Cultural Encounters: Arts in New York City

With the familiar Carmen Prelude, a classic production composed by George Bizet, the opera Carmen was opened at The Metropolitan Opera (the MET) in Lincoln Center. The production itself wasn’t that much different from the previous seasons with the exact costumes and setting. Although the story was vivid and the setting was impressively done, people who returned for surprises may found the piece predictable with the same story and no new elements—maybe even with a little shock on the singing.

A special note on the modern dance at the beginning of Act I and Act III—it was a phenomenal transition into the actual opera. In both acts, the dancers Maria Kowroski and Eric Otto were skillful and thus successfully brought the audience from the lousy reality into the mood of Carmen, which could be interpreted as both tragic and dramatic. With the irregular curtain opened, the red light at first foreshadowed the ending (especially when in the end red light was presented once again); the blue light signified the sharp switch in emotions between Carmen and Don José. Pairing with the lighting, two distinctive styles of dance, credited to Christopher Wheeldon, were presented. One was passionate but seemingly morose; the other was smooth but with a sense of coldness in mood. Aside from the other expected, this was actually a splendid detail that I’m glad the directors decided to maintain.

Personally, I had never been to an opera before, so this would have been a good first experience if not for the singing of Anita Rachvelishvili (Mezzo-Soprano), the supposedly beloved Carmen. Compared with Micaëla (Kate Royal, Soprano), who preformed in such a high quality, perfecting in notes hitting and emotional content, Carmen failed to impact the audience with the entrance of her character. Her voice was plain and powerless. As the typical Carmen, one’s voice should be at least energetic, not to say Carmen is such an interesting protagonist, so it is the least for one to look for the singer’s own interpretations. With such a high expectation, more disappointment kicked in when Carmen appeared on stage. Even the famous for its gypsy tune song “Habanera” couldn’t make up for Carmen’s lack of sensitivity in her act. Even though she continued to correct herself, one could tell that she wasn’t in her best condition when she gave up the attempt to hit and maintain the high notes in one of her duet songs with Don José.

Don José, on the other hand, was such a distinguishing display by Yonghoon Lee (Tenor). In the opera, the singer was in sync with his character, and delivered a strong message throughout the production. Having been as Don José for several times in his career, Lee continued, if not better, to pursue the audience with his role.

Even though lacked a little surprises, the sets and costumes were still suiting for the acts. Like the supposedly consistent music, conducted beautifully by Michele Mariotti, the sets and costumes became a tradition in Carmen, though unlike the music, it was only so in the MET.

Carmen in “Carmen” (credit to http://theclassicalreview.com/2012/09/rachvelishvilis-sultry-carmen-strikes-sparks-at-the-met/)

Despite sitting in the worst seats of the Metropolitan Opera, I was still blown away by the performance of Carmen. The powerful and familiar music made its way to my ears for perhaps the hundredth time in my life. Yet, the tunes never get old and hearing them professionally played was a chance in a lifetime.

It would have been great if I had Orchestra seats but last row seating left an impression that could have been better. The acoustics of the theater are definitely unique and top notch, but whereas the strings easily made its way to my ears, the bass and percussion were not able to do the same. It was as if the oomph in the music only made it past the first balcony. However, the cleanliness of the sound was remarkable and any mistakes made were not apparent. The only problem I noticed took place in one instance in the beginning when the music and the vocals were off. It only happened in that one instant so it was not an apparent problem throughout the remainder of the play.

The vocals throughout the play were superb. Yonghoon Lee’s Don Jose was portrayed strongly with vigor in his voice. His voice dominated the rest of the cast as expected since he was the male lead. Playing the role of Carmen was Anita Rachvelishvili. Her voice was robust, but at times Kate Royal’s sweet graceful voice as Micaela truly drew contrast between the nature of the two characters. Sometimes it felt as if Micaela was the star of the show instead of the promiscuous Carmen. Regardless, each of the performers showed great passion in their voices.

Although the leads left a great performance, that is not to say the rest of the supporting cast was not great as well. The children’s roles was particularly interesting in that their addition to the mixture of the voices in the beginning created the atmosphere of chaos and confusion in the factory.

The costumes were amazingly done. This was the case many of the character in the play. The best example of this can be found with the matadors’ costumes which had intricate designs on them. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the entire Opera was the set. A rotating stage was incorporated to help create a surprisingly different settings. With the help of a few turns and removing a few rails while in combination of certain lightning effects, the mood was drastically changed. The curtain was also very elaborate in the way that it opened. It created a design that like a lightning bolt.

Although I heard complaints on my way out about the ending, I thought the ending was completely appropriate and powerful. Some people have to understand that this is live theater and that this is a play that has been performed for decades. In the end, murder is still murder and it is not necessary to show a brutal killing. As Carmen lay dead on stage, the lighting turning red, left a powerful popping image that I carried home that night. Both the orchestra and cast performed a on par if not above par performance of the classic Carmen.

A red lightning bolt strikes right down the center of the stage, as if it were splitting the stage in half. The setting of the rest of the opera is set up with a rotating center stage and realistic backdrops, which changed up between the scenes, from the cigarette factory to the small inn. The rotating stage and backdrops helped create smoother and more effective transitions. The lighting also played a huge part, assisting the music to set the mood of each and every act and scene.

The music begins and quickly captivates the attention of the audience without beginning the first act. The orchestra plays a suspenseful piece while the curtain rises to reveal the rest of the stage, when two dancers, a shirtless man and a fierce young woman, move swiftly and passionately across the stage. Their movements give the audience a slight sense of the explicit emotions that lie between the relationship of the two leading characters, Carmen and Don Jose.

As the two dancers glide back stage, the first plot rolls into action in front of an old cigarette factory. Micaela, played by Kate Royal, innocently asks the soldiers for Don Jose, played by Yonghoon Lee, in her harmonious soprano pitch. The soldiers are all infatuated, asking Micaela to stay with them in their booming voices. The voices of some characters are crisp and clear, even to those in the last row of the theater. Unexpectedly, the female lead did not reach the same expectations as the other characters. Carmen, played by Anita Rachvelishvili, was equally as passionate but her voice seemed to fall short and tremble at times. This did not complement her costume and hair, which suggested her to be the seductive and promiscuous character. Her physical attractiveness did not seem to reach that of Carmen’s – Royal may have been more suited for this role.

Image found on Google

The children of the factory who scrambled on stage did well on their part. Even though there were probably thirty or more of them on stage, with a range of different ages, their performance still impressed the audience. Their movements and voices were unified.

The beginning of the play started off strong and lively; the audience was on the edge of their seats to see how Don Jose would react to Carmen seducing him. The physical infatuation was readily apparent between the two characters. As the second act began, the crowd seemed to lose interest and began shuffling around in their seats. The performance began to lack the enthusiasm that it started off with and seemed to leave the audience hanging with the anticipation the first act had built up. However, the opera seemed to pick itself back up to some extent. It appeared as if Don Jose had planned to kill Carmen, even though it was intended to have shown him killing her out of anger and frustration. Nevertheless, the red lights that turned on, with Carmen’s body laying on stage, left the audience with quite an unforgettable image.

Image found on Google

This performance of the opera was not its fullest potential. The backdrop and rotating stage was very helpful; the costumes and makeup on the characters were very suitable for the plot; however, the singing is only on par but has a lot of potential. The opera started off strong but began to fluctuate and ended off on a note that was disappointing in the end.

The stage and orchestra were filled with talents for Georges Bizet’s famous opera, Carmen, in the Metropolitan Opera. Immediately the orchestra played a familiar melody from Habanera, drawing the audience into the play even before the actual performance began. The music was dynamic, eloquent and powerful, preparing us to witness the best of the best. If that wasn’t enough, a well-choreographed modern, sensually seductive dance (duet) interpreting the central theme of Carmen introduced us to the supposed masterpiece.

The Metropolitan Opera stage seemed like a castle as it rotated to the stage of Act I in Carmen. It was amazing to see how easily and efficiently the stage could transform in front of the audience. Not only the stage, the performers’ costumes were wonderfully designed, making them appeared as if they were really cigarette workers and officers back in the mid-19^th century in Seville, France. The women wore dirty light clothes of grey and brown colors that looked similar to rags; the male workers wore jean overalls and a tainted t-shirt inside; the officers had fresh green uniforms and boots on, giving off a sense of high status and power in the cigarette factory; and finally Carmen, she had a flashy polka-dotted dress that was tied on the upper part. The dress was purple and obviously unique compared to the other cigarette girls. She stood out, but her costume was not glamorous either. The dress was also suitably dirty like the other cigarette girls, just more colorful.

Anita Rachevelishvili as Carmen. Photo credits to Marty Sohl from The Metropolitan Opera.

The costumes for Carmen certainly were appealing and fitting, but what would an opera be without singing? The first great solo was of course sung by the mezzo-soprano singer, Anita Rachevelishvili, who performed the flirtatious gypsy Carmen. She was magnificent in Act I, singing with emotions and seductiveness that dazzled the audience. After over two hours of singing, her voice seemed to have lost its vitality by Act IV. Rachevelishvili’s acting and role play was still top notched; however, her voice did not match up. It was weaker and much less pronounced than she was in Act I and II. In contrast, the softer and sweeter character Micaela, played by the soprano singer Kate Royal, performed her arias and acting splendidly throughout. Royal sang with a voiced that sounded natural to the situation she was in; her voice was shaken and scared when she was surrounded by the officers in Act I and jubilant in Act III in her sweet duet with Don Jose, played by the Korean tenor singer Yonghoon Lee. But the most prominent singer was certainly Don Jose. Lee did not lose grip of his vocals from the beginning to end. His duet Parle-Moi De Ma Mère with Royal in Act I was heartfelt; in the final moments of Act IV, the audience could feel the anguish and despair from his booming and powerful voice in the duet, “C’est toi? C’est moi!” The contrast from the vitality of Lee’s singing to the exhaustion in Rachevelishvili’s was too evident.

We went in to a spectacle but went out feeling almost defeated. The way Act IV’s ending was executed was major disappointment; it could even be called anti-climactic. The tensions were set from the beginning when Jose was imprisoned for aiding Carmen’s escape, which eventually led to Jose’s fall from grace as he ended up with a group of thieves but not with Carmen’s love. At this point in Act IV where Jose’s anger and jealousy was about to explode, the audience would be expecting an extraordinary modern interpretation of the famous scene–Carmen’s death. Our expectations, however, were returned with an insipid and tensionless scene as Carmen was stabbed to death by Don Jose. It might seem dramatic for Carmen to state “Kill me or let me go” without singing in an opera (it was the first time a line was not sang but simply spoken). But what happened to the climax? A bland declaration stated like that without the aesthetics of opera singing was like hitting a wall before leaving the climatic highway.

Don Jose (Yonghoon Lee) threatening the exhausted Carmen (Anita Rachevelishvili) with a knife. Photo credits to Ken Howard from The Metropolitan Opera.

The décor of The Metropolitan Opera sets a grand atmosphere for the opera it is presenting. From the size to the quality of acoustics in the theater, it is able to give the audience an authentic experience. Recently, they presented “Carmen,” a classic opera created by Georges Bizet in 1800s. When the opera was adapted, the directors emphasized a struggle between powers through the smooth, yet dramatic dance moves, and high-pitched yet powerful arias. Combined with the intricate details of the theater, the performance had the audience clinging onto every emotion and word, even though it was performed in French.

Met Opera House; credits to aliberalslibretto.com

Before each act, two ballerinas, Maria Kowroski and Eric Otto, are dancing in front of a red backdrop. Performed before Acts I and III, the intimate dance moves are setting the mood for the respective acts. The red background also serves as a tool to draw in the audience’s attention.

When Act I began, it became apparent who was the lead even if the viewer did not know the storyline. The voices of Carmen and Don Jose, sung by Anita Rachvelishvili and Yonghoon Lee, respectively, dominated others. When other soldiers were pursuing Carmen, their voices were noticeably softer and weaker than Carmen’s. The director seemed to have used the strength and weaknesses of the casts’ voices to underscore the plot and the overall dramatic effect. That is to say, those who could not win Carmen’s heart had weaker voices than Don Jose, whose voice rung in the theater and overpowered Carmen’s.

Carmen; credits to opera-britannia.com

Throughout the opera, the director constantly used this technique to depict the stronger character. Another instance was when Micaela, played by Kate Royal, wanted to take Don Jose away from the world of gypsies. A soprano, Micaela sang her aria with a sweet, high-pitched voice; this is paralleled to her thoughtful and loyal personality. On the other hand, Carmen, a weaker mezzo-soprano by Act III, still sounds fierce and more prominent.

Although the technique was useful in emphasizing the overall dramatic effect of the opera, the ending did not have the same positive effect. Though Carmen’s death was dramatic, it was also abrupt. It was almost as if someone had ended a song in the middle of an important verse. Yet again, the grandeur of the Metropolitan Opera may have set the standards too high, making this opera’s ending seem a lot weaker than it really is.

Georges Bizet’s Carmen gave its audience a night full of intense drama and emotion. The play opened with the backdrop almost “tearing”; a red light spilling onto the stage. A shirtless, chiseled male appeared with a sultry young woman, and the two danced provocatively on stage. Their movements suggested a strong passionate relationship foreshadowing the future relationship of Carmen and Don Jose.

The opera’s actual plot began with the appearance of the timid Micaela resisting the unrestrained soldiers. The soldiers, having been confined with their own gender for so long, wanted Micaela to stay for some “fun”. The audience automatically sympathized with the young Micaela, and we all hoped for her safe escape. Here was the origin of the strong emotions exuded by the characters and the scenes.

Micaela’s exit transitions into a grand display of the “changing of the guard”. Here a dramatic, powerful tone resonates between the children and the soldiers. The children’s high-pitched voices blended with the soldier’s deep voices very well. The grand scene was one of the best of the night. The choreography was very well done and executed without any obvious mistakes.

Carmen appears in the middle of the “cigarette girls scene”. She makes an ostentatious appearance among the girls. Anita Rachvelishvili, the actress who played Carmen, appeared very flirtatious, and moved seductively around stopping at different men gathered around the cigarette girls. It was obvious she was not popular with the other cigarette girls. Her voice was good, but not excellent. She seemed to be overpowered by Micaela’s vocals in her earlier appearance. The romantic, sweet voices of the cigarette girls were contrasted with Carmen’s sultry voice and movements.

Carmen’s flower that she seemed to point at different men seemed to symbolize her latest love interest. Its scent was said to overpower even the most faithful man, and her “stabbing of Don Jose, seemed ominous and foreshadowing. The episode ended with the innocent Micaela entering and embracing Don Jose. Micaela’s innocence is juxtaposed with Carmen’s forwardness throughout the opera.

The elements of folk dance were particularly clear in the “Seguidilla”. The twirling of skirts and stomping of their boots created a spectacle of carefreeness that seemed to permeate the gypsy camp. The men flipped and spun the girls and the children imitated the toreador in a bullfight. The passionate impersonation of the bullfight mirrored Carmen and Don Jose’s relationship. As the bull, Carmen too is slain.

The destruction of Don Jose by Carmen takes place both emotionally and physically. He seems intensely weakened by her power, until he kills that which destroyed him, Carmen. Beethoven’s Fate Motif can be heard in the background as all of this takes place. As Don Jose takes off his military jacket to join the gypsy troupe, it symbolized his abandonment of duty and fidelity to Micaela. It is here that Don Jose is permanently changed. It is the point of no return.

The Opera’s music was excellent. The orchestra was brilliant, and their control of their sound level was exceptional. The music directly correlated with the scenes’ tones. The drawn out music during the times of mourning and the faster, lighter music mirrored both the scenes of despondency and frivolity.

The grand scenes in conjunction with the more intimate emotional episodes created a robust array of emotions for the opera’s audience.

Carmen is a beloved opera known worldwide for its music, its singing, and plot.

The most recent rendition featured Anita Rachvelishvili as the new Carmen.  Her singing was spot on.  From her mezzo-soprano voice, one can tell that she was someone with the ability of persuasion.

But Anita didn’t have the physical attractiveness of Carmen.  We have the perception of Carmen as a sexy and promiscuous young female.  Maybe that is society’s fault for setting these standards and also it is very rare for thin girls to be opera singers.

Starring as Don Jose was Yonghoon Lee.  Some have called Carmen a tragedy, not because of Carmen’s fate, but because of Don Jose’s fall from grace.  In the beginning of the opera, Don Jose is a successful military corporal with Micaela (Kate Royal) as his fiancé.  As Carmen starts seducing him, Don Jose begins to tumble.  Don Jose always had agency.  He had the freedom to act on his own will.  At times, Don Jose could’ve left Carmen and went back to his mom and fiancé.  Instead, he decided on his free will to stay.  Carmen’s seducing did play a role, but it was up to him to make a decision.

When the audience first meets Micaela, she is presented as the “good girl”.  She goes to church, she visits her fiancé’s mom, and is innocent.  This is complete opposite to Carmen who uses fortune cards, gets into fights, and is sinful.  This  “good girl” reveals her power in Act III.  She was the only reason Don Jose decided to turn back and go him to his mother.  It is true that her and Carmen are complete opposites.  Carmen is now repelling Don Jose, while Micaela is attracting to Don Jose.

In this production, the props themselves represented something greater.  The first was during the climax. When Don Jose decides to join Carmen, he takes off his military jacket to put on a different jacket that resembles that of a smuggler.  The jacket is used to portray the identity of a person.  When Don Jose took off his military jacket, he finally renounced his past.  Before that, he was attracted to Carmen, but had agency.  Now, with a new jacket, Don Jose is a new person who has given into his impulses and there is no turning back for him.

Another symbol were the lights themselves.  Before every two acts, a dance ballet is performed.  In the first one, a ballet is performed under red light.  The color red has a connotation with love, blood, and passion.  This was apparent with the first two acts where Carmen starts seducing Don Jose and Don Jose proclaiming his love toward Carmen.  Before Act III, instead of the red light, there was a blue light.  The color blue represents that of cooling, sadness, and calmness.  This was shown in the last two acts where Carmen rejects Don Jose’s love.

The music was amazing.  The orchestra did an amazing job to make the audience to feel that they were in Seville, Spain.  There were no synchronization errors, but I believe that it was wrong for the music to stop playing before Carmen dies. With no music, the death seemed melodramatic.  The music would’ve complemented the death scene by making it something that the entire audience has been waiting to see.

---

http://www.broadstreetreview.com/images/uploads/opera/Carmen-Alagna_kills_Garanca.jpg