I really enjoyed this version and the brassy show singing, which for me is the point of CARMEN JONES. If you’re looking for the purity, control, and beauty of opera, I’d recommend CARMEN at, say, the Met. This piece isn’t simply a version of CARMEN with lyrics by Hammerstein, it uses Bizet’s music and story and translates them into another genre. I didn’t find Hammerstein’s work at all stupid. In fact, I thought he did a surprisingly good job with this rethinking. But it’s definitely not going to satisfy opera purists who want opera singing.
I also disagree with you about the acting, which I thought had a lot of ease and connection to the words (something I often find lacking in opera).
And I probably disagree with you about the essence of theater, for that matter. I don’t believe that actors become real people on stage, a la transubstantion. I think they’re real people to begin with, doing their work, either well or badly.
I often think of Venn diagrams to compare aesthetic overlap. There are some people with whom I have a huge overlap. You and I, it seems, have very little overlap at all. Nothing wrong with that. We probably shouldn’t recommend shows to each other, that’s all... |
