Credits

The Threepenny Carmen

WRITTEN BY Julia Brown Simmons

“So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause.” While Padmé Amidala says this in Star Wars: Episode III upon the announcement of the emergence of the first Galactic Empire, she could have just as well been describing Bizet’s Carmen.

The opera epitomizes personal liberty, and the titular character essentially personifies freedom— nobody can control Carmen or pin her down; she will always be her own artist. So, when Carmen dies at the opera’s conclusion, liberty dies—and for over a century, as the curtain closes, audiences have responded with thunderous applause.

In a way, Georges Bizet himself exemplifies the same personal liberty he writes into his opera: despite push-back regarding the subject matter of the work, Bizet forged ahead to create his artistic vision. Bizet composed Carmen at the request of the directors of the Opéra-Comique in Paris. The opera is based on Mérimée’s novel of the same name—a foundation which received criticism both before and after the opera’s premier. The controversy began with one of the directors, who thought the story was unsuitable for the opera house, particularly its portrayal of sexual promiscuity, rowdy women, and a staged death. The criticism continued through the first staging of the opera in 1875, which received outraged responses from press and audience alike.

Bizet received objections not only for the subject of the work, but also for the liberties he took in his compositional style. The orchestra complained about his style of scoring. The chorus took issue with Bizet’s demand that they act

as individual people throughout the show rather than responding as a uniform group. Not only was Bizet freely innovating his artistic creation, he also encouraged the individuality and freedom of his performers by insisting they act with personal liberty.

Ultimately, Bizet’s pursuit of artistic freedom paid off. Applause came for Bizet, but like his titular character, it came after the curtain had closed on his life. Despite the “shocking” elements of the opera, or perhaps because of those elements, Carmen ran for many performances in 1875 Paris—no doubt in part spurred on by piqued interest because of Bizet’s early death in the middle of its run. The opera also traveled throughout Europe in the coming years, receiving praise from acclaimed composers such as Tchaikovsky and Brahms. Carmen has since been a staple of opera houses across the globe.

In order to mount this production safely while in the midst of the current pandemic, The Atlanta Opera has deconstructed and reconstructed Carmen, stripping it of its grand opera form while drawing its fundamentals to the forefront. In this reconstruction—going by the title “The Threepenny Carmen”—the staging and plot may look a little different from the original, but the opera maintains the elements that have led to its success since the premiere.

The Threepenny Carmen is set during the COVID-19 pandemic in Lillas Pastia’s bar in Texas, featuring Carmen as a performer, along with her friends Frasquita and Mércedès. As scene one opens, Don José and his friend Zuniga, two local cops, visit the bar and watch the show, featuring Carmen and her friends singing “Les tringles des sistres tintaient” (The Gypsy Song: “The sound of sistrumbars did greet”). Toward the end of the night, Carmen’s “Habanera” captivates Don José, who only comes out of his trance because of a call from Micaëla—a girl from his hometown who begs him to return to his mother, sick with COVID-19. After the call, Don José witnesses Carmen flirting with Zuniga. Jealousy and a drug-induced state lead Don José to shoot Zuniga.