Composed by Ji\u0159i Trtik (Czech Republic)
\nLibretto by Jan \u0160krob (Czech Republic)
\nIn collaboration with Brightwork Ensemble
\nProduced by the Opera of Timur
\nThu, Nov 12 – Sat, Nov 14, 2026
\nThe Nimoy
\nRun time: 70 mins
\nNo intermission<\/p>\n
Performed in Czech with English supertitles<\/p>\n
U.S. premiere of Kafka’s Letter to His Father, a contemporary opera adapted from Franz Kafka’s iconic letter. <\/p>\n
Adapted from Franz Kafka\u2019s searing letter to his father, this critically acclaimed opera transforms one of the 20th century\u2019s most powerful literary documents into a gripping theatrical experience exploring authority, vulnerability, and identity. As the inaugural opera of Far Away, Here, CAP UCLA\u2019s new international opera initiative, Kafka\u2019s Letter to His Father directed by Shayna Penn launches a program dedicated to contemporary works that expand the possibilities of opera across cultures, disciplines and forms.<\/p>\n
Kafka\u2019s Letter to His Father premiered May 2, 2024, at the National Theater in Prague. The intimate opera explores a childhood marked by fear of an overpowering father and a struggle to conform to rigid ideals of masculinity. Through literary creation, Kafka finds a path toward freedom, escaping paternal authority through the act of writing.<\/p>\n
The libretto uses minimalist language to transform Kafka\u2019s monological letter into direct interactions, revealing a nonlinear arc from helplessness to liberation. Musically, the opera layers ambient electronics, synthesizers and acoustic instruments, with Kafka\u2019s tenor voice, performed by Timur, set against a six-member baritone-bass choir representing the Father and a soprano voice representing the Mother, conducted by Fahad Siadat.<\/p>\n
Image
\nActors with beach clothes and umbrellas
\nAbout Far Away, Here: Kafka’s Letter to His Father is the inaugural production of Far Away, Here, CAP UCLA’s new multi-year initiative presenting U.S. premieres of contemporary opera from Europe, Asia, and Latin America, curated by Timur Bekbosunov with Edgar Miramontes. Learn more.<\/p>\n
Cast and creatives
\nComposed by Ji\u0159i Trtik (Czech Republic)
\nLibretto by Jan \u0160krob (Czech Republic)
\nIn collaboration with Brightwork Ensemble
\nProduced by the Opera of Timur
\nConducted by Fahad Siadat
\nDirected by Shayna Penn
\nKafka – TIMUR
\nMother – Molly Pease
\nFathers – TJ Sclafani, Kevin Allen, Lorenzo Zapata, Scott Graff, David Peterson, James Hayden<\/p>\n
The original production was directed by Josef Dole\u017eal, designed by Maxim Vel\u010dovsk\u00fd and commissioned by Narodni Divadlo and the Ministry of Culture, Czech Republic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Composed by Ji\u0159i Trtik (Czech Republic) Libretto by Jan \u0160krob (Czech Republic) In collaboration with Brightwork Ensemble Produced by the Opera of Timur Thu, Nov 12 – Sat, Nov 14, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_tribe_events_status":"","_tribe_events_status_reason":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"tribe_events_cat":[],"class_list":["post-1544","tribe_events","type-tribe_events","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stro.my\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/1544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stro.my\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stro.my\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/tribe_events"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stro.my\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stro.my\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1544"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stro.my\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/1544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1546,"href":"https:\/\/stro.my\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events\/1544\/revisions\/1546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stro.my\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stro.my\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1544"},{"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stro.my\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tribe_events_cat?post=1544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}