Carmen

FRESH, VIBRANT AND ORIGINAL (Even Almost 150 Years Later)

BY JOSHUA BORTHS

If you type “most popular operas” into any search engine, Bizet’s Carmen will inevitably be near the top of the list. In fact, Carmen has become so famous that it’s often synonymous with “opera” itself, and its steamy drama, hit tunes and dark themes are one-of-a-kind.

Carmen has seduced audiences since it premiered in 1875. However, it is the character Carmen herself who ultimately keeps audiences coming back again and again, luring each viewer to the opera house for the first or hundredth time. Somehow, almost 150 years after the premiere, this character still feels edgy and contemporary. With defiance, independence and an uncompromising spirit, Carmen forces us all to confront our own assumptions about fate, life, and love.

Set in Spain during the 19th century, the story begins at a local cigarette factory. When a fight breaks out among the workers, only one of them, the enigmatic Carmen, is arrested.

She manages to escape by seducing her guard, the soldier Don José, who is then jailed for letting her walk free.

Weeks later, Carmen and Don José reunite as she is about to embark on a smuggling operation in the mountains. Recklessly, Don José abandons his uniform and flees with Carmen to live outside the law. As the story twists and turns, jealousies simmer, passions flare and Don José’s possessive obsession grows, leading to the opera’s defiant and deadly conclusion.

When Carmen premiered in Paris, it created quite the scandal. Never in French opera had a character been so explicitly sexual, and never had such violence been depicted on the stage. The original chorus was intimidated by the notion of inhabiting realistic characters, and orchestra members balked at Bizet’s virtuosic melodies, daring harmonies and bold orchestrations.

The opera defied conventional morals, openly exhibiting human passions on a level deemed— at the very least—impolite. Naturally, audiences flocked to see the “scandal,” and Carmen became a world-wide phenomenon as it traveled across the globe. Tragically, Bizet died at the young age of 36, exactly three months to the day after Carmen premiered, and never saw the lasting success of his bold, new opera.

Carmen’s score became an instant classic, and many excerpts have become so famous they’ve infiltrated every level of popular culture. From classic movies to pasta commercials, late night talk shows to Sesame Street, everyone has sung and heard the music of Carmen often without realizing it. For audiences young and old, it’s revelatory to hear this familiar music in its original context. The music is tuneful, diverse, and catchy, of course, but what surprises first-time viewers of Carmen more than anything else is how these seemingly simple tunes fit the characters and drama perfectly.

While everyone knows the sultry tune of Carmen’s habanera, nothing compares to seeing her emerge from the cigarette factory— singing, smoking and sweating—daring us not to hum along. The character of Carmen takes this almost too-familiar music and makes the opera resonate with meaning.

This original femme fatale has defied generation after generation who grapple with her significance as either a cautionary tale or brave inspiration of individuality. In the 20th century, Carmen’s independence and strength became her defining features, overtaking her exoticism and sensuality. In the 1950s, Carmen Jones brought the opera to Broadway and Hollywood, transforming the traditional character into a Black jazz singer in New York City, and decades later, the character even inspired Beyoncé’s Carmen: A Hip Hopera. Carmen continually fascinates artists and audiences alike, inspiring complex questions: What does it mean to enact this story today? What does Carmen reveal about our attitudes towards those who live outside conventionality?

Des Moines Metro Opera’s Carmen will continue this grand tradition. And while the setting and costumes will reflect the 19th century, our new cast and energetic production team will bring their own vitality, experiences and ideas to the opera. This summer, classic melodies, thrilling storytelling and contemporary themes will be viscerally alive. Carmen promises to be wildly entertaining and provocative, just as this opera has always been.