KAZAN CO-OP presents Stacey and Liz - 2 Women. 2 True Stories.
Directed by Linda Moore Starring Soprano Stacey Fraser and Actress/Writer Liz Richardson

Act 1 -Stacey Fraser plays Frida Kahlo in "Frida" The Concert Suite by Robert Xavier Rodriguez (30 mins)

Concerto Suite from Frida (1993) is a 30 minute monodrama for soprano and orchestra derived from the full opera Frida by Robert Xavier Rodriguez with libretto by Hilary Blecher and Migdalia Cruz based on the life of the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. During the past twenty years, the art and career of Frida Kahlo have undergone a reevaluation. Whereas most of her life she was relegated to a subsidiary role as the wife of Diego Rivera, today she is recognized as one of the greatest painters of her day. In addition, Kahlo has become something of a cult figure, not only because of the vivid, sometimes horrifying images in her art but also because of the unremitting tragedy of her life.

After an opening monologue, the suite follows Frida’s life in chronological order: as a young tomboy, her accident which left her permanently disabled and doomed to a life of pain; as a young artist; her tempestuous marriage to Diego; her relationships with other men and women; her final death and apotheosis.

The music of Frida is in the Gershwin-Sondheim-Weill tradition of dissolving barriers and extending the common ground between opera and musical theatre. — Robert Xavier Rodriguez