Opera Review - Carmen

I am not new to Opera, having seen The Magic Flute when I was 14yrs old. However, it’s only been in more recent years, since meeting my friend Nick Garrett, who is an opera singer, that I have become more interested in them. Like many people I had always thought that Opera was aimed at the more privileged in society and certainly the ticket prices at some venues would seem to exclude those on lower incomes. However, more and more theatres and opera houses have introduced lower priced tickets in an effort to make Opera more accessible.

There’s also the pre-conception that with an opera being sung in a different language, you won’t appreciate the plot or storyline. Again, many companies, if not singing in English will display surtitles for you to read as the singers perform and the programmes usually contain a synopsis of the opera which is laid out in Acts making it easier for you to follow.

Nick once told me that in order to fully enjoy an opera you need to do your homework first; read up about the storyline, listen to songs from it in advance and do any other background research that you can. It sounded all a bit too much trouble to me, but he was right! By doing your homework, you are better prepared for what you see and hear and can appreciate the music, the lyrics and the story even more.

This week I had the opportunity to attend a very special night at the Opera. Leeds’ resident Opera Company, Opera North played host to a group of bloggers and social media enthusiasts for their production of Bizet’s Carmen. As well as having the chance to network with other bloggers, we also had the opportunity to meet members of the company, both those who worked behind the scenes and two of the opera singers, Keel Watson and Claire Wild.

The tour of the stage and talk from the Technical Director was fascinating and I was secretly thrilled at being able to stand on the stage and see the many different aspects from it. The stage pitch was something new to me and it felt rather strange at first as you were aware of the slope (this particular one being 1:25) but then seeing it from an audience perspective later on, you were able to appreciate it.

It was also exciting and insightful talking to the performers. I had seen both of them in Operas before; Claire in Don Giovanni with Opera Holland Park and Keel in Carmen with English Touring Opera, where they both performed alongside my friend Nick! It was interesting to hear about rehearsal schedules and how the Opera gets put together and left me with a great respect for all the hard work that gets put in to each production, both from those performing and those preparing the staging and scenes. If that wasn’t demanding enough, fresh challenges arise when, like Opera North, they take their production on tour – no easy task I’m sure.

As for the show itself, there were many aspects that I enjoyed, some that I didn’t understand and some that I felt could have been left out. One thing it did do though was provide a lot of things to talk about and contemplate further and this in my opinion is never a bad thing as it shows that the opera did more than just entertain – it was thought provoking too.

I have seen Carmen before in a more traditionally staged version although with a smaller cast and I had done” my homework” and easily recognised the Overture, Habanera and The Toreador Song as familiar tunes. Having a larger ensemble cast and full orchestra certainly enhanced the performance of these songs and emphasized the richness and beauty of the music. The main performers were also brilliant, singing with such clarity and depth, it made all those hours of rehearsals worthwhile. Special mention should also go to Peter Auty who played Don Jose as he sang in spite of a chest infection and yet showed no sign of this in his performance.

I also particularly liked the stage setting for Act Three which opened with a forest scene and gentle snow fall. The contrast of the white snow falling against the dark trees and forest setting was simply beautiful and so distinctive, especially when compared to the other acts which were full of colour and vibrancy.

This particular version of Carmen had a more contemporary setting and Escamillo the bull fighter, became a knife fighting gangster with a pit bull dog whilst Don Jose the young corporal who falls in love with Carmen looked more like a scout leader than an army soldier. The opening scene with what I assumed was the village square with the cigarette factory behind it, was also slightly confusing as it seemed to be interspersed with sunbathers in swimming costumes. Similarly the scene of the town dance party at Lillas Pastia's looked more like a setting in a trailer park.

Opera North is renowned for its artistic risk taking and for pushing the boundaries of opera, to make it more accessible to a wider audience and to portray the emotions and conflicts of the traditional opera but in a more contemporary way. Whilst the cuts to the score meant that some of these emotions were lost, I do think that overall they achieved their aim. I personally, did not feel the need for the scene where Carmen appears semi-naked trying to seduce Don Jose but I can appreciate that it fitted with this particular production. I did enjoy the focus on Carmen’s character, how she was viewed as an object of desire and how she played on this but also became  victim to this as the men driven by their obsession with her, try to own her.

Overall I enjoyed the whole experience and I hope that Opera North and other companies will have more of these evenings as I think they provide an invaluable insight into the Opera World, make it more accessible to others and give them a chance to explore together the many sides to Opera. I would like to offer a huge thanks to Opera North and Emma Bearman (Culture Vultures) for organising the event. It was lovely to meet so many new people and also gain a greater insight into Opera.

For anyone that hasn’t seen an Opera before, I would echo the advice of my friend, do your homework in advance and you will definitely enjoy it more.

For more information on Opera North, its current productions and tour schedule see http://www.operanorth.co.uk/