An Exclusive Carmen Incarnate

Bizet’s Carmen

Venture Opera

The Diamond Horseshoe

March 5, 2016

Carmen works her charms on Don Jose
Photo credit: Jason Woodruff

Lei: Originally scheduled to have 5 performances of Carmen in an industrial complex in Crown Heights, on February 18 Venture Opera announced a change in venue due to circumstances beyond their control. And so, from a 5-day run in Brooklyn we ended up with a one night only at the Diamond Horseshoe in Manhattan. This venue is known for its production of the music-acrobatic-dance-interactive-dinner-theater extravaganza “The Queen of the Night,” vaguely inspired by Mozart’s Magic Flute character and, last time we checked (before it closed), charging $190 for its cheapest entrance ticket. The fact that Venture Opera managed to secure the Diamond Horseshoe for a Saturday night shows that this indie company is extremely well funded and/or well connected.

The Diamond Horseshoe
Photo credit: Allegri con Fuoco

After making our way through the faux-decadent entrance to the clubby underground venue (crooked chandeliers, dramatic staircases, peeling paint, broken statues, piles of champagne flutes), we got to the main space and it was as stunning as I remembered it. Vaulted ceilings with gold stucco, stage surrounded by sputnik decorations, leathered and mirrored booths on the sides and an alchemist-like bar in the back. Oh, and a statue of a jaguar welcoming guests at the entrance together with Egyptian-looking urns. The only modifications made to transform the spectacular venue into an opera theater were rows of zebra-print cushioned chairs, a screen on the side of the stage and of course the 27-member orchestra on the other side.

 

The funky bar
Photo credit: Allegri con Fuoco

Lui: The musical quality of the performance was all in all superb. The orchestra under the baton of maestro Carmine Aufiero in the elegantly intimate space sounded great. They teased out all of the exotic Spanish rhythms in the score, and played particularly forcefully through Don Jose’s third and fourth act breakdown. The main singers were also extremely strong, and the sheer gut-stirring power of their voices came across even more so given the small space.

L'amour est un oiseau rebelle
Photo credit: Jason Woodruff

Mezzo-soprano Kirstin Chávez as Carmen was an intense Dionysian force of nature, exactly what this iconic character should be: an empower femme fatale who unleashes chaotic sensuality against the bulwarks of the Apollonian order; a presence that provokes the dissolution of identity, including her own. Chávez has an amazing voice for the role. It’s earthy, warm, chesty, sexy. Her singing ranged from lyrical and seductive in Acts I and II to raw and moving in Act III. She really embodied the role in every possible way, from the way she moved, right down to the way she took her castanets out of her bra during Je vais danser, to how she used her eyes, to her uttering off-libretto French expressions (Allez! Attends! Ça va!) even while she exited a scene. Chávez definitely has captivating acting chops for an opera singer. Every moment she was on stage she was doing something character-specific. And the extraordinary thing is that she did not look like she was acting, she just was Carmen.

It is always refreshing to encounter an artist who is alive with her talent and it is reassuring to see a singer who has obviously found her calling. You go to Carmen to see an actress-singer occupy the role body and soul, and that’s exactly what she did. It is even more of a pleasure to witness this phenomenon in such a high quality intimate setting. In this respect, Venture Opera delivered again.

Non, je ne t'aime plus
Photo credit: Jason Woodruff

Lei: Tenor Alok Kumar was a strong Don Jose and really let loose in Act III, when with his sudden descent into desperation he forcefully jettisoned his character to the emotional core of the opera. His sound is manly and, when in full cry, particularly expressive and moving. Baritone Eugene Villanueva made for a sexy and charismatic toreador Escamillo, both vocally and acting-wise. Young Canadian soprano Mikayla Sager was an impressive Micaela, embodying the madonna-like role with a sound that was pure, lyrical and soaring. Baritone Eric Downs (whom we’ve seen earlier this season in Venture Opera’s Don Giovanni), reconfirmed his strong vocal and stage presence and left me wanting for more (he sings only in the first half of the opera). Soprano Raquel Suarez-Groen and mezzo Shabnam Kalbasi were fine Frasquita and Mercedes, particularly effective in their trio with Carmen in the tarot reading scene in Act II.

J'irai danser la seguedille
Photo credit: Jason Woodruff

Lui: Director Bernard Uzan worked an ongoing motif into his vision for this production: love is like a flower and like a flower it fades quickly. In Act I, Carmen throws Don Jose a flower that hits his chest like bullet. The white carnation is the nascent origin of true love at first sight. Shortly thereafter the flower has wilted to a deathly brown. By the end of the opera, the lifeless flower returns only to be stained with the blood of Carmen herself. A poignant image that sums up the story. 

There were also a number of clever set pieces in Uzan’s direction. Particularly memorable the Seguedille scene in Act II, when Don Jose has Carmen tied up, Uzan very keenly choreographed an intricate exchange between the two singers whereby Carmen seduces her captor through an erotic dance with the rope between her legs. Over the course of the scene she even manages to turn the tables on Don Jose, as he ends up all wrapped up in the rope in which her wrists are tied. Carmen's preying mantis maneuver was seductively executed. Chávez made it all seem so effortless. And so much of the direction was like this. 

Les tringles des sistres tintaient
Photo credit: Jason Woodruff

Lei: There were definitely some nice touches and the emotional core of the opera was conveyed effectively, however I was not crazy about the choice to have a screen on the left of the stage streaming the supertitles and a variety of images somehow related to the scenes (dancing gypsy hands, tarot cards, prison, mountain, arena, bull, etc.). Maybe there were technical challenges derived from the last-minute location change, but it almost felt like those images were supposed to be streamed differently, perhaps as backdrop to the action on stage? Also, it felt a bit amateurish to have the singers mime most of their props. From guns and knives to lanterns and glasses in the tavern scene, the actors played make believe. Considering everything they put into this performance (this venue cannot have come cheap), you’d think they could put a little something into the props to make the basics of the story complete.

 

The irresistible toreador Escamillo
Photo credit: Jason Woodruff

Lui: As for their Don Giovanni earlier this year, Venture Opera produced an event oozing clubby exclusivity and delivered extraordinary musical performances. However, while this Carmen was emotionally powerful and extremely successful on many fronts, I found it less polished than the company’s Mozartian inaugural show. Part of this was probably due to the sudden change of venue two weeks before the event that no doubt forced the production team to make several adjustments.

Lei: The public was an eclectic mix of usual suspects, selfie-taking millennials and even some players of the NYC opera scene (NYCO-Renaissance’s Michael Capasso, NY Opera Exchange’s Justin Werner and possibly the Met’s own Mercedes Bass were spotted). Also, at the bar I rubbed elbows with Kristine Opolais (who sang Manon at the Met’s matinee earlier that same day - by the way, up close the Latvian soprano is stunning). All in all, Venture Opera did it again. A sexy venue and strong musicians making opera-going the next hot exclusive thing to do in NYC.

– Lui & Lei

Carmen aware of her doomed fate

Photo credit: Jason Woodruff

Micaela sings her moving prayer
Photo credit: Jason Woodruff

Frasquita and Mercedes do a tarot reading
Photo credit: Jason Woodruff

Carmen seducing Zuniga
Photo credit: Jason Woodruff

Good girl Micaela and Don Jose
Photo credit: Jason Woodruff