All my plans to post information about the show before it actually happened somehow evaporated and now, two months later and well into the New Year, I’m struggling with the decision to write a review or not.
Carmen is my favorite opera and it started with the record my mom used to play on Sunday mornings. Before I ever knew about the story of Carmen, I fell in love with the passion and energy blasting out of the stereo. But when I first saw the movie Carmen by Carlos Saura, all this passion became a strong visual giving me a first taste of the energy of flamenco. Not a story with a happy ending, but I went to see the movie again and again. For one of my birthdays, my husband gave me a record of the Opera, sung by Maria Callas and I played it so often, I could hum the tunes in my sleep.
Years afterwards, I saw a performance of Carmen on PBS (public broadcasting) but although I still liked the music and singing, the storyline didn’t completely match the flamenco version. Later I realized that it was because the movie was only using part of the original work. It was still as dramatic, just what the opera is all about.
When I heard The Atlanta Opera would be performing Carmen in November last year, I knew I had to see it, especially when I found out that some of my friends and teachers would be performing too! The shows were held at the Cobb Energy Centre, probably the best venue in Atlanta for Bizet’s classic after the Fox. The theatre is built in a modern but beautiful style with various tiers and reserved boxes. Since they were singing in French, I was glad subtitles were provided, making it easy to follow the entire story line. I also have to admit, that adding flamenco dancers to the performance, gave the show a genuine Spanish feel, rural and gypsy. It was an amazing show and although 3.5 hours was a bit long to sit through, I wasn’t bored one minute (just felt bad for my companions 🙂 After each intermission, the stage was totally transformed to depict another part of the story and it would be hard to use the same stage of a tavern for a mountain hideaway.
The story is set in Seville, where the action pivots around Carmen, a gypsy who has the power to seduce any man who suits her fancy. Unfortunately, once she has captured their heart, she gets bored and carelessly moves on to the next willing (or unwilling) man she can seduce. It would not be the opera if she didn’t pay dramatically for her uncaring attitude in the end. Someone mentioned that he didn’t like the ending, but how can you change an ages old drama to give it a happy ending? I believe that art is art and that’s the beauty of it. But no matter how dramatic, in the end, it’s still not too far from reality. The Atlanta Opera and local flamenco talent did justice to Carmen.
Read more about the original work of Carmen on Wikipedia here.
Watch this scene from the movie Carmen by Carlos Saura (YouTube)
[youtube fzZLIjyNdk4]
or buy your own CD or DVD on Amazon (affiliate link)
