Cast:
Frida Khalo............................................Isabel Leonard
Diego Rivera...........................................Carlos Alvarez
Catrina..............................................................Gabriella
Leonardo................................................Nils Wanderer
First Villager...............................................Paul Corona
Second Villager................................Angel Raii Gomez
Third Villager...........................................Scott Conner
First Frida Image...............................Kresley Figueroa
Second Frida Image.......................Mary Beth Nelson
Third Frida Image.............................Cecelia McKinley
Guadalupe Ponti...................Lianne Coble-Dispensa
Young Man........................................Angel Raii Gomez
Crew:
Stage Director & Choreographer.......Debora Colker
Conductor..................................Yannick Nezet-Seguin
Set & Costume Designer...........................Jon Bausor
Costume Designer.........................Wilberth Gonzalez
Lighting Designer...............................Adan Silverman
Chorus-master.....................................Tilman Michael
Composer.....................................Gabriela Lena Frank Librettist..........................................................Nilo Cruz
About The Creators:
Born of a Latina mother and a white father, Gabriela Lena Frank (b. 1972) draws heavily upon her multicultural identity in her work. In May 2026, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music for the ten-movement symphonic piece Picaflor: A Future Myth, based upon Incan mythology, and she has also received a Latin Grammy Award and Guggenheim Fellow and was a member of the world-music collective the Silk Road Ensemble. She has received commissions from some of the nation’s leading institutions, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, where she served as composer-in-residence. El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego is her first opera. Cuban American author and playwright Nilo Cruz (b. 1960) created the opera’s libretto. In addition to multiple plays including the 2003 Pulitzer Prize–winning Anna in the Tropics—he also wrote the libretto for Jimmy López’s Bel Canto and has collaborated with various composers on a number of song cycles, including Frank’s La Centinela y la Paloma (The Keeper and the Dove), created for soprano Dawn Upshaw.
About The Music:
To find the music to depict a story playing out across multiple planes of existence,Frank has created a rich soundscape that ranges from eerily suggestive to exuberantly melodic. Her orchestration draws upon a wide musical palette, juxtaposing traditional instrumentation with elements of mariachi and Mexican folkloric music. The marimba, a significant instrument in Mexican and Central American music, features prominently, often contributing an otherworldly, mysterious color. The voices of the living and the dead are never far away, with a prominent role for the chorus embodying both at various points in the story. The principal characters’ vocal lines are closely based on the intonations of their expressions in the Spanish-language text, with Frida’s phrases often fractured by asymmetrical rhythms that both depict the bodily pain she suffered in her life and the anger she maintains toward Diego in death. Her music noticeably lightens, however, in her encounters with the drag-clad Leonardo, a countertenor frequently paired with a vibraphone. The music for Catrina, the keeper of the dead and the gatekeeper between worlds, is as diverse as her role suggests, scored for lyric soprano but occasionally dipping into low mezzo-soprano tessitura or flying up into coloratura outbursts, especially as a depiction of the character’s mischievous laughter. The arc of the score mirrors the contour of the larger narrative, culminating in a final scene on the precipice of the underworld: Individual voices are subsumed into the overall texture of mournful orchestra punctuated by percussion—a simultaneously unsettling and consoling sonic depiction of all-embracing death
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
King’s Theatre is honoured to be on the ancestral and unceded territory of L’nu, also known as the Mi’kmaq Peoples, who have lived and cared for this land since time immemorial. We honour the Peace and Friendship Treaties and acknowledge that we are all treaty people.
The Fog Machine may be in use tonight. It is a non-toxic water-based mist
Phones/Cameras:
We ask that you turn ringers off and refrain from taking photos or videos during shows.
For the comfort of our patrons, King’s Theatre strives to be Scent-Free environment.
Please refrain from wearing scented products to events.
Please return the Reusable Cups to concession! They are available for purchase if you would like to take one home.
COMING SOON
THURSDAY JULY 2 7:00 PM
FRIDAY JULY 3
7:00 PM
SATURDAY JULY 4
7:30 PM
SUNDAY JULY 5
6:00 PM
SATURDAY JULY 11
7:00 PM
WEDNESDAY JULY 22 7:00 PM
SATURDAY JULY 25 7:30 PM
WEDNESDAY JULY 29
7:00 PM
SATURDAY AUGUST 1
7:30 PM
FILMPASS FILMPASS
KING’STHEATRE
King's Theatre was built in 1921 by Arthur M. King, and has been at the heart of Annapolis Royal’s cultural community for over 100 years. In recent years we have completed more than $2 million in facility upgrades that includes new lighting, cinema projection, video capture, and sound -- you can expect crystal clear audio for both live shows and movies.
King’s Theatre’s mandate is to be a catalyst for creativity, social connection, learning, and excellence. Presenting live performances yearround, we offer all genres of music, theatre, contemporary dance, comedy, and spoken word. On screen there’s every kind of cinema, from blockbusters and indies to stage-toscreens. We offer workshops and opportunities for local residents to experience performing on stage, with a special emphasis on youth. With more than 200 events a year, King’s Theatre is one of the busiest small theatres in Canada.
Tue-Fri: 10am-3pm
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Tracy Summerville, Chair
Alison Warwick, Vice Chair
Kerrie Picken, Treasurer
Margo Tait, Secretary
Betsy Akin
Thea Boyanowsky
Bob Buchanan
Maggie Cotreau
Caroline Hancock
Phil Hartling
Lesley MacDonald
Michael Westcott
STAFF
Janet Larkman, Executive Director
Tracey Harnish, Bookkeeper
Devin Fraser, Technical Director
Jessica Scott, Box Office & Operations Manager
Gregory Muszkie, House Manager
Jamie Alcorn, Sound Technican
Cali Currie-Timmons, Box Office and House Support
Philip Denuke, Historian
Joseph Walsh, Student Staff
Jax Bailey, Student Staff
Wegratefullyacknowledgethe supportofourgovernmentsponsors.
Nousreconnaissonsavecgratitude l’appuidenospartenaires gouvernementaux.
Thank You to Our Generous
BENEFACTOR
Jan & Cam Albright
Brady & Miriam Code
Here’sthelistofdonorsfromthelast12months, updatedonApril28,2026
AMBASSADOR
Annapolis Board of Trade
Sanford & Associates
Hannilore & James Fisher
Phil & Kathy Hartling
Sheryl & Don Johnston
Eileen Kelleher
Ellie Macklin-Ackerman
Anne Pollett & Morris Walker
Jane & Brian Power-Grimm
Barbara Smith
Bill & Nancy Smith
Andrew & Kim Wilson
CONTRIBUTOR
Betsy Akin
Wilfred Allan
Anonymous x 3
Phillip Bailey
John Bottomley in memoriam
Thea Boyanowsky
Harold & Diane Clapp
Lavena Crocker
Drew Graham-Smith in memoriam
Karen Gregor
Philip Hanshaw
Rich Cianflone & Gregory Scharfen
Scott Digweed & Maurya Braun
Peter & Valerie Hall
Caroline Hancock
Suzan Hebditch
Tom Lynch
Patricia Jean McKeown in memoriam
Matt & Karine Moody
Sharon & Barry Moody
Jane & Peter Nicholson
Donald Sutherland
Helen Harper
Dean & Pam Holt
Kumpula Family
Garth Laidlaw
Carol Lowe
Phil Kent/Heather McCormick
Tom & Huguette May
Tammy Nelson
Teresa Rooney
Lillian Stewart & John Kinsella
Tracy Summerville & Keith Egger
Margo Tait
SUPPORTER
Tyson Acker
Carmenchita Antonio
Bobbie Archer
Anonymous x 5
Elsa Beattie
Sam Boer
Jane Borecky
John Bottomley in memoriam
Gary Bradley
David Britton
Joanne Waugh & John Carriere
Kate Newman
Jeannine Comeau
Anne Crossman
Port Royal Animal Hospital
Penelope Curran & Robert Buchanan
Naomi & Ian Davidson
Sheila Duggan & Ev Lavender
Madelene Embree
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Jean Johnston
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Deb Kuzyk
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Ted Leighton
Lesley MacDonald
Kirsten & Charles MacLean
Ronald Marshall
Mireille Messier & Ian Partridge
Alex Morrison
Nancy Murdock & Barry Thompson
Kevin & Marsha Nettle
Kathryn Nicholson
Susie & Eric Norris
Julie Palmer
Carol Parsons
Robin Louise Pile
John & Beth Pineo
Jim Bent in memoriam
Rhonda Power
Carolyn Robertson
Peter Rodgers
Debra Ryan
Marcia Sanford
AC Silver
Chad Simmons
Anona Siwik
Carol & Wayne St-Amour
Brian Sturney
Honour Tett
Debora Thomas-Martin
Jim Thurber
Troy Wallace
Alison Warwick
Micheal Westcott
Ian & Bev Weston
Rebekah & Andrew Wetmore
FRIEND
Deanna Amero
Cheryl Anderson
Anonymous x 38
Kirk & Mary Ann Anderson
Iris & Brian Andrews
Sam Anson
Belinda Atwell
David Baker
Poppy Balser
Cindy Banks
Richard Berens
Blackwoods Bread & Roses Inn
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BFC Inc.
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Mary deCuypere
Cathy Delaney
Jacques Doucet
Jennifer Eaton
Brenda & Neal Forbes
Kerry Foster
Margie Friedman
Gamberg Family
Kim Grimard
Flora Hall In Memoriam
Brant Hamilton Brown
Jane Hatcher
Maidpro of Annapolis Valley
Hickey Family
Lesley Hopkins
Maureen Horne-Paul
Stu & Lee Jamieson
Krista Kennedy
Sharon Irving-Kennedy
Odella Klassen
Tamara Kreutz
Lorraine Landry
Susan Langpap
Miles Leahy
Carol Lockyer in memoriam
Larry & Elixabeth Lohnes
Linda Low
Deborah Lucki
Barry Lynds
Calvin & Sheryl MacDonald
Natalya & Len MacNeil
Peter & Cathy Malon
Ann McCormack
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Bulent Mutus
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Susan Tileston
William Underwood
Joey Vaughan
Kellen Voyer & Emma WindsorLiscombe
Lynn Walden
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Katherine Williams
Carol Woodland
Garth Wyman
Christine & Glen Young
