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Sounds
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Love
& Death: Bizet's Carmen
Like many operas, Carmen begins with some measure of light-heartedness and an ample dose of love and hope. And like many, it ends with death. ... But, like all opera, and most of life, it's what comes in between where the real story lies. ... The Background ... When Bizet returned to Paris he was offered a teaching position at the Conservatory, which he turned down to concentrate on his writing. In 1863, he found some success with his opera, Les pêcheurs de perles. But his very next work, La jolie fille de Perth, managed a mere eighteen performances. Afterward, Bizet's health began to decline, a fact which was exacerbated by his forced service in the Franco-Prussian war. After his military service, Carmen found its way onto paper and was first performed in Paris in early March of 1875, at the Théâtre National de l'Opéra-Comique. According to the reviews and reports of the time, the show bombed, partly owing to the fact that l'Opéra-Comique was supposed to be a family venue, one which did not take well to the themes of love, desire, jealousy, outrage, and murder. Understandably, Bizet was disheartened. And before the end of the year, he died at the young age of 37. ... Carmen came to the United States 23 Oct. 1878, when it premiered in New York at the Academy of Music. ... Among the major venues, Carmen made it to Covent Garden on 27 May 1882 ... to The Met on 9 Jan. 1884 ... to La Scala on 26 Dec. 1885 ... and, finally, to L'Opéra de Paris on 21 Dec 1907. According to sources, this was a gala performance; however, Carmen did not become part of the regular repertoire of L'Opéra until 10 Nov. 1959, nearly 85 years after its debut performance. ... Most recently, The Met staged a production which ran from October 2000 through early February, staged by none other than Franco Zeffirelli, with Olga Borodina as Carmen, Janice Watson as Micaëla, Richard Leech as Don José, and Franck Ferrari as Escamillo. ... Personnages [The Cast] ...
En Espagne, près de Séville, vers 1820 [In Spain, near Seville, around 1820] The
Story ... There is the hero, Don José, who is torn between, on the one hand, his love for his mother and the peasant girl {Micaëla} she sends to him with messages of home and his mother's love, and, on the other, the beautiful young gypsy, Carmen, who has captured the hearts of all the soldiers -- officers & enlisted alike -- but whose heart seems to belong to no one. She rejects all suitors, but she comes on to Don José, who, at least at first, rejects here, as well, with a song and a flower. When a fight breaks out in the factory, it becomes apparent that Carmen has attacked one of the other young women. The lieutenant, Zuniga, interrogates her, but she teases him and refuses to succumb with fear or trepidation. Zuniga then orders Don José to bind Carmen while he prepares the orders for her imprisonment. But Carmen plots an escape with the help of Don José, an escape which is successful, but one for which Don José himself is imprisoned. Act II begins with a scene in which Carmen and her friends, Frasquita and Mercédès, entertain Zuniga and some other officers. It is at this point that Carmen learns from Zuniga that Don José is about to be released, and that we first meet the bullfighter Escamillo. Both Zuniga and Escamillio try to proposition Carmen, but she is intent on waiting for Don José, and so they leave, although Zuniga promises to return. When he arrives, Carmen teases Don José by telling him of the dances she and her friends had put on for the officers. But when Don José grows jealous, she tells him she will dance alone for him. Near the end of the dance, however, the bugle sounds retreat and Don José tells Carmen that he must go back to his post. Carmen now grows outraged and demands that if he loved her, he would quit his post and follow her to the mountains. Don José protests that he does love her, and to prove it, he shows her the flower she'd first given him in the square. Carmen, however, is unconvinced. At this point, Zuniga returns and is accosted by Don José, who has to be pulled from the lieutenant by the returning smugglers. Thus, Don José's fate is sealed and he must leave with the gypsy band. While in their mountain hideaway, Carmen and Don José grow bitter toward each other. Micaëla, the peasant girl, finds her way to the hideaway to bring him as message from his mother. But she is frightened when a shot rings out and runs off to hide. The shot, not hitting its mark, was fired by Don José at Escamillio who is passing through the mountains taking bulls to Seville. In the midst of their subsequent conversation, Escamillio refers to the soldier whom Carmen once loved, whereupon Don José reveals himself as the soldier and challenges Escamillio to a fight. Once again, the fight if broken off by the return of the gypsy smugglers. Escamillio then shakes it off and invites the entire band, and especially Carmen, as his guests to the bullfight. At this point, Micaëla is discovered and she pleads with Don José to return home with her. Don José refuses. But then Micaëla tells him that his mother is dying. Carmen and the others tell him to go with her, which he does, but not before promising Carmen that they will meet again. In the final scene, the gypsy band gathers for the bullfight, with Carmen coming, escorted by Escamillio. She is warned by her friends that they've seen Don José. But Carmen insists that she is not afraid. When Don José finally arrives, he begs Carmen to forget the past so that they might begin anew. But Carmen steadfastly refuses, insisting that it's all over between them and that, as we learned early on, as a gypsy, she was born free and intends to die that way. When she tries to join Escamillio, Don José tries to stop her. Carmen, however, grows outraged and removes the ring Don José had once given her and throws it at him. And now, of course, it is Don José who becomes enraged and, in a fit of jealousy, stabs Carmen, then confesses to her murder. The
London City Opera Performance ... Louise Poole's Carmen was sultry and seductive, but also something more. She sang the role, unlike many of the recorded performances you might hear, with a range and subtlety which evoked a Carmen more tender and less pitched, and, in the process, raised some interesting questions about the traditional interpretation of the role. This was especially true in the scenes in the midst of ACT II, where Carmen's friends, just before Don José's return, try to persuade Carmen to join them in a little escapade {Nous avons en tête une affaire}. Carmen refuses, and you sensed for a moment that it might be because of love. Similarly, when Don José does finally return, then announces that he must leave when he hears the retreat being sounded, Poole's Carmen is a woman who begins, not with scorn or mockery, but with imploring Don José to flee to the mountains together. ... Bradley Daley's Don José was, in similar fashion, sung with a beautiful emotional depth and solid range. ... And for sheer innocence, Pamela Wilcox's Micaëla brought the proper, almost angelic presence to both the music and the acting. ... Martin Higgins's Escamillio was, likewise, sung with strength and well-acted, as was Ralph Meanly's Zuniga. Rounding out the cast were exceptionally strong performances by Helen Greenaway & Sarah Jane Whyte {Mercédès & Frasquita}, as well as the gypsy smugglers, Le Dancaïre & Le Remendado, played wonderfully by Andrew O'Connor & Alexander Anderson Hall. If you've never heard Carmen ... we invite you to sample the three pieces we're offering at DownStreet this month ... or listen to any of the many recordings available. According to many, the best of the group is the Herbert von Karajan-conducted 1964 RCA Gold recording. But there was also much to appreciate, and even, for our tastes, some to prefer, in this London City Opera version. . ******* ******* If you would like to submit something for Sounds Around, or if you simply would like to suggest a performance you'd like us to cover, e-mail us at ... music@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* ******* If you would like to advertise in this section, or throughout the magazine, please visit our Advertising Info Pages ... or call, write, or e-mail ads@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* ******* |
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