An opera about iconic labor leader Dolores Huerta is already a fraught topic, but for Nicolás Lell Benavides—Huerta's cousin—it was also a powerfully personal one.

"I grew up in New Mexico, and I grew up hearing about Dolores' fight," Benavides says. "I just couldn't fathom what it would be like to go through that and I just became obsessed with this moment in history: What does it take to deal with that and keep moving forward and fighting? The answer is just having strong convictions and a clear definition of what justice is."

Benavides chose to set Dolores specifically in 1968, a pivotal moment in Huerta's career. Farm workers striking in California's Central Valley for better wages, protections, and health insurance had been on strike for three years already when they found an ally in Bobby Kennedy, who was assassinated the same year. "So it's really a piece about devastating loss and recovery," he says.

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Nicolás Lell Benavides (Credit: Vivian Sachs)

Benavides says he became more passionate about the project when he graduated from SFCM in 2014 after studying composition with department Chair David Conte. "I started to tell people about this idea, but I didn't have a collaborator, but when I was chosen by the Washington National Opera to work on my first opera, I met Marella Martin Koch, my librettist. It went so well that I told her my story about the 1968 farm worker strike, so we took it to West Edge Opera, and they decided to take it. It was maybe two decades of percolation in my mind, and then about four and a half years of really concerted effort and work to bring it to life."

Benavides and Martin Koch had collaborated on two previous operas: Pepito and Tres Minutos. The latter was commissioned by Music of Remembrance, a longtime commissioner of SFCM's newest addition to the Composition department, Diane Wilsey Distinguished Professor of Composition Jake Heggie. "Jake is the reason we got that commission," Benavides says. "He put us in touch with Music of Remembrance, and we're so grateful to him."

Oakland's West Edge Opera, Benavides says, was a wonderful company to work for. "They sent me all the names of the people they had in mind and said, 'Just tell us your favorites, but no guarantees we'll choose them.'  And I think they chose every one of my top choices, which is pretty awesome."

(Credit: Cory Weaver)

Without Benavides intending, the cast list wound up packed with Conservatory alumni: Rolfe Dauz ('11), Kelly Guerra ('14), Sam Faustine ('15), Chelsea Hollow ('14), Sergio Gonzalez ('10), Caleb Alexander ('23), Adellyn Geenen ('25), and Julia Hathaway ('08). "I just didn't really notice until we were in rehearsal," he says. "We were all sitting there like, 'nice to meet you' and we all just realized around the same time. Out of the seven principles, five of them went to SFCM. And that was just pure coincidence: We hired based on who we wanted in the cast." 

For students now in the same position he was years ago, Benavides offers this advice: Find mentors who you trust.

Nicolás Lell Benavides at West Edge Opera. (Credit: Kenneth Kellogg)

"Jake Heggie's been an amazing mentor and supporter of mine," Benavides names as an example. "I met him years ago when I was working at the San Francisco Opera. Someone put us in touch and said, 'Jake, get lunch with this guy, he wants to be an opera composer.' And Jake was like, 'What are you doing tomorrow?'"

"We got lunch and he was just … awesome," Benavides says. "He looked at my opera proposal and said, 'You seem really enthusiastic, but you're not gonna get this picked up for XYZ reasons.' He pointed out all these issues, but I came away being so excited, because he gave me the tools to understand why it wouldn't work, rather than just telling me it wouldn't. I've never minded being told something's not gonna work out; I've only minded not knowing why it's not going to work out."

'Dolores' at West Edge Opera. (Credit: Cory Weaver)

Benavides continues: "Anybody can find a teacher, but you have to find a mentor, someone you really trust has your best interests at heart. Someone who can tell you no, or to try something else. Someone who, when you bring in something that you're so committed to that you think this is the most amazing thing I've ever written, you still trust deeply when they tell you, 'Maybe rethink this section.'"

"And the thing is, there's a time when you'll outgrow your mentor, and the best ones want you to outgrow them. Find those mentors."

Benavides is living proof of his advice. Reviewing Dolores, The San Francisco Chronicle raved, "West Edge Opera unveiled another triumphant world premiere, opening its season with Nicolás Lell Benavides and Marella Martin Koch’s opera Dolores. Telling the story of a pivotal year in the life of labor activist Dolores Huerta, the show is dramatically tight and musically transporting — a work made to last, though it’s also undeniably timely."

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