Kafka’s Letter to His Father at UCLA Nimoy Theater

Adapted from Franz Kafka’s searing letter to his father, this critically acclaimed opera transforms one of the 20th century’s most powerful literary documents into a gripping theatrical experience exploring authority, vulnerability, and identity. As the inaugural opera of Far Away, Here, CAP UCLA’s new international opera initiative, Kafka’s 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.

Kafka’s 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.

The libretto uses minimalist language to transform Kafka’s 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’s 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.