

Beyond the immortal romance, El último sueño de Frida y Diego is an endearing illustration of the Mexican culture and spirituality that was foundational to these two artists. Rooted by the candlelit ofrendas offered on Día de los Muertos, this production doesn’t simply portray two artists’ fantastical reunion, but honors the rituals of remembrance that continue to connect the living with those who have passed. 

After an electrifying world premiere, El último sueño de Frida y Diego arrives in Chicago in a production that feels like stepping into one of Frida’s own painted fantasies. Lyric Opera of Chicago’s mainstage will transform into a portal between worlds, where love, loss, and artistry blur together in an operatic experience as emotionally rich as the lives that inspired it.