BRANDON — Brandon’s Barn Opera will perform Bizet’s masterpiece “The Tragedie of Carmen” on May 17 and 18. This new production explores the concept of power dynamics as it relates to love and infidelity. Be warned, there is graphic violence, simulated sexual situations, and potential to trigger victims of domestic abuse.
For those willing to watch this difficult show, you’ll be rewarded by the performances of a professional cast of opera singers including Jessica Jane Jacobs as Michaela, Julia Mintzer as Carmen, Joshua Collier as Don Jose (Collier is also the Artistic Director of Barn Opera), and Cailin Marcel Manson as Escamillo. The music director/conductor is Nicolas Guest and the pianist/assistant conductor is David Sawicki.
“Carmen is traditionally a Gypsy who is the ultimate sex symbol, who seduces or falls in love with multiple men, spurring one jilted lover to stalk her, beg her to return, and when ultimately rejected, dies at the hand of that scorned lover,” summarized Collier in a mid-April blog post about the show on barnopera.com. “My treatment of this show is to update the piece, and turn character relationships on their heads.
“The BARN OPERA production will concern a production company in NYC producing the opera ‘Carmen,’” Collier continued. “The main characters’ interactions are varied in that Carmen is the prima donna of the opera, but also a former dominatrix (hence, always in control.) Jose is the assistant director of the production. Escamillo is the leading man of the show, and Michaela is Jose’s hometown ex-girlfriend who tries to get him to come back home.
“This production explores the idea of infidelity and perceived infidelity, the notion of ownership and rights within a relationship, and the limits that the human psyche has to cope with external forces,” said Coller, adding that this show will be “edgy, and sexy, and very adult in nature.”
Invitations to attend the performance will be delivered electronically to any person who makes a donation of $50 or more to the Compass Music and Arts Foundation. There are no specific tickets available to the general public and there is extremely limited seating available as only the first 50 donors of $50 or more will be able to attend. Call (802) 247-4295 or visit barnopera.com for more info or to make a donation.