Interest in the life of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo has been on the rise since her death in 1954, so it’s not surprising that in 1991 she became the subject of the opera Frida, by American composer Robert Xavier Rodriguez, who was born in San Antonio on today’s date in 1946.
Like Kahlo’s paintings, Rodriguez’ opera evokes Mexican folk traditions. As a composer, Rodriguez says he strives “to show how it feels to be alive … I’m also impatient with music that doesn’t laugh — or at least smile — as much as it weeps, sulks, or gnashes its teeth.”
Rodriguez also has a wicked sense of humor, and perhaps even a sweet tooth: one of his works is titled Hot Buttered Rumba and another, a setting of texts from a cookbook, is titled Praline and Fudge.
Another Rodriguez opera, Tango, is based on newspaper clippings circa 1914, documenting both the dance’s wild popularity and serious attempts in Boston and Rome to have it banned. In one scene, Cardinal Basilio Pompili, Vicar of Rome, delivers a thunderous sermon denouncing the tango — but getting caught up in the tango spirit, starts dancing it in spite of himself.
Robert Xavier Rodriguez (b. 1946): Frida and Tango Suites; Voices of Change; Robert Xavier Rodriguez, conductor; CRI 824