‘Carmen’ opera and ballet set to captivate Manila

“Carmen,” the sly but sensuous gypsy who openly shoved aside sexual constraints and caused scandals in 1830s Seville, first made her stage appearance on March 3, 1875 at the Opera-Comique in Paris. Composed by Georges Bizet with libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy, “Carmen” met a lukewarm reception back then. But in the decades that followed, “Carmen” came to be one of the most loved and performed operas or ballet pieces all over the world. In the Philippines, the four-act opera “Carmen” was first produced in 1986 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). This weekend, two “Carmen” productions – a ballet and an opera – are going to be staged a few kilometers apart in Metro Manila. Lisa Macuja’s ‘Carmen’ Prima ballerina Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s ballet rendition of “Carmen” will be staged at the Star Theater in Pasay City on Oct. 26 and 27. It is part of her three-year “Swan Song Series,” signaling her retirement from ballet as she dances several of her choice roles for the last time. So far, she has performed “Swan Lake,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Don Quixote,” and “Giselle.” Elizalde’s “Carmen” is performing with Rudy de Dios (Don Jose), who is Ballet Manila’s principal male dancer. “Whether she comes out as a slut, a seductress, a witch, or a victim of circumstance, Carmen is a woman determined to survive, using any means at her disposal in order to do so. Don Jose just bit off more than he could chew,” Elizalde said of the character of “Carmen.” “I waited a very long time before choreographer Eric V. Cruz announced that I was ready to dance his Carmen. My own kids loved the part when I get stabbed in the ballet. I have died so many times onstage in many different roles, but Carmen is the best because she goes down laughing at the irony of it all,” said Elizalde in a statement. The “Carmen” ballet, with music by Georges Bizet and Rodion Shchedrin, is being re-staged by Osias Barroso, Eileen Lopez, and Jonathan Janolo. Laurice Guillen directs ‘Carmen’ opera Meanwhile, the latest staging of the opera “Carmen” is produced by Lyric Opera of the Philippines, with live orchestral accompaniment by the Manila Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Prof. Arturo Molina. Directed by the multi-awarded Laurice Guillen, “Carmen” features some of the best Filipino opera singers today. They include sopranos Camille Lopez Molina and Ana Feleo (as Carmen), tenors Abdul Candao and Randy Gilongo (Don Jose), sopranos Margarita Gomez Giannelli and Kay Balajadia Liggayu (Micaela), and baritone Noel Azcona (Escamillo). Other cast members are Jun Jaranilla (Zuñiga), Greg de Leon (Morales), Jade Riccio and Jamie Sampana (Frasquita), and Tanya Corcuera and Roxy Aldiosa (Mercedes). Gino Gonzalez designed the set while Monino Duque took care of the lighting. The opera will be staged at the St. Cecilia Hall of St. Scholastica's College in Manila from Oct. 26 to 28. Dream role for sopranos In an interview, Molina said the opera “Carmen” deserves to re-staged. “It isn't the world's most popular opera for nothing. The music is sublime, the plot riveting, the setting timeless, almost irrelevant. Everybody can relate to the characters – Carmen, Don Jose, Micaela, Escamillo – all of us know people like them,” she says. “This opera can be appreciated by aficionados and the uninitiated alike,” she added. Cast members were “very fortunate” that Guillen devoted considerable time to conducting acting workshops to explain her blocking and direction techniques, she said. “It made a lot of things dramatically more meaningful and organic.” Originally hired by Lyric Opera as a vocal coach for the cast members and as rehearsal master, Molina was eventually invited to take on the role of Carmen. Feleo (above, right) and Molina (below, left) alternate in playing the lead role. “I've performed all the arias and most of the ensemble numbers of the opera in concerts, but this is the first time I'm doing the full role of Carmen,” said Molina. Molina, who is also a faculty member at the University of the Philippines in Diliman College of Music, has acted in a number of operas. These include “Madame Butterfly” (as Suzuki), “Pagliacci” (Nedda), “Cavalleria Rusticana” (Santuzza), “Don Carlo” (Principesa Eboli), “La Boheme” (Mimi), “La Vie Parisienne (Metella), “La Cambiale di Matrimonio” (Fanny), “Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Giulietta), “Lakme” (Mallika), and “Suor Angelica” (Suor Angelica). “Carmen is every soprano's dream role. It has been done in practically all types of genres – opera, classical ballet, flamenco, film, and stage play. There are as many interpretations as there have been singers and directors who have had done it,” Molina said. “Carmen” is a complicated character, she added. “She's very real and yet she’s very theatrical at the same time.” Molina said her approach to the role of “Carmen” was strongly influenced by Guillen’s workshops, which dealt with “Carmen as a real person with real emotions.” “Then for the theatricality, I drew a lot from the ballet and flamenco interpretations. I felt that the dance forms helped me express Carmen's sensuality more easily and more effectively,” Molina added. To prepare for her role, Molina said she listened to all the recordings and watched all the available videos of “Carmen.” “I studied the score and tried out different things vocally to see which worked most effectively for me. I had to rehash my French pronunciation and had to study the text as precisely as I could, because I not only have to understand my lines but the other characters' lines as well,” she said. “The hardest part of all was kicking my butt and going back to the gym to lose weight and to have the physical stamina to enable me to give the role of Carmen the full justice in terms of the singing, the acting, the movement, and the dancing components,” she said. Molina believes the opera “Carmen” would appeal to the young generations who grew up in a world of digital devices. “Carmen is still very relevant in this age. Now that the younger generations have more freedom of choice, they have to realize that everything comes at a price. Choices or actions have consequences. They must decide wisely.” – YA, GMA News Inquiries regarding Lyric Opera’s Carmen may be made at Alliance Francaise de Manille at 895.7585 or 895.7441, and Manila Downtown YMCA at 242.1995 or 242.1977. For the Lisa Macuja Swan Song Series, call Ticketworld at 891.9999 Photos courtesy of Ballet Manila and Lyric Opera of the Philippines