Carmen Transmission Transcript
READ: Polenzani Show Intro & Peter Gelb interview
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Hello. I’m Matthew Polenzani and I’m pleased to be your host for today’s performance of Carmen, featuring one of opera’s greatest and most fearless heroines. The role of Carmen calls for an artist of uncommon acting and vocal skill, and in 27-year old Aigul Akhmetshina the Met has found a Carmen for the ages. With director Carrie Cracknell’s contemporary setting of fast cars and fatal rodeos, this is a Carmen production that has been thrilling Met audiences.
Joining me to talk about it is the Met’s General Manager Peter Gelb. Hi, Peter.
PETER GELB: Hey, Matthew, great to see you.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah, good to be here.
PETER GELB: You know, first of all, we’re really grateful that you are hosting today. That you’re pinch-hitting – as your audiences may know, Susan Graham, the mezzo soprano was supposed to be hosting today.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Right.
PETER GELB: And you have kindly replaced her, even though you have a performance tonight of – of, uh, Butterfly.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Right.
PETER GELB: So, we’re really thrilled that you’re doing that and this is –
MATTHEW POLENZANI: No, I’m glad to be here.
PETER GELB: — and this is the fifth time you’ve hosted. If this – if this were Saturday Night Live, we’d probably be giving you a jacket or something.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Oh, I should be getting – that’s right. (Laughs)
PETER GELB: But, uh, you know, we’re really grateful to you for doing this. And, uh – and probably it’s the first time in history that a tenor has replaced a mezzo.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: I know, yeah, I’m covering a mezzo. That doesn’t happen too often for tenors, it’s true. Well, let’s talk a little bit about Carmen. What – what made you decide that it was ready for an update here?
PETER GELB: Well, you know, opera, in order for the art form to stay alive, and fresh, and interesting for – for the public today, we have to keep, you know, presenting new works and new productions of old works.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Mmm.
PETER GELB: Carmen is the most beloved opera in the world. And, by the way, today, I think, HD in cinemas is really back. We expect about 200,000 people to be in cinemas around the world watching the show.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Oooh. Awesome.
PETER GELB: Uh, no pressure.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: (Laughs) Okay.
PETER GELB: But, uh, we’re thrilled, uh, to be able to present a contemporary, uh, Carmen that’s set in the now, in the U.S., uh, with a story that really makes sense, narrative sense, and, uh, I think will really move people with this great cast.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Oh, yeah. And let’s talk about the cast, Aigul and this great cast. It’s a really incredible group of musicians, yeah?
PETER GELB: Well, we have, you know, one of the great new opera stars, uh, uh, with a meteoric rise in her career, Aigul Akhmetshina.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
PETER GELB: And her wonderful singers who are joining her, including Piotr Beczała, one of the great Met stars. So, we’re – we’re thrilled to have interpreting the role on the stage of the Met.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Uh, so in this changing world, how has the Met adapted its artistic mission?
PETER GELB: Well, you know, I think, um, in the world we live in today, which is a world that is somewhat bereft of hope, the Met is providing hope.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
PETER GELB: We’re providing artistic hope for our audiences here in the house and around the world. That’s our mission and we’re very proud to be doing it.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah, I’m glad I’m a part of it too. Thank you, Peter, for speaking with me.
PETER GELB: Thank you so much, Matthew.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Today’s performance features a luminous quartet of principal artists. Tenor Piotr Beczała stars opposite Aigul as Don José, the soldier whose obsession with Carmen becomes deadly; soprano Angel Blue is the innocent Micaela and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen plays the macho toreador Escamillo, in this production a rodeo star.
The Met stage has been the scene of many transformative productions and this is most definitely one of them. Soon, the Met auditorium will be resonating with some of opera’s most beloved melodies. Maestro Daniele Rustioni is ready to go to the pit and launch us into Bizet’s famous overture. Here is Carmen.
INTERVIEW: Polenzani w/ Aigul Akhmetshina
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Come on over here, Aigul. You’re so great, you’re so great. Congratulations.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: Hi. Thank you so much.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Way to go. Brava. So, you’ve been making such an incredible impression in this role, and people keep saying that you were born to play it. What do you think are the vocal and dramatic qualities you need to sing Carmen?
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: Well, the trick about Carmen is, is just you cannot rehearse, you have to live through.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Ah, yeah.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: You rehearse like, 50 percent, but after, you have to – every time you go on stage you have to live, you have to add something, uh, like spontaneous.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Right.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: Because Carmen needs freedom.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah. And it feels more real that way, right?
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: It’s exactly the same what, uh – what she needs for that reason. With acting it’s more about like, living through character. Every day I have no idea how it will be.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Right.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: I – I step on stage, I’m like, am I flirty today more or am I angry?
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah, but this is – this is what we do, right?
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: Yes.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: It’s live theatre, I get it, yeah.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: And musically, for me, personally, it’s not difficult to sing. But, uh, the difficulty is the language.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: Because you need to express all the meaning, everything. I’m sorry for French people. I’m sorry, my French is not good but I’m working on it. (Laughs)
MATTHEW POLENZANI: (Laughs) No, it’s okay. You’re doing great. So, at 27, you’re already a really experienced Carmen, and you’ve sung the role in London, including at Covent Garden, uh, Munich and with other companies. Tell me about your first encounter with the score. Like, how old were you and what made you think it was time for Carmen?
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: Actually, first time when I sang Carmen, it was a short version, La Tragédie de Carmen by Peter Book.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Oh.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: And when I was young artist, I did – it was my first gig, actually. And I did this, uh, version of Carmen which was shorter. But after, when I was 21, I had to jump in a Covent Garden to the –
MATTHEW POLENZANI: At 21, you jumped in at Covent Garden?
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: I was 21 at Covent Garden, I jump into the – to sing the whole Carmen. And since that, that’s it. Uh, Carmen follows me through. And this is – and I call it “Fifty Shades of Carmen.” (Laughs)
MATTHEW POLENZANI: (Laughs)
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: Because I have too many.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Ah, right. Okay, let’s talk a little bit about Carrie Cracknell’s production. What kinds of conversations did you have with her about this modern-day setting and what it means for your character in particular.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: Well, we were studying the psychology – basically, how we behave every day. Because the same words as like, I love you, we say differently if we were in 19th – 18th century – it would be like, more dramatic, I love you and it’s for – the postures.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Of course, of course.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: Where here, you find the way to relate and finding reasons why each character behaves certain way.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Right.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: And we had to dig into psychology very deeply because in the end, it’s a story about lots of traumatized people –
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Right.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: — who – who need to actually fix themselves before they go into their relationships. (Laughs)
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Right, right, right. Okay, now let’s talk a little bit about Piotr Beczała, your Don José.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: I love him so much.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: I’m going to speak tonight – I’m going to speak to him in a moment. He’s such an experienced Met artist. I can see him dancing over there.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: I see him dancing too.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Tell us a little bit about your stage partnership with him.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: Well, he’s listening now but anyway, I love him so much.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah. You can say the truth anyway, it’s all right.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: He’s amazing, amazing colleague, very supportive. And it’s such a joy. We have such an amazing, uh, chemistry on stage. And we’re all – like, even when out of the, like, rehearsal and everything, he’s so supportive. I had a period when I was ill and he was like, very – like, are you okay, I need you. Like, you know, we constantly were supporting each other and it’s a pleasure – pleasure to work. I hope not the last time. (Laughs)
MATTHEW POLENZANI: No, I’m sure not. I’m sure not. So, last thing, just to say congratulations, it’s your – it was just announced that your debut album on Decca is coming out soon.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: Yes.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Called “Aigul.”
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: Exactly.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Can you tell us a little bit about the recording?
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: Well, the recording, um, there will be lots of famous arias, which lots of fabulous singers already performed many times. I hope I will be able to bring something new into them. But the reason why I chose the specific arias, because they’re all significant roles which, uh, helped me to build my career.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: It’s Charlotte in Werther, it’s Rosina, it’s Cenerentola – my story changed as Cenerentola in life and –
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah, that’s great.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: And, of course, Carmen. And lots of many exciting things.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Okay. Well, listen, you’re owning this part today. Congratulations.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: Thank you.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Thank you for speaking to me. Appreciate it.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: Thank you so much. And...
MATTHEW POLENZANI: No, you can go this way – or you can go that way.
AIGUL AKHMETSHINA: (Laughs)
INTERVIEW: Polenzani w/ Piotr Beczała
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Now I’ll speak with the soldier who’s obsessed with Carmen, my fellow tenor, Piotr Beczała. Hello, Piotr.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Hi, hi, Matthew.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: How’re you doing?
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Good, good, good. Now I’m free, you know. I’m not –
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Ah, yeah, it’s true.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: – anymore in the – in the military, so –
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Good for you.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: She released me. (Laughs)
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Did she? Well, that’s good of her. Okay, let’s talk a little about Don José. In this production he’s really like a true villain, yeah?
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Yeah.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: He’s not just a man who’s – who’s been bewitched by a seductive woman. What do you – how do you see him?
PIOTR BECZAŁA: I see also his – his previous life, you know, before he came to Seville, whatever –
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: – he killed somebody. You know, he – this violence is in him.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: But he’s trying to – to – to – to break it, to – to be a normal man, you know?
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Part of the community.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: But, to be honest, uh, I feel him like really a completely outsider. In a house, in a village and also in the military. And also the gang doesn’t accept him real.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: What we’ll see in the third and fourth act. So, it’s really a very interesting character. It has a lot of development, also musically. So, I like it very much.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah, I’m sure. I was just speaking, obviously, with Aigul, who I’m sure you would agree is such a dynamic Carmen. What have you been struck most by in her performance opposite you?
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Well, look, she’s 27, you know? (Laughs)
MATTHEW POLENZANI: I know.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Working with – working with – with ladies like her, it’s keeping [BOSS?] young, you know?
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Of course.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: And so it’s a lot of energy. And, uh, so I really appreciate her amazingly seriously attempt to the – to the role and to the opera.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: It’s really something – she’s a perfectionist.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: So, we try to – to keep the line, what of course the music give us and maestro and Carrie, but it’s a lot of freedom in between so –
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Because it never gets stiff. It has some kind of a, you know, improvisation also.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Sure, sure, I got you. This is your first José at the Met, right?
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Yes, yes.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: But it’s your 14th role here, which is amazing.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Well, yeah, I never count. (Laughs)
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah, no, that’s good actually. But you have the Duke in Rigoletto, Edgardo Lucia, uh, Rodolfo, Faust and last season, incredible Lohengrin among many others.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Yeah.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: How does José fit in amongst all this wide range of parts?
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Well, José is pretty new for me. I did it first time, uh, five years ago in Vienna and, uh, actually, uh, when I came here it was just my tenth performance. So, it’s not a role like Duke, like Rodolfo, what I did many, many, many times. So, this is a very good thing because it’s very fresh.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: You know, I can always search for something.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: And, of course, on this huge scene, what we have in Metropolitan Opera, it’s another, uh, level, uh, of work. So, I – I love it. And we have another one, uh, another run with Aigul in Covent Garden in two months.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Oh, great. Ah, great. Oh, it’ll be more opportunity for growing, right?
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Don José – yeah, for me.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah, that’s good actually. And, plus, I don’t know, like I really like singing this part. I’m sure you do too so –
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Yeah, it’s beautiful. It’s great singing. But, you know, this kind of level of emotions is very, very important.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Piotr, thanks so much, my friend.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Thank you very much.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: It’s great to see you. Great to see you add another role to your amazing Met career.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Thank you. Thank you.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: I’ll see you again, all right?
PIOTR BECZAŁA: Thank you. I have to say something in Polish.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah, go ahead.
PIOTR BECZAŁA: (Speaking Polish)
MATTHEW POLENZANI: See you.
READ: Throw to tape
MATTHEW POLENZANI: As we’ve seen from the first half of today’s performance, this is not an old-school Carmen. Director Carrie Cracknell has updated the action from Seville in the early 19th century to a United States border town today. We spoke to Carrie and her set designer, Michael Levine, about how Bizet’s opera from 1875 taps into some very contemporary themes.
14:56:33
ROLL-IN B: Creative Team Feature / Carrie Cracknell & Michael Levine
CARRIE CRACKNELL: Carmen is a, uh, incredible story. It has a kind of mythic hold on opera audiences, but also more widely. And, um, with any kind of classic work I like to come to it and try and find a way in that feels fresh and connects with an audience in a way that feels very contemporary.
When, um, Michael Levine and I were designing the set – and also with Tom Scott, the costume designer – we were talking a lot about the things that bubble up organically from the piece. It’s set in a world with factories, with smugglers, with, um, contraband being transported across borders. We kind of took a lot of that information and that material and we decided to, um, find a contemporary setting. We’ve set it in America, we’ve set it now, and I think that it brings, uh, a present tenseness and a sort of vitality to some of those themes and concerns that are in the original piece.
MICHAEL LEVINE: We wanted to kind of shine certain – a kind of spotlight on certain aspects of the piece, one of which was, uh, how do you tell this particular story about a woman who is killed, um, in our time? And who is this woman and how does she exist in our world, without resorting to the kind of clichés of the, uh, seductress and – because she’s – she’s a deeper character. So, there’s more to Carmen than meets the eye. You know, there’s more motivation behind how she moves throughout the piece.
CARRIE CRACKNELL: Aigul and I have been really interested in exploring Carmen as a woman who is full of trauma, seeks love, is always looking for love, but doesn’t really know how to love. She is kind of crashing through life with incredible velocity. She’s direct, she’s brazen at times, she’s charged with her own sexuality. But she’s also lost at her center and is looking, I think, for connection and for meaning in the different men that she meets. It’s a complicated piece because, of course, it ends in a femicide from an intimate partner to a woman. And that’s one of the things that we've talked a lot about within the production, is trying to understand it in the context of behavior between men and women and kind of gendered violence more broadly.
MICHAEL LEVINE: So, of course, there are specific settings in Carmen. The first scene is a factory, it’s an arms factory, which is why we have the army in front of it. So, the army is protecting the factory, there are guards. The women are doing the job of making the arms in the factory, and the men are somehow either protecting them or out of work. You get much more of a sense that the women are actually in a place that’s guarded. They're not in a factory prison but it has a kind of relationship to that.
CARRIE CRACKNELL: That factory feels quite contemporary and industrial, it has a, um, huge lorry coming out through one of the entryways.
MICHAEL LEVINE: In Act One, the transport truck is parked, it’s part of the factory. And then in Act Two, we see the same transport truck, and it’s now on the road, on the way to the border.
CARRIE CRACKNELL: We have these big, bold pictures, the worlds of the highway, the lorry traveling on the highway.
MICHAEL LEVINE: What we have is a kind of surround of LED lights. And the LED lights convey movement because the LED lights are moving like lights on a highway.
CARRIE CRACKNELL: The women, um, actually had their own kind of odd, contained space within the lorry and that they could dance for themselves and that they could enjoy that moment rather than it being about dancing for men. They were lit up by Carmen and, um, allowed to kind of explore movement for their own pleasure.
It’s an extraordinary piece in that it holds a dark heart – it has a lot of pain in the piece – but it also has these kind of anthemic, joyful, very wild moments in the music. And so Michael’s tried to hold that within the stage design, I think, really successfully.
MICHAEL LEVINE: One of the things that’s exciting about working on something like Carmen is working with the expectations that the audience have of something. You know, if you set it in a kind of – in Seville in the 19th century, there’s a distance. So, it’s nice to bring it into a world where people maybe have a relationship to the people onstage. So it has maybe more meaning. That’s what you hope for. (Laughs)
READ: Polenzani Neubauer / Toll / Throw to break
MATTHEW POLENZANI: That was an insightful look into the creative thinking behind this production. The Met’s Live in HD series is made possible thanks to its founding sponsor, the Neubauer Family Foundation. Digital support is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The Met Live in HD series is supported by Rolex. Todays’ performance of Carmen is also being heard live over the Robert K. Johnson Foundation Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network. We’ll be right back after a break.
READ: Polenzani intro
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Welcome back. I’m outside one of the Met’s subterranean rehearsal rooms, where on the other side of this door soprano sensation Lise Davidsen is running through a famous aria from the upcoming new production of Verde’s La Forza de Destino. Forza will be the Met’s next live cinema presentation on March 6th. Let’s pop in on – on, uh, Lise while she sings, uh, Leonara’s stirring Act Three aria, “Pace, pace mio Dio.”
INTERVIEW: Polenzani w/ Lise Davidsen
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Oh, my gosh. Okay, I’m just going to dispense with what I’m supposed to say and say instead, I wish that all of you out there watching right now could’ve been standing inside this little room. Well, it’s not that small but I mean, wow, awesome, Lise. Really, really awesome. Thank you. I’m really glad that I got to hear that while I was down here. And thank you also to Israel Gursky on the piano. Beautiful playing, Israel, I appreciate it.
So, for our audience, let’s talk a little bit about what this aria’s about and how does it fit within the people – uh, story?
LISE DAVIDSEN: Well, in this story, in this production, she’s – I mean, she’s left in the – in this grotto in a way and, uh, in the production, this is a left sort of apocalyptic thingy where she’s on a metro station, a lost metro station. So, she’s waiting, she’s, you know, trying to find a place to – to find peace. That’s what she’s been doing for years, and years, and years, and she can’t find it. I mean, there is no – there is no such thing. So, I mean, the beginning is “Pace, Pace” and it’s this when – when am I going to find – find this peace? And then, in the end, someone is coming and – and hell is loose again for her.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: (Laughs) Yeah, it’s – it’s a crazy sort of story, right? I mean, it’s hard to follow, even for us and we know it.
LISE DAVIDSEN: Absolutely, yeah. (Laughs)
MATTHEW POLENZANI: So, okay, let’s talk a little bit about this being a role debut for you. How did you – have you liked, enjoyed sort of working this role into your voice – which, by the way, you have done awesomely, right? I’m just going to say it, yeah.
LISE DAVIDSEN: That’s very kind. No, this will be my second Verde role. I did my first, uh, last summer in London. So, it’s been – it’s been a change for me. It was sort of – I wasn’t sure when I started I could do these things, so it’s been a really big thing for me. I really appreciate it.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: What was the first?
LISE DAVIDSEN: The first was Don Carlo, Elisabeth.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Oh, yeah.
LISE DAVIDSEN: So, it’s, uh – that, of course, was also, you know, getting to know – getting to know how this is. And I – I – as you – it’s a tricky story. Sort of tricky and not tricky at the same time, but musically it’s all there.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
LISE DAVIDSEN: And I find that that’s sort of how it’s been in – set into my voice. And in a couple of weeks it’ll be even better. (Laughs)
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Oh, yeah, oh, it’s hard to imagine it improving. It was really great. Um, okay, let’s talk a little bit about the production here by this Polish director Mariusz Treliński, which, like today’s Carmen, has a contemporary setting. You mentioned the subway – uh, subway platform. Tell us a little about it.
LISE DAVIDSEN: I really, really liked it. I have this on the DVD of when it was on in Poland and then, of course, there’s changes that are done – done here. Uh, but it’s definitely set in a contemporary, um, setting. It’s a – it’s – it’s from the top and down. The father is not the kind father. The padre is not a kind man. It’s – it’s a man of power, it’s a man who decides everything that goes on. So, the reason she wants to leave is she doesn’t just want to leave for love but she wants to free herself from this – this world that she’s – she’s in.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Right.
LISE DAVIDSEN: And that’s where you see her in the beginning trying to sort of, you know – the rebellion in a way but – but then she goes and, of course, when she does that, this – this horrible thing of – of the death of the father happens.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah.
LISE DAVIDSEN: Which then is the destiny for all of them.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: I mean, it must be – I’m sure it’s fascinating working on something so – so, uh, complicated and everything. I’m sure you’re loving it. Can’t wait to see the whole thing when it comes out. And, Lise, thank you so much for speaking with me. Toi, toi, toi for Forza. Have a great time.
LISE DAVIDSEN: Thank you. Ooh –
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Looking forward to it. Oh, watch your head. Okay.
READ: PSA / Fundraising / Throw to HD Season Preview
MATTHEW POLENZANI: The March 6th performance of, uh, La Forza del Destino will be conducted by Met music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and it will be Lise’s third Live in HD performance. I myself have sung in 11 cinema presentations, so I can tell you the Met’s global movie theatre series is a truly remarkable way to experience the power of our art form.
However, a voice like Lise’s or the ones we’re hearing on stage today can only be appreciated to the fullest when you hear it live in person here in the opera house. So, please, come to the Met or visit your local opera company.
This has been a notable season for the Live in HD Series. We’ve had three Met premieres on stage and on screen: Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, Anthony Davis’ “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” and Daniel Catan’s Florencia en al Amazonas. And in addition to today’s inventive new production of Carmen, the new staging of Forza is right around the corner. This mix of new and classic work presented in high – in productions of the highest level has made for an artistically thrilling season here at the Met.
Putting on these productions, however, and sharing them with a worldwide cinema audience is very expensive, and ticket sales cover only a fraction of the costs. The Met relies on opera lovers like you to help make up the difference. So, if you’re able to make a donation, please visit metopera.org/membership or call us at 1-800-MET-OPERA. You can also text HDLIVE to 44321 to make a contribution. Thank you for your support of the Met. Including La Forza del Destino, the Met has four more movie theatre presentations coming up this season. Here now is a preview.
READ: Throw to tape
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Four very exciting HD productions coming up. Now, let’s return to the world of Carmen. Today marks the third live cinema performance of our conductor, Danielle Rustioni. He recently sat down at the piano to talk us through some of the intricacies of Bizet’s beloved score.
ROLL-IN D: Maestro Danielle Rustioni
DANIELLE RUSTIONI: Carmen is the most performed opera in the world, together with Magic Flute and Traviata – it depends on the season and the years, but, you know, if you make a list at the end of the season, Carmen is certainly number one, number two, or number three. Why is that?
Because musically, I think, it’s very immediate. It has an incredible rhythmical strength and, of course, it has legendary tunes in it, starting with this explosion of sunshine and joy. And here we are. (Playing piano)
And the key word for me is in Italian, because he wrote it in Italian, “Allegro giocoso.” Giocoso – playful. In a minor key, a mysterious fate motive comes in that is really, I believe, the central part and the core of the tragedy of Carmen. The time seems to – to stop in this dramatic tremolo, and then this theme comes out. (Playing piano)
It’s called fate motive because it’s the theme that links Don José and Carmen and, uh, doom her and him. But at the beginning, you know, the first time we hear it, it’s still very mysterious and it's linked to this interval that is the augmented second – that is – considering the traditional counterpoint, is considered a little bit illicit.
Carmen herself – she’s a performer on stage. She’s a singer, she’s a dancer, and she is a seducer. He decides to give her this rhythm that is like Cuban style, cabaret tune and what introduces a genius way of delivering seduction through chromaticism. (Plays piano) This is, you know, chromatic scale but of course we have this almost body language feeling of this legendary beginning of the Habanera (Plays piano) with the violoncelli.
You can hear her line going down with the chromaticism. What does she do to men? Every note going down is like a nail in the heart and the desire of men. (Plays piano) She is the queen of seduction, like she casts a spell on everyone. And it has a lot of Spanish elements and it’s genius because, you know, Bizet never went to Spain or, you know, or to Cuba, or to Havana or, you know, to Latin countries now, but, you know, it’s incredible what he achieved.
What I find also extremely fascinating is the contrast of the style between Carmen and Don José – musical style. Carmen is very direct and, yes, chromaticism seduction. Don José’s music and style of singing and lines are more tortuose, are more snaky and, uh, there is a lot more of romanticism writing and lyricism. Really a completely different style, and two worlds that cannot really live together.
What Bizet did is genius. And it’s also very sad that he couldn't acknowledge during his life the success that Carmen was because it wasn't very successful when it was performed for the first time, and then a few months later, he died. And, uh, in a way we have to make justice, you know, to that injustice, you know? (Laughs) Uh, every time we do a new production, every time we perform a Carmen of a very high level with great singers, great orchestra, great chorus, great opera company, we should make justice to him, to his music, to this wonderful title. We just thank him and, uh, you know, pray for him in music.
INTERVIEW: Polenzani w/ Angel Blue & Kyle Ketelsen
MATTHEW POLENZANI: We should indeed all pay tribute to Bizet. I’m joined now by our Micaela, soprano Angel Blue, and our Escamillo, bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen. Hello, you two.
ANGEL BLUE: Hi, Matthew.
KYLE KETELSEN: Hi, Matt.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Having fun so far?
ANGEL BLUE: Yes.
KYLE KETELSEN: Absolutely.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: All right, so we’re going downhill right now, all right? So, this is a different kind of Micaela and Escamillo that we’re seeing today. Can each of you talk to me a little bit about your characters as you see them? Like, particularly with regard to this production? Angel, you first, yeah.
ANGEL BLUE: Yes, in this production I say that Micaela has much more strength. She’s often talked about as someone who is a strong person because she’s, of course, out in the middle of nowhere trying to find Don José. But in this production, she – I think you can see that she has more strength in her personality just because of her interaction with Carmen, actually, as you’ll see at the end of Act Three, which is – it’s very quick but it’s, I think, a very important part of the piece.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: What about you, Kyle?
KYLE KETELSEN: Well, this Escamillo was pretty similar to, uh, the typical bullfighting Escamillo. In this case, I’m on the bull instead of dodging the bull. So, I’m in his – I’m not so much in his sights as on his back. And I only have to last for eight seconds on top instead of, you know, the rest of the –
MATTHEW POLENZANI: What’s – I don’t even know what the number is, right, right?
KYLE KETELSEN: (Laughs) I think it’s eight seconds.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Oh, is it? Okay, all right.
KYLE KETELSEN: yeah.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: How does it feel to sing your big aria from that flashy red Jaguar? (Laughs)
KYLE KETELSEN: Well, it’s certainly a unique entrance. I do, uh – I do enjoy it. It’s, uh – it’s easy to add the attitude that comes with the traditional Escamillo, uh, in this production and the Jaguar is just the exclamation mark.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Angel, we’re really looking forward to your beautiful aria – aria in the next act as Micaela hopes to save Don José from his obsession. What will you be focusing on as you sing it?
ANGEL BLUE: When I sing “Je dis” the main thing I’m thinking about is my faith. Because I think that Micaela is also someone – well, to do what she does, you definitely – one definitely has to have a faith or believe in something.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: For sure.
ANGEL BLUE: And so she’s constantly saying over and over again, protect me, Lord, you will protect me. And, uh, I have to say that’s where I get my courage from, is from God, as I sing this very well-known aria. So, that’s what I’m going to be focused on. Of course, that and not running into the truck. Yes.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: (Laughs) Oh, yeah. Running into trucks, usually not a good idea on stage or anywhere else, I don’t think. And we’re really excited to see your – your – you again in April, when you’ll star in Puccini’s La Rondine.
ANGEL BLUE: Yes.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: And what are you looking forward to with, uh – with that?
ANGEL BLUE: The production is stunning. It’s really a gorgeous set and, of course, the music – Puccini is – is just wildly beautiful. You can almost hear that he’s from –
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Cinematic, right?
ANGEL BLUE: Yeah, cinematic, and you can also hear that he’s sort of – I feel like I hear Lucca in – the City of Lucca in Italy where he’s from, I feel like I hear it in the score.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yes.
ANGEL BLUE: So, I think I’m – I’m mainly excited to hear the orchestra play his piece, to be honest so –
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Yeah, I’m sure it’s going to be great.
ANGEL BLUE: Yes.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Can’t wait for that. And, Kyle, I know you’ve sung Escamillo a lot, I think more than 25 times here at the Met alone – in fact, you and I have done Carmen together in San Francisco a few years ago. How has your approach changed – approach to it changed over the years?
KYLE KETELSEN: It’s become a lot more comfortable. The music is deceptively difficult and so, um, it’s taken a while to really be not scared to death of singing the aria, uh, as your – you know, your first entrance of the show and out of your mouth comes potentially the most recognized tune in Western civilization.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: (Laughs) Yeah, really. Dude, you knock it out of the park every time, man. Every single time.
KYLE KETELSEN: Thanks, Matt.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: Angel, Kyle, thanks so much. It’s been a thrilling performance so far. Can’t wait to see where you take us in the second half. And thanks for speaking to me.
KYLE KETELSEN: Thanks, Matt.
ANGEL BLUE: Thank you.
MATTHEW POLENZANI: See you guys.
ANGEL BLUE: Thank you.
READ: Throw to Act III & IV
MATTHEW POLENZANI: At the end of the previous act, Carmen and Don José are on the run together. But Carmen’s mantra is to live free or die. As we shall see in this fateful tale of obsession and murder, here is the tragic conclusion of Carmen.