ALL ABOUT CARMEN

 Final tableau--Don José has murdered Carmen

Carmen is Bizet's most successful opera and also one of the most famous in the canon. There is no mystery to explain. The characters are compelling, the plot moves swiftly, and the tunes are eminently hummable.  France saw its birth in 1875, at which time it was known as an "opéra comique" due to the use of spoken dialogue instead of sung recitativo. 

The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The two librettists made essential changes to the original story, as you can see if you read his novella.

 The story is a tragic one but not equal to the tragedy of Bizet dying without knowing how beloved and enduring his final work would become.  Even folks who know nothing about opera will recognize the "Habanera" and "The Toreador Song".

Another tragedy is the contamination of the work we have witnessed so many times as self-serving directors have tampered with the time and place of the opera, the authenticity of which, we believe, is essential to the story. In its time it scandalized the public and broke ground for future verismo operas.

Last night we saw an authentic production, so authentic that we thought the trek to Brooklyn was worth every mile. Fortunately the good folks at Regina Opera have never succumbed to the fad of "making opera relevant". Opera is relevant because it shows us naked passions expressed through memorable melodies!

The three major figures of this dramatic triangle are a naîve soldier from the countryside, a gypsy who works in a tobacco factory with a side hustle as a smuggler, and a famous toreador. The non human character of the story is the belief in the occult. Probably in the 19th century, audiences would have believed in curses and fortune telling. We had no trouble putting ourself in their place!

The opera is called Carmen but it might as well have been called Don José since it is his tragedy as well. Unlike the Don José of the Merimée novella, this man is a simple country boy who has been enchanted by a bruja. Once Carmen has thrown a flower at him and cast her spell, the plot has been set in motion and his fate is sealed. Think of the "fate theme" expressed so eloquently in the overture, a brilliant overture we might add.

Carmen, often trivialized as a hedonistic "free spirit", is actually a narcissistic sociopath who uses one man after another with no regard for the damage she wreaks. Micaëla, on the other hand, is imbued with a genuine caring nature, venturing into the scary city of Sevilla to relay messages from Don José's mother. She is by no means a wimp because she manages to escape from a group of horny soldiers in Act I, and in Act III she screws her courage to the sticking post, as they say, and makes her way into the scary mountains.

Perhaps it was due to the superb performance of soprano Yujin Zeng that our strongest memory from last night was her aria "Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante".  She may be a shy country girl but she is spunky and loyal and will complete her mission come hell or high water. Her faith in God is as strong as Carmen's faith in her occult powers..

The rest of the cast was effective with the fine-voiced mezzo-soprano Melina Jaharis portraying Carmen in a manner that we found excessively and contemporaneously seductive. This  might be the intention of the director Helen Van Tine. Our perception of the character leans more to an intensity of will rather than overly obvious signaling of sexiness

Tenor Christopher Trapani did a fine job of conveying Don José's  

vulnerability to  Carmen's wiles and his desperation at the prospect of losing her. Veteran baritone Robert Garner (whom we have reviewed many times) portrayed Escamillo,  who is always portrayed as the equivalent of a modern day rock star; we see things differently. In Spain, killing the bull is seen as an art, almost a religious ritual, somehow tied to the martyrdom of Jesus. His casual manner when meeting his rival in Act III is confident but not arrogant and showy. He is a rather good natured chap who enjoys his success with women.

We enjoyed the scene with the smugglers and their accomplices, both musically and dramatically. Frasquita was played by soprano Veronica Mak and Mercedes was sung by mezzo-soprano Grace Verbic. Their card reading scene brought some lightness into the scene, contrasting with the death predicting reading of Carmen. The quintet involving Dancaïro (baritone Daniel Chu) and Remendado (tenor Ethan Ellis) was a musical highlight of the evening. The role of Zuniga was performed by Victor Jaquez and Warren B. Harding sang the role of Morales.

Maestro Scott Jackson Wiley conducted the orchestra with his usual fine hand and we particularly appreciated the wind section. The harp and flute accompaniment to Micaëla's aria was a highlight

We were not impressed with the sets. The stage is a shallow one and their bulk detracted from the playing area. Strangely, there were sets of steps that contributed nothing and looked out of place in every scene. We would have wished for better staging.

Let us close by saying that we attended the dress rehearsal and if the lighting was not perfect it will be by tomorrow. It appears that every performance has a different cast; so you, Dear Reader, will probably not experience the same performances as we did.  You will probably never miss the long parade of the costumed participants nor the cheering crowds of Act IV. This production is a more intimate one, focusing on the relationship between the principals; we do hope you will appreciate the traditional nature of the production as much as we did. And if your interpretation of the characters is different from ours, we hope you will comment below.

© meche kroop

SALOME

Summer Hassan, Jeremy Harr, and Nathaniel Sullivan

(photo by Andrew Boyle)

It's been a decade since we saw a production of Richard Strauss' Salome in Santa Fe. Director Daniel Slater set it in the period in which it was written, giving it a strong Freudian interpretation. The petite soprano Alex Penda was convincing as a willful teenage girl suffering the consequences of a traumatic childhood. It was an unforgettable evening. Our only other exposure to the opera was a couple years earlier at the Metropolitan Opera and all we can remember was a rather confusing production and a surprisingly effective (and shocking) Dance of the Seven Veils by the superb soprano Karita Mattila. who stunned us by the power, range, and lyricism of her voice.

Last night we attended an English language presentation of the opera by Heartbeat Opera, reputed for its original takes on the classics. It was well worth the trip to Brooklyn and the lengthy climb upstairs, both for its original musical take and for its riveting dramatic impact. Before sharing the details of this worthy production, we would like to muse a bit on the psychohistorical aspect of the story as it transmogrified through the centuries in response to cultural norms.

As reported by Plutarch, the elder Seneca, a Roman historian and Senator, was the first to make reference to such a depraved beheading preceded by a dance. In the Bible, the Gospels of Matthew and Mark make reference to an unnamed girl, used as a tool of vengeance by her mother to end the life of John the Baptist. John's strength of character is contrasted with Herod’s spiritual and moral weakness. and the mystical ascetic John is portrayed as the precursor of the coming Jesus.

As the reputation of John the Baptist grew in the centuries after the death of Christ, so did the myth of Salome’s evil. The story was used to illustrate the need to resist sexual temptations and the potential spiritual risks created by the diversion of dancing. This anti-feminine emphasis was to endure for quite a long time.

In the late nineteenth century, and throughout the twentieth century, the myth has been refigured time and time again, pointing to a peculiar fascination with the way sex and power intersect in the drama. Oscar Wilde's play (which he never got to see due to being imprisoned for the crime of homosexuality) was important in making Salome a creature with desires of her own. She is elevated to more than merely her mother’s pawn, becoming the autonomous agent of John's death From the nameless dancer in the Bible story she has become the focus of the drama, whose actions symbolise the sexual power of modern woman.

Richard Strauss, composing under the influence of Freudian theory, was undoubtedly taken by the duality of Thanatos and Eros. It is Salome's erotic drive that leads to her death. And so, after this brief bit of rambling, we come to the production of the opera by Heartbeat Opera, renowned for revising and reinterpreting the classics. In this pared down version, Director Elizabeth Dinkova has focused on the central characters with extraneous characters and the arguing Jews confined to a video screen and deprived of voices.

Captain Narraboth (David Morgans) lusts after Salome (Summer Hassan). He dies, by his own hand (pistol subbing for the dagger). Salome lusts after Jokanaan (Nathaniel Sullivan). She dies at the hands of her uncle/step-father Herod (Patrick Cook).  Actually, in this version, everyone dies, including Herodias (Manna K. Jones) shot by a character known as the Page (Melina Jaharis). We are not sure whether the soldier (Jeremy Harr) survives. We might add that the cast was uniformly excellent, not only by virtue of strong voices but also by impactful acting. 

Although we much prefer the opera sung in German, we can see the merit of using an English translation (from English National Opera). In our opinion, it is not for the benefit of the audience, who definitely need titles to understand the words in the upper register, whether the opera is sung in English or German. Rather it benefits the singers who are able to connect more to the text. Admittedly, this production lacked nothing in terms of immediacy.

The cast was pared down to seven and Strauss' humungous orchestra was pared down to 8 clarinets (yes, you read that right) and two very hard-working percussionists. Did Maestro Dan Schlosberg's reduction/arrangement work? We thought it worked splendidly, employing clarinets of every register with an assist from a recorder, saxophone, and an electric guitar. All were utilized to heighten the action and effectively distinguished the varying colors of each character. We are quite sure that Music Director Jacob Ashworth had a major part in arranging the score.

Ms. Dinkova's direction excelled at storytelling and Emona Stoykova's set heightened the storytelling. Jokanaan was imprisoned in a glass cage center stage.  The band of clarinets were placed on one side of a square, with a bank of video monitors on the facing side. Audience members sat on the two remaining opposing sides; the singers did a good job of giving both sides equal opportunity, which is not always the case.

We were grateful for Nicholas Betson's titles. Mika Eubanks' costumes were mostly apt, although poor Ms. Hassan looked stuffed into an unusual get up with a fluffy skirt of pink tulle.

And now, Dear Reader, we know you are dying to hear about the shocking Dance of Seven Veils. Well, you must go and see for yourself. We guarantee you will be shocked! There will be another week of performances which you can see on the Heartbeat Opera website.

© meche kroop

Do we need to mention that AI was not utilized in our writing and never will be?

TIERGARTEN

 Master of Ceremonies Kim David Smith with cast of Tiergarten

(photo by Kevin Condon)

Death of Classical never ceases to amaze us. It might be the intimate candle-lit concerts at The Crypt or the intimate concerts in a mausoleum at Greenwood Cemetery. Last night's extravaganza was anything but intimate. It seems as if all of New York (or at least all of arts-loving New York) had packed into the grand hall of St. Mary's on the Lower East Side for an extravaganza created, written, and directed by the multipotentialite Andrew Ousley, a virtual fountain of original ideas.

The serious starting point for this evening of fun was Mr. Ousley's fascination with turning points in human history. Thus, we were taken from Weimar Berlin backwards through World War I, the American Revolution, the Salem Witch Trials, the Fall of the Roman Empire, and all the way to Adam and Eve. Each turning point was brought to life by song and/or dance accompanied by The Grand Street Stompers.

Our tour guide through history was Kim David Smith, the Australian cabaret star who has won the hearts of New Yorkers. We have written about his compelling act a number of times and always hope he will sing William Bolcom's "Black Max". Mr. Smith oozes a rare combination of danger, sex appeal, and humor with a sly wink. Although we would not hear "Black Max" last night, we very much enjoyed his performance of "Pirate Jenny" from Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht's Threepenny Opera, illustrated by shadow imagery  (created by Foreshadow Puppetry). Similarly, we enjoyed his performance of "The Alabama Song" from the same team's operetta The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.

Aside from Mr. Smith's prodigious talent, we were quite taken with his costuming (Fay Leshner) and uncredited make-up,  including red sequined lips.

We think of Death of Classical as Rebirth of Classical. Rebirths always assume new forms. Tiergarten contained multitudes. That is, there was entertainment for just about everyone. This particular opera lover delighted in a riveting performance of Azucena's aria from Verdi's Il Trovatore performed by Melina Jaharis. The tender duet from Monteverdi's L’incoronazione di Poppea was given a fine performance by Ariadne Greif as Poppea and Luke Elmer as Nerone, a performance that was romantic and sensual.

Amara Granderson gave a stirring performance of "Strange Fruit"  a song written and composed by Abel Meeropol (under his pseudonym Lewis Allan) and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939, and subsequently by many other famous artists. If we are not mistaken,  Mr. Smith himself sang it some time ago.   Aaron Reeder put his heart and soul into the oft recorded spiritual "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord".

We were so taken by Mr. Smith's performance of "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" written by Scottish-born Australian singer-songwriter Eric Bogle in 1971, that we were compelled to read and re-read the lyrics. We defy anyone to read the anti-war lyrics (referencing Gallipoli in World War I) without weeping.

Fortunately the evening came to a close with the somewhat hopeful "Lost in the Stars" which actually comes from a tragic musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the very sad novel Cry, the Beloved Country  by Alan Paton. 

If Mr. Ousley intended for us to enjoy the entertainment, and then to go home and think about the message, he certainly succeeded!

© meche kroop