A Conversation with Gabriela Lena Frank

Gabriela Lena Frank, composer of El último sueño de Frida y Diego and the recipient of the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Music.
Photo: Mariah Tauger

Gabriela Lena Frank is the recipient of the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Music, and she was recently named the 2026 Composer of the Year by Musical America. Frank’s compositions draw on her life experience, reflecting on both her Latin American background and her passionate commitment to the environment. In this conversation with Seattle Opera, Frank talks about the creation of El último sueño de Frida y Diego, her friendship with the opera’s librettist Nilo Cruz, and her admiration for Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, two of Mexico’s most iconic painters.

Mexican Surrealist painter Frida Kahlo and muralist Diego Rivera from San Francisco Opera’s El último sueño de Frida y Diego.
Photo: Cory Weaver, San Francisco Opera

SEATTLE OPERA: What was the spark to create El último sueño de Frida y Diego?

GABRIELA LENA FRANK: The possibility of doing this opera first came up in 2007. My career was just beginning to move, and there was interest from Arizona Opera. They pitched the idea of doing an opera about Frida Kahlo. They didn’t offer any specific guidelines. The film starring Salma Hayek had been around for a few years, which boosted “Frida mania.” I think that sparked their interest.

SEATTLE OPERA: Frida is a larger-than-life personality, can you describe how you and Nilo Cruz, the librettist, focused her story?

GABRIELA LENA FRANK: At our first meeting, Nilo and I talked about our approach to Frida’s life. We knew from the outset that we would not be able to reveal every aspect of her life. At about the same time, I was working on an unrelated piece about El Día de Muertos (The Day of the Dead). When Nilo heard the piece, he said, “That’s the way in.” We decided that the opera would be a fantasy. As artists, Frida’s and Diego’s paintings often depict unrealistic and surreal images. Diego’s murals contain people who did not live at the same time. And most of Frida’s works are strikingly dreamlike.

SEATTLE OPERA: Was this a risky way of telling their stories?

GABRIELA LENA FRANK: Yes. It was a bit risky because we were taking two iconic people and an iconic festival and mixing in a fantastical universe. If we didn’t do their stories justice, there would be the possibility of angering an entire country. But I’m glad we went for it. And honestly, this way was more interesting for us as artists.

Catrina, the keeper of souls, from San Francisco Opera’s El último sueño de Frida y Diego.
Photo: Cory Weaver, San Francisco Opera

SEATTLE OPERA: Were there any major obstacles you and Nilo encountered during the creative process?

GABRIELA LENA FRANK: In the early drafts of the libretto, we tried depicting too many parts of their lives. As examples, Diego’s affair with Cristina, Frida’s younger sister, and Frida’s brief relationship with Leon Trotsky, the Communist exile. Those details dragged down the libretto. [The libretto] was becoming unwieldy. Then at some point, Nilo created the Catrina character, the keeper of the souls. Adding Catrina helped define the opera. I’m glad we didn't do a biopic opera because we would never have come up with this amazing character, who has all the best lines. I think she makes the opera stronger.

Nilo Cruz is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and the librettist of El último sueño de Frida y Diego.
Photo: Mark Richard Tousignant

SEATTLE OPERA: How would you describe your relationship with Nilo Cruz?

GABRIELA LENA FRANK: We text each other all the time—like just about every other day. He’s my best friend. I’m lucky to work with a dear, dear friend. It’s a close personal relationship and we share many artistic values. One beautiful compliment that we’ve received about Frida y Diego is that “it feels like the composer wrote the libretto and the librettist wrote the music.” I think that sentiment illustrates our relationship.

SEATTLE OPERA: Did you know Nilo before this project?

GABRIELA LENA FRANK: No. But this piece was long in the making. In 2007, we met for the first time. The opera didn't premiere until 2022. In between the start and the finish, Nilo and I worked on a bunch of other things—hymns, orchestral songs, and smaller pieces. We wrote a huge requiem for 200 voices and large orchestra together. By the time the opera finally got the go-ahead, we’d known each other for a long time. I think it’d be hard to work with a writer for the first time on a major project like this one. 

SEATTLE OPERA: How would you describe the soundscape you created for Frida y Diego?

GABRIELA LENA FRANK: Because of my mom’s background, I’ve studied and re-imagined music from Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and that part of the world in general. But Frida and Diego are icons of Mexican culture, and they both enjoyed Mexican music. I knew that I wasn't going to be able to bring a same level of familiarity to the Mexican sound world And I wanted to be very humble about that. Therefore, I decided to go more into the dream world and the world of the dead as opposed to the world of the living. 

I chose to incorporate the marimba in almost every single scene. It’s my tribute to one of the quintessential instruments of Mexico and all Central America. The marimba is in the music’s DNA and brings a specific tone color throughout the opera. But it’s not a tourist version.

SEATTLE OPERA: What does it mean to see the opera being produced at various companies, from San Diego Opera to Lyric Opera of Chicago to The Metropolitan Opera to here in Seattle?

GABRIELA LENA FRANK: It’s incredible. Thank God, we spent so many years on this. It really is awful when someone spends so much time and years on one project and it doesn’t do well. And there have been composers who quit after a significant failure.

SEATTLE OPERA: What do you hope audiences take away from El último sueño de Frida y Diego?

GABRIELA LENA FRANK: After being involved in this opera for so many years, I love Frida and Diego so much. I care about them as if they were still alive. That’s the brilliance of Nilo's libretto. Frida and Diego were celebrities in their own lifetimes. They knew they were celebrities. They were giants. But at the end of the performance, I’d hope audiences feel like they know them as a result of their love for one another or by the at-times toxic nature their relationship. Their lives were not confined to just the living world, but transcended it, permeating throughout the world of art. If people leave the performance thinking like that, then I think we’ve done our jobs right.

El último sueño de Frida y Diego is on stage January 16–30, 2027 at McCaw Hall. Learn more and buy tickets at seattleopera.org/frida.