In choosing Georges Bizet's best-known work to launch its three-show season, Syracuse Opera is in good company. "Carmen" was staged at Chicago Lyric in February; Atlanta in April, and Los Angeles in September.
Audiences love the four-act opera for its well-defined characters, the danger in the plot, and Bizet's memorable music. It's a popular and safe choice for any company, but staging it does carry risks.
Viewers, so familiar with the music and story, tend to compare each new production with others they have seen, and "Carmen" can either rise toward perfection or fail to measure up. Audience members who were asked for quick opinions during intermission at the Oct. 20 opening night performance gave mixed responses.
While some said the production was stark and lacked passion, others said they found it thrilling. But, all had high praise for the performers and the music. There is never any doubt about the strength of Bizet's score, with its gorgeous melodies, one after another, and its colorful orchestration. Symphoria, in the pit, did it justice, playing brilliantly under the fervent baton of Christian Capocaccia. The orchestra dazzled, from the fiery opening bars of the overture to the haunting final notes of the tragic closing scene.
Bizet adapted the story of his opera from "Carmen," a dark 1845 novella by Prosper Merimee. With librettists Meilhic and Halevy, he breathed life into the characters and brought them to the stage with an 1875 premiere. Syracuse Opera keeps the setting in 19th century Seville and remains true to Bizet's Opera-Comique style, which calls for spoken dialogue to string together the songs. It is performed in the original French, with translations projected above the stage.
Playing the title role, mezzo-soprano Vanessa Cariddi articulates, in song, word and attitude, every facet of Carmen's overpowering personality. She displays her thighs, lifts a bare shoulder, and struts across the stage, her voice a conquering, heady power. She first performed as Carmen in 2006 for New York City Opera, and it's clear why Cariddi claims it as her signature role.
Cariddi's Act I "Habanera," in which she identifies love in a series of similes--a rebellious bird, a gypsy child--is her first shining moment. The tilt of the head, the provocative body language, and that sonorous voice all express her defiance and dominance. "If I love you, beware," she sings, and it's a message that Corporal Don Jose should heed once she tosses him the red flower that marks him as the focus of her lust.
Singing his Syracuse Opera debut, Noah Stewart portrays Don Jose with a greater measure of restraint than is seen in some versions of the role. Even so, he conveys the madness that overtakes the hapless soldier in the clutches of Carmen, fending off her attention in some scenes and groveling at her feet in others. Stewart's versatile tenor takes him seamlessly from chastising Carmen to welcoming his sweetheart, Micaela, and singing a tender duet with her about their hometown.
Timid Micaela is sung by soprano Jennifer Goode Cooper, whose bell-like clarity conveys her character's purity and singleness of purpose in acting as messenger for Jose's ailing mother. Central New Yorker Gregory Sheppard, bass, plays Zuniga, officer of the guard, who orders Don Jose to arrest Carmen for knifing another of the cigarette factory girls. Soprano Julia Ebner, another local talent, brings fire and fury to the role of the gypsy Frasquita. Baritone Luis Orozco, in the role of the matador Escamillo, provides some of the most animated movement in the opera when he dances on the table in Act II while singing the iconic "Toreador Song."
Hundreds of decisions, based on artistry, venue, staffing and budget, go into any theatrical production. The creative team's choice to build minimalist sets with sharp angles that suggest depth, and to rely on lighting design (Alexander P. Koziara) to define location and mood, means the audience gets only a suggestion of the exotic environment of a Spanish town square, market place or mountainside smugglers' lair. Still, imagination suffices, given the strong acting and vocal skills of the cast.
Twenty-first century audiences may be inured to sex, violence and betrayal in their entertainment, but the Syracuse Opera production of "Carmen" has the power to evoke a sense of astonishment at the blatant sexuality and the inevitability of tragedy in Bizet's most popular work. The Syracuse Opera season is titled "Doomed Divas," and two more protagonists face destruction in "La Traviata" and "Madama Butterfly." A solid foundation has been set by "Carmen" for the dramatic scenes and thrilling music that are to come.
The Salt City Belles show off their themed attire for a group attendance at Syracuse Opera's "Carmen" Friday at Crouse-Hinds Theater. Some were attending their first performance of Bizet's familiar opera, and others were there for their third, fourth or sixth viewing. From left are Gina Santucci, Stefania Ianno, Erin Kennedy, Nicole Jones, Jamie Owens, Francesca Howard, and Samantha Zimnock. The opera plays again Sunday at 2 p.m.
THE DETAILS:
What: Syracuse Opera's "Carmen"
Who: Beth Greenberg, director; Marisa Guzman, choreographer; Christian Capocaccia, conductor, with musicians from Symphoria and Syracuse Opera Chorus, directed by Nancy James.
Where: Crouse-Hinds Theater, John H. Mulroy Civic Center
When: Reviewed Oct. 20; Remaining performance, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m.
Running Time: Approximately two and a half hours with one 20-minute intermission
Language: Sung in French with projected surtitles in English
Tickets: From $26; students, $10; season tickets still available
Purchase: online at syracuseopera.org or by phone at 315-476-7372