Opera Atelier Shines A Light on Strong Female Leads in Double Feature

The cast of “Juana Inés” in a previous production at the Miracle Theatre with Jorge Arcila, far left, Karel Morell, left,
Silvia Ludueňa, center, and Patricia Arcadí, far right. The Opera Atelier will present a double bill of “Juana Inés” and “Frau Haydn in Trouble” on Thursday, Sept. 24 in Miami Beach and Saturday, Sept. 26 in Coral Gables. (Photo by Javier Fontanella)

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, “Juana Inés” and “Frau Haydn in Trouble,” are being presented as a double feature on Thursday, Sept. 24 in Miami Beach and Saturday, Sept. 26 in Coral Gables.

Daroca, who wrote the libretto for “Juana Inés” and both the music and lyrics for “Frau Haydn in Trouble,” said he was inspired to shine a light on female stories — especially notable women in history who might have been overlooked and whose stories deserve recognition. “My mother was an artist who put her artistry on the back burner, so I’m very sensitive to the value of women and what they went through,” he said.

The two operas feature strong female leads and are inspired by the real lives of their protagonists.

Patricia Arcadí, left, and Silvia Ludueňa share a scene in the opera “Juana Inés.”
(Photo by Javier Fontanella)

“In the case of ‘Juana Inés,’ 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,” Daroca said.

Sor Juana Inés 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. “The spirit of the opera is kind of dark, because for me, it’s like she’s dreaming of all these things that happen on stage,” Daroca explained. “I imagine that at the end of her life, she contemplated a lot of things and had these visions. It’s very respectful and the words reflect that serious side.”

Daroca added that some of the lyrics in “Juana Inés” come directly from texts written by Sor Juana herself or from letters written between her and the Bishop of Puebla.

“Juana Inés,” which is performed in Spanish, premiered in 2025 and actress and singer Silvia Ludueňa has portrayed the feminist nun three times over the last year. She’s set to reprise her role once again and talked about how she relates to Sor Juana as both a woman and an artist.

“I was very surprised to learn that a lot of Latinos don’t know the story of Juana Ines de la Cruz,” Ludueňa said. “I’ve known her poems since I was a kid, and for me, she’s someone that everyone should know her story.”

While Sor Juana’s story is inspirational in its own right — a self-taught nun poet — Ludueňa found it ironic that Sor Juana found the freedom she sought in a convent, a place known for rules and restrictions.

“I feel that as an opera, ‘Juana Inés’ is very important for today’s times,” Ludueňa said. “We’re 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.”

Silvia Ludueňa plays the Empress in a production of “Frau Haydn in Trouble.” (Photo by Xiomara Ponce)

As a contrast to the heaviness in “Juana Inés,” Daroca programmed a more comedic opera for the second half of the night. “Frau Haydn in Trouble” is inspired by the real-life wife of Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn, Maria Anna Theresia Keller, and performed in German, Spanish, and English.

“Juana is an absolutely towering figure,” Daroca said. “We can’t even begin to comprehend the breadth of her intellect. She left a huge collection of her literary work behind… In contrast, Frau Haydn couldn’t 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.”

“Frau Haydn in Trouble” takes more creative liberties with its storytelling. Daroca admitted that much of  it is made up, but the fact that Frau Haydn used her husband’s manuscripts as curlers in her hair is historically accurate.

“I always say that perhaps Haydn’s best compositions were lost from Haydn’s hairdos,” Daroca quipped.

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

Patricia Arcadí as Frau Haydn dons a wig with a few pieces of musical manuscripts.
(Photo by Xiomara Ponce)

Actress Patricia Arcadí, who plays Frau Haydn on stage, says she pulled from the character’s humanity. “She was human,” Arcadí said. “She had her frustrations in not being able to express herself fully and freely in her lifetime… She was strong-willed and determined, but at the same time was held back by the likes of her husband. And even in today’s times, that still happens.”

Arcadí explained that when she’s on stage, she gives herself permission to be everything she’s 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.

“She thinks very highly of herself and that she deserves the world,” Arcadí 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.

Patricia Arcadí, left, and Silvia Ludueňa, right, in “Frau Haydn in Trouble.” (Photo by Xiomara Ponce)

These two women, Sor Juana and Frau Haydn, lived roughly a century apart and yet shared struggles that women today can still recognize.

Arcadí’s advice? “Learn from Frau Haydn that if you don’t have what you want, create a world in your mind where you do and be happier for it… Be yourself, unapologetically.”

WHAT: Opera Atelier double bill: “Juana Inés” and “Frau Haydn in Trouble”

WHERE: Miami Beach Community Church, 1620 Drexel Avenue, Miami Beach; and Coral Gables Congregational United Church, 3010 De Soto Blvd., Coral Gables

 WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday Sept. 24 and 7 p.m. Saturday Sept. 26

 COST: $20

 INFORMATION: 786-560-6845 or theoperaatelier.org.

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