It's been featured by the Muppets, “Bad News Bears,” Disney’s “Up,” “Superman Returns” and in Major League Baseball — music from Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen.”
The 2016-17 Utah Opera season opens Oct. 8 with “Carmen,” which is considered one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the world, according to a press release from Utah Opera. “Carmen” features some of the most recognizable and famous arias, including “Habanera” and “Toreador.”
“Carmen is so ubiquitous because its music can be found in all of popular culture," said Elise Quagliata, a mezzo-soprano who plays the title character. "It’s on a gas commercial, movie trailer — and you’d have no idea that it came from ‘Carmen.’
"When they recognize the music, you’ve got an audience that doesn’t feel like opera is so distant or high arch. ‘Carmen’ is the best intro opera because it’s not distant," Quagliata said. "It wouldn’t be used in popular culture as much as it is if it weren’t accessible and a good tune. If there is someone who thinks they aren’t interested in opera, bring them to ‘Carmen.’”
Last performed on the Utah Opera stage in January 2010, the operatic story is set in mid-19th century Spain and revolves around the soldier Don José (sung by former Utah Opera resident artist and tenor Dominick Chenes) who has the love of a young peasant girl, Micaëla (sung by Sarah Tucker in her Utah Opera debut). However, Don José throws away both love and career when he meets the beguiling gypsy Carmen, sung by Utah Opera newcomer Quagliata, according to the press release.
“Revolving around one of the most powerful and gripping stories found in all of theater, ‘Carmen’ contains more recognizable and favorite melodies of any opera,” said Utah Opera artistic director Christopher McBeth. “I know our audience will find ‘Carmen’ as irresistible as its title character. I’m thrilled to bring it back to the stage with this exciting cast and director.”
According to stage director Tara Faircloth, the characters within the opera are both modern and complex and display the elements of a “rocky relationship”: pettiness, jealousy, mockery and begging for forgiveness.
"With a grand backdrop of Spanish costumes and sets, Bizet's ‘Carmen’ tells the story of two outsiders whose lives are inextricably linked, with disastrous consequences,” said Faircloth, who also directed Utah Opera’s production of “The Marriage of Figaro” in May 2016. “Carmen, a capricious and strong-willed woman, desires the freedom to be and do as she pleases. She finds herself entangled with Don José, a man who buries his darker impulses in a military life that is orderly and defined. His need to own and control a woman who will not be subdued leads to their tragic downfall."
Faircloth, who has directed “Carmen” several times in the past, said one of her favorite aspects of directing operas is the variety of people involved and how they shape each experience in their own unique way.
“It’s fresh and new every time because I get brand new people to work with," Faircloth said. "My favorite part of the opera-making process is getting to know people, and seeing what flavor they bring and seeing how our different feelings and interpretations of the roles come together.”
Robert Tweten, the conductor of Utah Opera’s performances of “Carmen,” agreed. Although the same score is used for each rendition of the opera, the performers always seem to make it their own, “which is the joy of it,” he said.
“You have your idea in your mind of how you want the piece to go, but there’s a lot of room for interpretation of how they come off the page," Tweten said. "In opera you have to be able to be flexible. You have to have your game plan, but you have to take what comes at you, compromise, and come up with something all together. You’ve got to embrace the fact that you’re going to go out there and be different every time.”
Quagliata’s debut as Carmen was 11 years ago, at 27 years old. As she has changed through the years — she is now married with a child — she said her portrayal of Carmen has also changed.
“My Carmen now is a wiser woman. I think my role as a wife and a mother has affected my characters in other operas more so than it has Carmen, however, I feel more in control of my body, myself and my voice now,” she said.
Chenes, who sings the part for Don José, also has a young family. Although he doesn’t identify with his character in many aspects, he does feel sympathetic toward Don José.
“He has lost a lot of things. Although he obviously doesn’t have children and isn’t married, I feel like I’m experiencing some loss when my family doesn’t get to travel with me much. I feel like I’m losing my family for a little bit every time I leave home,” he said.
As Don José’s lust for Carmen grows and his character develops, Chenes noticed that certain choices have the ability to affect a person’s life for the worst. He said as the characters all develop and the story progresses, the audience will be a part of a three-hour drama filled with laughter, tears and excitement.
“From the moment it starts, you know it’s going to be a pretty fun night," Tweten said. "It’s one of those things where all the parts are really amazing, but somehow the totality of it is even more amazing. It really packs a punch emotionally. I think the people who come realize that an opera is a valuable thing to have.”
According to Faircloth, in addition to the color and emotion of “Carmen,” there will be almost 80 people on stage at several points, which should provide a lot of energy to the audience.
“I want you to feel exhilarated and exhausted at the same time — like you took a crazy emotional ride,” she said.
Five performances will be at the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre, Oct. 8, 10, 12, 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 16 at 2 p.m. Tickets, priced from $21-$110, are available for purchase through utahopera.org or by calling 801-355-2787. The performance will last approximately three hours with two intermissions.
If you go ...
What: Utah Opera's "Carmen"
When: Oct. 8, 10, 12, 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 16 at 2 p.m.
Where: Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South
How much: $21-$110
Phone: 801-355-2787
Web: utahopera.org
Email: kadams@deseretnews.com