Opera League Seminar
Ainadamar with Denise Blasor and Jeremy Frank
Sunday, April 6, 2025
The seminar begins at noon. Light refreshments will be provided during the break.
Wilshire Ebell (Sun Room), 743 South Lucerne,Los Angeles, 90005
Ainadamar, an opera by Grammy-winning composer Osvaldo Golijov, draws inspiration from the life and death of Federico García Lorca, exploring his impact through flamenco-inspired music set during the Spanish Civil War. In a career that spanned only 19 years, Lorca inspired many and continues to influence artists globally with his plays, music, and art that portrayed the strength and struggles of women while denouncing social injustice. Known for a pen as dangerous as any pistol, Lorca was viewed as a threat by the Franco regime in Spain.
Join the Opera League as Denise Blasor, the director/adapter of the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts' new production 'Lorca y las mujeres' (Lorca and the Women), explores how Lorca's unique sensitivity and love for truth gave voice to emotions and realities often silenced. Additionally, LA Opera's Chorus Director Jeremy Frank will discuss the musical elements of Ainadamar that bring Lorca’s legacy to life.
About Denise Blasor
Denise Blasor is an actress, director, voice talent, multimedia artist/designer, translator, and writer. She is currently a professor at USC, directing "Stuff Happens" by David Hare and her original adaptation of "Lorca y las Mujeres." Her film/TV credits include "A Place Among the Dead," directed by Juliet Landau; "Noriega: God's Favorite," co-starring Bob Hoskins and directed by Roger Spottiswoode; and "Death in Granada," directed by Marcos Zurinaga alongside Andy Garcia & Esai Morales, where she portrays the Spanish actress Margarita Xirgu.
Blasor played Doña Rosa in "Snowfall" and Leonora Garcia in Gabriela Ortega's "Huella," which debuted at Tribeca. She is the voice of Ceci in the Oscar-winning film "Coco" and Adelie Chica in George Miller's Oscar-winning "Happy Feet."
Her extensive stage credits include the "Best Play Revival LA Times/KCRW" for Irene Fornes' "Fefu and Her Friends" (Odyssey Theatre), "Cristo Vive" (Orpheum Theatre), "Wild in Wichita" (LATC), "Bodas de Sangre" (Bilingual Foundation of the Arts), "Casa de Bernarda Alba" (Barnsdall Gallery Theater), and "La Vida Es Sueño" (BFA).
Formerly the Associate Artistic Director of the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts, she is now a Director in residence. Her bilingual podcasts: "12 Children Stories," "Tonantzín Guadalupe," "The Nutcracker," "Cristo Vive," and "A Christmas Story" won Best Latin Podcast.
About Jeremy Frank
Acclaimed by Opera News for his precise and disciplined direction and his superbly trained chorus, Jeremy Frank was named Chorus Director at LA Opera in 2022. He is also a member of the faculty in the Department of Vocal Arts and Opera at the University of Southern California.
Since joining LA Opera in 2007 as Assistant Conductor, he served as Associate Chorus Director from 2013 to 2022 and has worked closely with the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program. He has collaborated with major opera houses and festivals throughout the United States, including Seattle Opera, Utah Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, the Castleton Festival, and the Ojai Festival.
He has assisted in the preparation of operas and vocal chamber music at the LA Philharmonic, working with conductors Gustavo Dudamel, Esa Pekka Salonen, Phillipe Jordan, Bernard Labadie, Grant Gershon, Barbara Hannigan, and Pablo Heras-Casado.
