Here's something you might be interested in.
There is a performance of Carmen coming up on June 22nd at the JCC in UTC. The production is a joint venture by the Pacific Lyric Association and the music department of Mira Costa College.
I haven’t been able to find much information about the Pacific Lyric Association but there are some YouTube clips of a Zarzuela that was recently produced.
The last time we talked about Carmen, we decided that none of the characters have any redeeming qualities.
Don Jose is a wreck who cannot make a good decision to save his life. He’s also a coward and a lousy knife fighter.
Carmen is a criminal who demands freedom. Her concept of freedom appears to be based on her ability to manipulate any man she wants and to smuggle junk around the mountains.
Escamillo is a poser whose only quality is to provide the third corner of a love triangle.
Micaela might be a sympathetic character but she’s a one dimensional good girl.
The redeeming quality of Carmen is the music. From start to finish and from the orchestra to the chorus and principals, the music is glorious. Even Wagner, who wasn’t impressed with anyone but himself, was a fan.
Wagner was a fan because the music has pride of place in Carmen. Most of the characterization of these people isn’t in the words they say but in the music they sing. If we allow ourselves to let the music be our guide, the characters take on the complexity that is missing in the libretto.
I like to call this the Pagliacci effect. Canio isn’t a sympathetic character; in fact, he’s kind of a jerk. However, at the end of the show, we are right there with him bawling our eyes out even though he’s killed his wife and her lover.
It’s the same with Carmen. Somehow we get it and we relate to these characters. Take the music away and the characters deteriorate into uninteresting blobs of melodrama.
The upcoming performance is on June 22nd at 7:00 pm at the JCC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ9sejvN9Os&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLCCFACFB84E9262A0
There is a performance of Carmen coming up on June 22nd at the JCC in UTC. The production is a joint venture by the Pacific Lyric Association and the music department of Mira Costa College.
I haven’t been able to find much information about the Pacific Lyric Association but there are some YouTube clips of a Zarzuela that was recently produced.
The last time we talked about Carmen, we decided that none of the characters have any redeeming qualities.
Don Jose is a wreck who cannot make a good decision to save his life. He’s also a coward and a lousy knife fighter.
Carmen is a criminal who demands freedom. Her concept of freedom appears to be based on her ability to manipulate any man she wants and to smuggle junk around the mountains.
Escamillo is a poser whose only quality is to provide the third corner of a love triangle.
Micaela might be a sympathetic character but she’s a one dimensional good girl.
The redeeming quality of Carmen is the music. From start to finish and from the orchestra to the chorus and principals, the music is glorious. Even Wagner, who wasn’t impressed with anyone but himself, was a fan.
Wagner was a fan because the music has pride of place in Carmen. Most of the characterization of these people isn’t in the words they say but in the music they sing. If we allow ourselves to let the music be our guide, the characters take on the complexity that is missing in the libretto.
I like to call this the Pagliacci effect. Canio isn’t a sympathetic character; in fact, he’s kind of a jerk. However, at the end of the show, we are right there with him bawling our eyes out even though he’s killed his wife and her lover.
It’s the same with Carmen. Somehow we get it and we relate to these characters. Take the music away and the characters deteriorate into uninteresting blobs of melodrama.
The upcoming performance is on June 22nd at 7:00 pm at the JCC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ9sejvN9Os&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLCCFACFB84E9262A0