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remarks by Detroit City Council Member Raquel Castaneda-López, followed by a performance by Colombian soprano Catalina Cuervo of songs from the Michigan Opera Theatre’s (MOT) Frida, opening next March in conjunction with the DIA’s blockbuster exhibition Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit. Afterwards, viewers will be invited to explore the exhibit. The event is open to the public and free with museum admission.
The DIA will exhibit 28 ofrendas created by local artists from Friday, Oct. 24, to Sunday, Nov. 2. An ofrenda (offering) is an essential part of the traditional Mexican Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) holiday, a day to remember and honor the memory of deceased loved ones. Ofrendas consist of a collection of objects meaningful to the deceased and placed on altars as a welcome to those being remembered or honored.
Participating artists will discuss their ofrendas in a public talk on Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. at the museum. Also on Nov. 2, the DIA will be providing free continuous bus transportation from Clark Park in southwest Detroit to the museum beginning at 1:30 p.m. Clark Park will host its own display of ofrendas created by community members.
Cuervo, who will debut in Detroit as Frida Kahlo, the title role in Frida, will perform a selection of three songs from the opera and give visitors an enticing preview of what’s to come in March. Cuervo has performed at numerous opera companies and festivals around the world, including the Florida Grand Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Syracuse Opera, Chicago Dance Festival and in her native city Medellin, Colombia. She has performed the role of Maria in Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires more than any opera singer in the world.
Frida focuses on the turbulent life of Frida Kahlo and celebrates Kahlo’s vivacious spirit, talent, sexuality and fragility in scenes filled with wide-ranging music as complex and colorful as Kahlo’s artwork. It will open at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts, March 7 and 8, 2015, followed by performances at the Berman Center for the Performing Arts, March 21 and 22, 2015 and at the DIA’s Detroit Film Theatre, March 28, 2015.
The opera is one of a series of regional events scheduled to complement the DIA’s special exhibition Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit, March 12 to July 12, 2015. The exhibition will explore the tumultuous and highly productive year that Mexican artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo spent in Detroit, a pivotal turning point in each artist's career. The exhibition also looks at the evolution of each artist’s career in relation to one another, a subject that has never been fully studied in an exhibition or catalogue.
On the Internet: Visit dia.org for more information about the DIA’s ofrenda exhibit and Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit. For more information about Frida, visit michiganopera.org.
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