Portfolio
FRANCES RABLAIS'
Explore Frances' recent and upcoming projects below, explore her design presentations, and enjoy production photos from recent successes.
Projects & Productions.
Tosca, Madison Opera 2024
Featuring the role debut of tenor Limmie Pulliam, Tosca in 2023 was Frances’s first foray into the full-length Puccini repertoire as a director. The lighting aesthetic of Acts 1 and 2 pulled heavily from the chiaroscuro Caravaggio and Renaissance images of Catholic Saints. The end of Act 2 saw a vengeful Tosca stabbing Scarpia twice as well as picking him up by the collar and shaking him as he died. Lighting: Christina Watanabe | Costumes: Utah Opera | Set: New Orleans Opera
The Magic Flute, North Carolina Opera 2022
This project's production team included Ross Kolman (lighting), Martha Ruskai (wigs and makeup), and Stephanie Canada (stage management). Scenic and costumes are rented from Opera Memphis.
The Barber of Seville, Brevard Music Center 2022
This Barber of Seville for Pensacola Opera was filled with hilarious sight gags, including a surprise door in Rosina’s wig that got over 130k views on tiktok! The set was rented from Tri-Cities Opera, costumes by Wardrobe Witchery, lights by Barry Steele, and wigs and makeup by Brittany Rappise.
María de Buenos Aires, Madison Opera 2025
This production uses the highly poetic text of Piazolla’s María de Buenos Aires as a jumping off point to explore where the exaltation of women’s pain in religion meets the exploitation of women’s pain in sex work. Can a woman suffering at the hands of both the church and secular society transform and be seen as more than her pain?
