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Singing in Carmen: ‘Before I go on stage, I like to think of Eric Cantona’
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Carmen, Georges Bizet’s opera set in the Spanish city of Seville, which was first performed 150 years ago, in 1875, is a story of fatal attraction.
Don José, a young dragoon corporal, falls hopelessly in love with the title character, a sexy, strong-willed gypsy who works in a tobacco factory. He ignores the entreaties of a childhood sweetheart, Micaëla, fights with Carmen’s new lover, Escamillo, and murders Carmen in a fit of jealous rage.
With realistic and relatable characters, and the irresistible Spanish flavour of the music, Carmen was a turning point in the history of opera. Its earwig tunes are still known to millions, even if they couldn’t put their finger on where they come from.
National Symphony Orchestra Ireland is giving a concert performance of the opera at the National Concert Hall next week. We ask three of the singers who’ll be performing about Carmen and their roles in it.
Carmen
Natalia Kutateladze, Georgian mezzo-soprano
What do you like most about Carmen the opera?
The music is incredible. How is it even possible that I know this music from my very early childhood but it still impacts and makes my heart beat so fast even today? It’s one of those works that will last forever.
Tell me about the character you play.
I love her, I admire her, I respect her so much. I have taken some very risky steps in my personal life, steps that were not easy for my family or friends. It was a very clear decision that I would do anything for love. And I did. So when I think about Carmen I think of her freedom, her strength, her capability for relationships, her confidence, self-confidence that sometimes I wish I had.
How do you like to play the character?
I don’t want her to be vulgar, even though she is. I think there is a difference between being sexy and being vulgar. So I try to be softer, maybe, and more delicate. I don’t want her to be aggressive, because in general being a strong woman does not mean that you should be aggressive.
What’s the biggest challenge of singing Carmen?
Every time I know that I have to sing Carmen I have this feeling like some warm honey is going to go down to my throat, as if the role was written for me. The acting is the biggest challenge, to mix the music and the character together and to keep the balance and not overreact.
What about the experience of opera in rehearsal?
The first rehearsal is my favourite. I think about the process all the time, in every role that I’ve done. I’m someone who is more satisfied and more excited with the process than the result. Of course the applause is incredible, but the process is so interesting and so exciting and so challenging that I think it’s the biggest satisfaction I get from my profession. It’s not just a one-person show, right? You depend on all the other people.
Is there a Carmen who inspired you?
Maria Callas. She’s the reason I started loving this genre and why I wanted to become an opera singer. She’s a goddess for me, of music in general. Carmen wasn’t her best role, but I still love the phrasing, the diction, her attitude of confidence and strength.
How would you describe Carmen in three words?
Love, devotion, sacrifice.
Escamillo
Gyula Nagy, Hungarian-Irish baritone
What do you like most about Carmen the opera?
The love story just bores me. That’s the surface. What makes it interesting is that there are two dramaturgical structures going on at the same time. One is a story of a disintegration, the other of integration. Carmen as the gypsy girl from an outsider countersociety becomes integrated into the establishment in a romantic Hollywood love story via her fling with the bullfighter Escamillo. At the same time, the story of Don José with Carmen is exactly the opposite. His path is one of disintegration. I like how the Hollywood story turns into a dark reality car crash of murder.
Tell me about the character you play.
Escamillo is not really a three-dimensional character to me. He’s just a Brad Pitt of the story who is only needed so that he can create this romantic-love salvation myth. He’s either too self-centred or he doesn’t really care about more than just having a fling. If he really cared why wouldn’t he do something when he knows that Carmen’s ex, Don José, is not completely sane? He just decides to go off to fight, and leaves her behind when she’s vulnerable.
How do you like to play the character?
I can relate to his arrogance, his self-centred persona. He’s not hard to relate to as a singer. Like singers in general, I tend to be self-centred. I have to play him that way. Obviously you can’t go into a bullring if you are questioning every second what you think about. I need to arouse a kind of narcissism and arrogance in me. So, before I go on stage as Escamillo and start singing, I like to think of Eric Cantona. Collar up, chest out.
What’s the biggest challenge of singing Escamillo?
There are vocal challenges to do with colour and range. But I think the greatest challenge is to keep my performance free from all the weight of tradition and expectations and try to create a relatively three-dimensional character.
What about the experience of opera in rehearsal?
The first rehearsal is always exciting, but it’s also one of the peak worst moments, expectation-wise. Because you have to show the weaknesses in whatever you have. And then it gets smoother and smoother during the rehearsals. The other peak is the opening, when expectations and tradition can be a frustrating factor. But there’s a nice opportunity to, in a way, ride on the waves, challenge it and go against the fear.
Is there an Escamillo who inspired you?
Vocally, definitely Leonard Warren. I relate to him vocally so well. Stage-wise, I don’t particularly have anyone. I try to avoid watching videos or DVDs, especially when I’m preparing for something, because I don’t want them to unconsciously put me in a situation where I copy them.
How would you describe Carmen in three words?
Love, blade, blood.
Micaëla
Sarah Brady, Irish soprano
What do you like most about Carmen the opera?
I’ve done it once, in a very feministic production, which was great but really took away the weak characteristics that people might think Micaëla has. And it made me realise that her character is actually super strong, super brave. I really enjoyed learning about Micaëla that way, learning her through a different director’s eye. People think it’s Micaëla versus Carmen. I actually don’t think it is. The bad person in the whole piece is Don José.
Tell me about the character you play.
You only really have three scenes, first where you walk in and all the guards are there and you’re looking for Don José, to give him the letter from his mommy. Then you come back to do the duets, and then you have a huge wait. A very difficult part of the role is that you’re waiting a long time to come back and do the aria, which is one of the most famous arias in the soprano literature. I had to learn how to wait in the dressingroom and still keep exactly what’s in my character’s head to return with that arc. I can’t come back knowing Carmen did this, Don José did that, and Escamillo is the new dude she’s met.
How do you like to play the character?
As a strong person. She’s not obsessed or in love with Don José. She does everything just because she’s a good person. She’s very, very anchored.
What’s the biggest challenge of singing Micaëla?
Singing that amazing lyrical aria after such a long wait. Probably the most difficult part is the pressure and the expectation. But it’s like that with every sort of iconic role, isn’t it?
What about the experience of opera in rehearsal?
Everyone talks about your first day at school or your first day of university. My teacher Mary Brennan used always tell me, “Go in fully prepared, be polite, be professional and know your music. But at the end of all that you have to let it go and trust the process.”
Is there a Micaëla who inspired you?
Mirella Freni. I absolutely love her version. As an artist she is so honest. And vocally … I don’t know if there is such thing as vocal perfection. But for me, she is it. Listening to her is so beautiful.
How would you describe Carmen in three words?
Flower, cards, passion.
National Symphony Orchestra Ireland’s concert performance of Bizet’s Carmen, conducted by Jessica Cottis, is at the National Concert Hall, in Dublin, on Friday, October 10th
