One of the saddest ironies in classical
music history is the fate of "Carmen" composer Georges
Bizet (1838-1875).
Although Bizet’s opera about the gypsy dancer whose fateful love
affair with the hotheaded Don Jose ends in murder has become
one of the most famous ever written, the Frenchman never lived
to see the fruits of his hard labor.
After the premiere of "Carmen" in 1875, to decidedly
lukewarm response – the work’s mixture of grand opera and sultry
Spanish-style music was considered scandalous – Bizet died of
a heart attack at age 36, never knowing that his magnum opus
would eventually take the world by storm to become a universally
beloved classic.
Brooklyn’s Regina Opera unveils its "Carmen" on Nov.
20, the first of four performances at Regina Hall, in Dyker Heights.
Conducted by Scott Jackson Wiley and staged by Linda Lehr, Regina
Opera’s "Carmen" should both sate the many fans of
Bizet’s work and win over new fans who may only be aware of "Carmen"
from its music’s ubiquitous use in TV shows, commercials and
movies.
Jerry Goldsmith’s score for "The Bad News Bears" (1976)
was particularly inspired in its spirited arrangements of Bizet’s
jauntily memorable tunes, and no less a pop superstar than Beyonce
Knowles played and sang a sizzling modern-day Carmen in an effective
updating of the opera for MTV a couple of years ago.
Regina’s lead singers are mezzos Leonarda Priore (pictured above)
and Jeeminn Lee, who alternate as the gypsy, and tenors Alejandro
Olmedo (pictured above) and Paul Pitts, who alternate as her
lover, Don Jose.
Regina Opera presents "Carmen" on Nov. 20 and 27 at
7 pm and Nov. 21 and 28 at 4 pm at Regina Hall, on the corner
of 12th Avenue and 65th Street. Tickets are $15; $10 college
students and seniors; $5 high school students; free for children.
For more information, call (718) 232-3555 or visit www.reginaopera.org
on the Web.
