Painted Sky Opera finishes its third season with “The Tragedy of Carmen”
Painted Sky Opera concludes its third season with The Tragedy of Carmen by Georges Bizet and Peter Brook. The production is an adaptation of Bizet’s famous opera Carmen and features all the original’s well-known melodies along with its story of seduction, betrayal and obsession.
The Tragedy of Carmen was adapted from the original opera in 1983 by opera director Peter Brook and tells the same story of the free-spirited and passionate Carmen, who convinces Don José to release her from prison and then desert his post as a soldier after attacking his superior officer in her defense.
Eventually, Carmen becomes weary of Don José’s obsessive nature and leaves him for the bullfighter Escamillo. Enraged, Don José follows Carmen to the arena in which Escamillo is fighting and confronts her.
The adapted version differs from the original in several ways, including the reduction of the cast to only four singers: Carmen, Don José, Escamillo, and the innocent Micaëla whom Don José knows from childhood, as well as a few spoken parts. The opera is also shortened to 90 minutes from its original three hours.
Despite the reduction, Brook manages to retain all of the best-known aspects of the show, including the melodies that are recognizable to non-operagoers from repeated usage in television and movies.
“The result of this adaption is a tightly wound and fast-paced show that crackles with energy and suspense,” said Director Rob Glaubitz. “It’s ideal for today’s modern audiences because it is paced more like a modern thriller than a 19th-century opera.”
Painted Sky Opera also departs from the original opera by moving the show forward in time into a post-apocalyptic setting inspired by the Mad Max movies. Both costumes and sets of this production reflect the weathered and eclectic style of a dystopian future where society survives due to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the people living in it.
“The updated setting made complete sense to me because of Brook’s revisions to the original opera,” said Glaubitz. “The intensity of the action creates an amplified sense that society is hanging on by a thread. Plus, the four main characters have been distilled to the point where their basic human desires are more fully on view.”
The production marks the return of tenor Joel Burcham and baritone Tom Sitzler to the stage of the Freede Little Theatre as the obsessive Don José and the bullfighter Escamillo respectively. Both were last seen in Painted Sky Opera’s production of Tosca in October 2017.
The production also features two singers making their debut with Painted Sky Opera: Caitlin McKechney as the title role of Carmen and Hanna Brammer as Micaëla. Both McKechney and Brammer frequently appear on the stage of other regional opera companies around the United States.
The Tragedy of Carmen will be performed on Friday, May 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 19 at 2 p.m. at the Freede Little Theatre at Civic Center Music Hall. The production is performed with orchestra in French with English supertitles. Rob Glaubitz directs the show for the stage with music direction by Jan McDaniel.
Tickets start at $35 for adults, with discounts for students, military, and seniors available in-person at the box office. For advance tickets to The Tragedy of Carmen, visit www.paintedskyopera.org call the Civic Center box office at (405) 594-8300.
Painted Sky Opera’s 2018-19 season information is available www.paintedskyopera.org.
Copyright The Gayly – May 9, 2019 @ 7:05 a.m. CDT.