Well this is certainly the first time and in all likelihood the last time this will ever happen here on The View From the Phlipside. For the second week in a row we're talking about opera.
Last week I commented on the Royal Opera Company in England looking to attract a new audience by putting on Anna Nicole - the Opera. That elicited a response from my long time friend and one time collaborator David Robie. David has worked in the Technical Services end of the opera industry for well over three decades now. He pointed me towards a completely different approach being done here in the United States.
The Indianapolis Opera Company is performing Bizet's Carmen even as we speak. This is one of the big names in the opera world. You probably even know some of the music but may not realize it. What makes this version interesting is that they've taken a shot at making it more accessible for more people. They've shortened it, they've added dialogue, they've added characters and they've moved away from the really big operatic presentation to a much more intimate one. The opera is being performed in a revamped church gymnasium so the audience is much, much closer to the action than ever before. Add in scenery that is largely video projections, minimal props and the translation of the French lyrics onto video screens and this is a very different kind of Carmen.
I have no doubts that the purists will be every bit as appalled with Indianapolis Carmen as they were with the London Anna Nicole. I'm just not sure they should be. There are two very different approaches here. I think that the Indianapolis company has decided to build on the historic strengths of their art form in bringing it into the 21st Century. I think the London company has largely decided to walk away from those same strengths and reach toward a lowest common denominator version of opera. In newspaper terms they seem to be moving away from a Times of London seriousness towards the tabloid style of the Sun and their Page Three girls.
It's quite possible that both styles will find their place in the world of entertainment. But I have to admit that for the very first time probably ever I actually care about what's happening in the opera world. And I'm rooting for the folks in Indianapolis.
Call that the View From the Phlipside
Check out this video of the director of Carmen talking about this production:
"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY. You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2011
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