{"id":403792,"date":"2026-09-18T18:12:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T18:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/403792\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T18:12:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T18:12:22","slug":"opera-atelier-spotlights-womens-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/403792\/","title":{"rendered":"Opera Atelier Spotlights Women\u2019s Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written By\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCarolina del Busto
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
September 17, 2026 at 11:17 PM\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

The cast of \u201cJuana In\u00e9s\u201d in a previous production at the Miracle Theatre with Jorge Arcila, far left, Karel Morell, left,
Silvia Ludue\u0148a, center, and Patricia Arcad\u00ed, far right. The Opera Atelier will present a double bill of \u201cJuana In\u00e9s\u201d and \u201cFrau Haydn in Trouble\u201d on Thursday, Sept. 24 in Miami Beach and Saturday, Sept. 26 in Coral Gables. (Photo by Javier Fontanella)<\/p>\n

Composer and lyricist Daniel Daroca of The Opera Atelier company has been writing fiction and opera librettos for years, he said, and has been composing operas since 2019. His two most recent works, \u201cJuana In\u00e9s\u201d and \u201cFrau Haydn in Trouble,\u201d are being presented as a double feature on Thursday, Sept. 24 in Miami Beach and Saturday, Sept. 26 in Coral Gables.<\/p>\n

Daroca, who wrote the libretto for \u201cJuana In\u00e9s\u201d and both the music and lyrics for \u201cFrau Haydn in Trouble,\u201d said he was inspired to shine a light on female stories \u2014 especially notable women in history who might have been overlooked and whose stories deserve recognition. \u201cMy mother was an artist who put her artistry on the back burner, so I\u2019m very sensitive to the value of women and what they went through,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The two operas feature strong female leads and are inspired by the real lives of their protagonists.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Patricia Arcad\u00ed, left, and Silvia Ludue\u0148a share a scene in the opera \u201cJuana In\u00e9s.\u201d
(Photo by Javier Fontanella)<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the case of \u2018Juana In\u00e9s,\u2019 I wanted to bring her story to life because despite her great intelligence, she was caught up in the rivalry between two bishops and she was outdone by that,\u201d Daroca said.<\/p>\n

Sor Juana In\u00e9s de la Cruz was a Mexican nun and writer. She was self-taught and chose a life of celibacy in a covent to dedicate her life to education. \u201cThe spirit of the opera is kind of dark, because for me, it\u2019s like she\u2019s dreaming of all these things that happen on stage,\u201d Daroca explained. \u201cI imagine that at the end of her life, she contemplated a lot of things and had these visions. It\u2019s very respectful and the words reflect that serious side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daroca added that some of the lyrics in \u201cJuana In\u00e9s\u201d come directly from texts written by Sor Juana herself or from letters written between her and the Bishop of Puebla.<\/p>\n

\u201cJuana In\u00e9s,\u201d which is performed in Spanish, premiered in 2025 and actress and singer Silvia Ludue\u0148a has portrayed the feminist nun three times over the last year. She\u2019s set to reprise her role once again and talked about how she relates to Sor Juana as both a woman and an artist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very surprised to learn that a lot of Latinos don\u2019t know the story of Juana Ines de la Cruz,\u201d Ludue\u0148a said. \u201cI\u2019ve known her poems since I was a kid, and for me, she\u2019s someone that everyone should know her story.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Sor Juana\u2019s story is inspirational in its own right \u2014 a self-taught nun poet \u2014 Ludue\u0148a found it ironic that Sor Juana found the freedom she sought in a convent, a place known for rules and restrictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel that as an opera, \u2018Juana In\u00e9s\u2019 is very important for today\u2019s times,\u201d Ludue\u0148a said. \u201cWe\u2019re living in a society where everything is immediate, but this opera forces you to slow down and stop. To stop and admire the music and listen to the story and reflect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Silvia Ludue\u0148a plays the Empress in a production of \u201cFrau Haydn in Trouble.\u201d (Photo by Xiomara Ponce)<\/p>\n

As a contrast to the heaviness in \u201cJuana In\u00e9s,\u201d Daroca programmed a more comedic opera for the second half of the night. \u201cFrau Haydn in Trouble\u201d is inspired by the real-life wife of Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn, Maria Anna Theresia Keller, and performed in German, Spanish, and English.<\/p>\n

\u201cJuana is an absolutely towering figure,\u201d Daroca said. \u201cWe can\u2019t even begin to comprehend the breadth of her intellect. She left a huge collection of her literary work behind\u2026 In contrast, Frau Haydn couldn\u2019t do that, she was the daughter of a wigmaker and had to get married to survive. She rebelled in the small ways she could, but her life was very domestic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrau Haydn in Trouble\u201d takes more creative liberties with its storytelling. Daroca admitted that much of \u00a0it is made up, but the fact that Frau Haydn used her husband\u2019s manuscripts as curlers in her hair is historically accurate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always say that perhaps Haydn\u2019s best compositions were lost from Haydn\u2019s hairdos,\u201d Daroca quipped.<\/p>\n

The real-life Frau Haydn was also known as a sharp-tongued woman, a characteristic that is portrayed in the one-act opera.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Patricia Arcad\u00ed as Frau Haydn dons a wig with a few pieces of musical manuscripts.
(Photo by Xiomara Ponce)<\/p>\n

Actress Patricia Arcad\u00ed, who plays Frau Haydn on stage, says she pulled from the character\u2019s humanity. \u201cShe was human,\u201d Arcad\u00ed said. \u201cShe had her frustrations in not being able to express herself fully and freely in her lifetime\u2026 She was strong-willed and determined, but at the same time was held back by the likes of her husband. And even in today\u2019s times, that still happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arcad\u00ed explained that when she\u2019s on stage, she gives herself permission to be everything she\u2019s ever wanted to be and everything that Frau Haydn might have been. She points to a particular song in the opera where her character sings about wanting to live in a large castle full of servants and grandeur because she was born to live that sort of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe thinks very highly of herself and that she deserves the world,\u201d Arcad\u00ed said, adding how the humor in that moment comes from the audience seeing how Frau Haydn very clearly is not the person she thinks herself to be.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Patricia Arcad\u00ed, left, and Silvia Ludue\u0148a, right, in \u201cFrau Haydn in Trouble.\u201d (Photo by Xiomara Ponce)<\/p>\n

These two women, Sor Juana and Frau Haydn, lived roughly a century apart and yet shared struggles that women today can still recognize.<\/p>\n

Arcad\u00ed\u2019s advice? \u201cLearn from Frau Haydn that if you don\u2019t have what you want, create a world in your mind where you do and be happier for it\u2026 Be yourself, unapologetically.\u201d<\/p>\n

WHAT: Opera Atelier double bill: \u201cJuana In\u00e9s\u201d and \u201cFrau Haydn in Trouble\u201d<\/p>\n

WHERE: Miami Beach Community Church, 1620 Drexel Avenue, Miami Beach; and Coral Gables Congregational United Church, 3010 De Soto Blvd., Coral Gables<\/p>\n

\u00a0WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday Sept. 24 and 7 p.m. Saturday Sept. 26<\/p>\n

\u00a0COST: $20 <\/p>\n

\u00a0INFORMATION: 786-560-6845 or theoperaatelier.org<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u00a0ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don\u2019t miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Written By Carolina del Busto September 17, 2026 at 11:17 PM The cast of \u201cJuana In\u00e9s\u201d in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403793,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-403792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}