With some of the most thrilling, popular,
and familiar opera music, Carmen’s Tragedy will be performed at
NOVA Center for the Performing Arts, 2317 Montana Avenue, at
7:30pm Saturday, March 29 and 2:00pm Sunday, March 30.
Carmen’s Tragedy is a unique performance featuring Bizet’s
beloved tale of doomed love and violent passion. It was adapted
from Carmen by Georges Bizet. Performers in Carmen’s Tragedy
include Michelle Berger as Carmen, William Mouat as the
bullfighter Escamillo, Carolyn Coefield as Micaela, and Jeff
Kitto as Don José. Shawn Rasch as Lillas Pastia and fight
choreographer Jayme Green will portray both the villainous
Lieutenant Zuniga and the dangerous brigand Garcia transported
directly from the novel, Carmen and Other Stories, by Prosper
Mérimée.
Carmen’s Tragedy will be directed by Jeff Kitto
with special directorial consultation from Dr. William Mouat, a
doctoral graduate expert on the subject of Carmen.
Billings Gazette Press Link
Director: Jeff Kitto
Production Consultant and Author:
William Mouat
Stage Manager: Dodie Rife
Collaborative Pianist: Sandi Rabas
Carmen: Michelle
Berger
Don José: Jeff Kitto
Escamillo: William
Mouat
Lilas Pastia: Shawn Rasch
Micaela: Carolyn
Coefield
Zuniga/Garcia/Fight Director: Jayme Green
Carmen photo shoot:
Photo of Michelle Berger who will be performing the role of
Carmen
Photo of Jeff Kitto who will be performing the role of Don José
Photo of Michelle Berger who will be performing the role of
Carmen
Photo of Jeff Kitto who will be performing the role of Don José
and Gary Treglown the costumer
NOVA’s ‘Carmen’s Tragedy’ hits all of
the right notes
Created on Thursday, 03 April 2014 19:31
REVIEW
By DAVID CRISP – The Billings Outpost
If
you have always thought you ought to give opera a try but were
intimidated by its over-the-top costumes, voices and dramatics,
then the NOVA Center for the Performing Arts may have just the
entry point for you.
Last weekend, NOVA whittled down
“Carmen,” an old warhorse of an opera, to “Carmen’s Tragedy,” a
svelte pony of just 100 minutes, including intermission and
opening remarks. It was an under-the-top, greatest-hits version
of one of opera’s greatest hits, with voices and costumes intact
but lots of the crowds and clamor gone.
If crowd reaction
is any guide, the presentation was a great success. Craig
Huisenga, interim managing producer for NOVA, said Saturday
night’s show in NOVA’s Roebling Theater was packed, and only a
few seats were vacant for the closing performance on a rainy
Sunday afternoon.
The crowd was fully engaged, not just
in the obligatory end-of-show standing ovation but also with
shouts of “Bravo” and “Brava” throughout and clapping along to
some of the better-known tunes. The cast wandered at times into
the crowd, too, finding a hand to kiss or a lap to borrow. This
was not some sterile homage to a classic but lively and
contemporary theater, and all in English.
And the voices
were terrific, no surprise to anyone who has followed Rimrock
Opera productions over the years. This was the first opera show
since Rimrock and Venture Theatre joined forces to form NOVA,
and Sunday’s show preserved the quality if not the name.
Michelle Berger, a Montana native who has sung with operas in
Switzerland, Spain, Colorado, Idaho and Billings, sang the title
role with full volume and energy. William Mouat, director of
education and cultural outreach at the Alberta Bair Theater,
sang Escamillo, the bullfighter. Carolyn Coefield as Micaela had
a relatively small part but practically stole the show with her
third act aria.
Jayme Green showed up long enough to get
stabbed in two separate scenes and as two different characters.
Sandi Rabas provided flawless piano accompaniment.
Director Jeffrey Grant Kitto, one of the founding members of the
Bozeman rock band The Clintons, also has wide opera experience.
In the key role of Don Jose, he seemed to grow into his part as
his character’s troubles mounted, from an easygoing and gullible
soldier to an obsessed and murderous deserter.
The whole
experience was a bit like watching one of those NFL highlight
films. For a few minutes, you wonder why anyone would ever
bother to watch a game any other way. Then eventually you figure
out why all those pauses, penalties and busted plays are needed
for the narrative flow and suspense of the live game.
Something of the same sense prevailed at “Carmen’s Tragedy.”
It’s all fireworks and gorgeous music, but eventually you begin
to wonder how all of these characters fit together. The
90-minute version often comes across as random episodes of
philandering and violence with not much in between. Key
characters die violently, and deserve to.
Mr. Huisenga
promised the crowd that NOVA hasn’t given up on full-scale opera
productions. The next, “La Traviata,” will play at the Alberta
Bair Theater on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1.
For experienced opera
goers, that will provide the full opera experience. For the rest
of us, the Reader’s Digest condensed version we got last weekend
makes for a rousing and highly entertaining introduction.
Berger and Kitto in Carmen's Tragedy
Billings Gazette
CASEY PAGE/Gazette Staff
Mezzo-soprano Michelle Berger sings the role of Carmen in
“Carmen’s Tragedy,” which comes to the NOVA Center stage for two
performances March 29-30.
March 21, 2014 12:15 am •
By Jaci Webb
Tragedy in English
In his directorial debut, Bozeman tenor Jeff Kitto takes on some
of the world’s most familiar music in Georges Bizet’s “Carmen’s
Tragedy.”
But what Kitto was raving about last week was
Jayme Green’s fight choreography and the gun play on stage. As
the opera’s leading male character, Don Jose, Kitto is exploring
the passion and irrationality of a man who loves too much. He
gets to exhibit his infatuation with fists and guns.
“All
these characters are so complex, so deep,” Kitto said. “You can
watch it 50 times, and depending on who plays Jose, you’ll see a
different approach to him every time.”
Billings is a
familiar market for Kitto and the role of Don Jose is
comfortable for the one-time rock musician, who performed with
the Bozeman rock band The Clintons. Since turning to opera,
Kitto has performed as Jose five times.
Kitto is a
contrast to the hot-headed Jose, who likes to kill to show off
for his girl. Kitto doesn’t seem to get too worked up about
things, but when he gets on stage he’s a vocal powerhouse.
“I keep telling everybody, ‘Don’t worry, we’re going to rock
this show,’ “ Kitto said.
William Mouat, a veteran opera
singer, will assist with directing since he wrote his doctoral
thesis on “Carmen.”
The opera, which was written in
French and set in Spain, will be performed in English at NOVA
Center for the Performing Arts on March 29 and 30. If the two
scheduled performances sell out, the rehearsal on March 28 will
be turned into a full production open to the public.
The
object of Jose’s sick affections is the title character, played
by Billings performer Michelle Berger. The mezzo-soprano has
made her mark nationally and performed in several operas in
Billings. She has performed in “Carmen” four times.
Because the opera will be performed without an orchestra,
vocalists will not have to strain their voices trying to sing
over the instruments. They will also involve the audience more
in the production because
the venue is smaller. Don’t be
surprised if Carmen brushes against your shoulder or one of the
soldiers locks eyes with you while you sit in the audience.
This production is the first produced by NOVA, which came
out of the merger of two organizations, Rimrock Opera Co. and
Venture Theatre.
During Carmen’s aria, “Habanera,” she
sings to dozens of people in the town square. In this
production, Berger will sing to the audience, interacting with
them as if they are part of her chorus, Kitto said.
Berger plans to portray Carmen as a multi-dimensional woman, not
limiting her to “only a strumpet.”
“There is this sort of
sick, devious side of her. But she is also driven by her
passion. She does love these men and it’s not just sexual
attraction,” Berger said.
Sandi Rabas will accompany the
vocalists on piano. Other performers include Mouat as the
bullfighter Escamillo, Carolyn Coefield as Micaela, Shawn Rasch
as Lillas Pastia, and Green will portray Lt. Zuniga and Garcia.
The opera, “Carmen,” is taken from the book by Prosper
Merimee, “Carmen and Other Stories.” Bizet chose the fictional
story to base the opera on after he was commissioned by the
Opera-Comique to write a full-length opera. Bizet had never been
to Spain, but he set the opera there because the novel was about
an adventure in Spain.
When “Carmen” opened in 1875,
reviewers at the time criticized the work, calling Carmen “an
amoral seductress” and complaining that it was “the very
incarnation of vice.” In 1884, “Carmen” made its Metropolitan
Opera debut in New York and became part of the Met’s regular
repertoire.
