It is one of the best-loved operas of all time and still pulls in crowds almost 150 years after it was first written by Bizet – but soprano Justina Gringyte doesn’t think it should be called Carmen.
“It should be renamed Don Jose, not Carmen,” said the opera star, who performs the title role in Scottish Opera’s reimagining off the story of jealousy and lust, moving it to 1970s Spain, framed as a narrator-turned-detective investigating Carmen’s murder.
“The person being investigated is Don Jose and Don Jose is always there. It should be renamed Don Jose and not Carmen,” said Justina of the naïve soldier who becomes obsessed with the strong and independent Carmen.
“It is so close to the original (novella) by Prosper Merimee where the focus is Don Jose and not Carmen. This is the biggest, intriguing point of the production because we need to see the story through different eyes.
“Suddenly, I don’t feel Carmen is the central figure, so it’s a challenge to create the same story but not through the same lens.”
Iconic music still part of show
For all the shift in setting the familiar and beloved elements of Carmen will still be there – especially the iconic music such as the Habanera, Flower Aria and Toreador Song – when it arrives at Eden Court in Inverness and His Majesty’s in Aberdeen.
It’s that music which has kept Carmen front and centre of popular culture, said Justina.
“It has incredibly catchy tunes and it is brilliant popular music, which is not to diminish it,” she said.
“The first time I saw Carmen I was 16 years old, but on the TV when I was a little girl, there was an advert about cleaning the windows and it had a tune from Carmen, it was so catchy and popular. We want to hear what we like. It’s as simple as that.”
That familiarity with the tunes can make people who haven’t seen it think Carmen is a “happy, cheeky” story and not the intense and tragic drama it truly is.
But those dark undercurrents are very much brought into focus in the new Scottish Opera production, directed by John Fulljames, and set at a time Spain was just coming out of decades of Franco’s dictatorship.
It puts into sharp relief domestic abuse and toxic police culture, while casting Carmen as a freedom fighter, struggling for domestic freedom in her relationships and also political freedom. It makes the story one that resonates today, said Justina.
‘Carmen is about freedom of choice’
“Carmen’s story, as much as it is a love story, it’s an underlying story about abuse. It is very close to many of our lives. Do we speak out about it or keep silent. Do we keep it as a shame, and not talk about it? But today many men and women are speaking up.
There is also a sense of empowerment, said Justina.
“Carmen is about freedom of choice, including the freedom to say this relationship is over.”
While she has performed Carmen many times, Justina says she finds this new take the most challenging yet.
“I have done eight or nine different productions of Carmen, but I have never been in such a creative, different process of Carmen. I am almost as nervous, or maybe even more, than the first time I did it.”
A different sound
One of those challenges is this production is sung not in the original French but in English with a new libretto from Christopher Cowell.
“The language is quite different, so certain sounds and colours of the voice to enhance the meaning are not the same. So I have to find the most true colours of the character, which is not easy as it is such a different sound.”
Justina is confident that audiences will love this version of Carmen – whether they are already opera fans or just discovering the genre, which is something she hopes more people will do.
“The message of the opera is something that unites us all, the truth in the production is there, the great tunes are still there, and the music will be very beautiful.”
Scottish Opera’s Carmen is at Eden Court from Tuesday May 23 to Saturday May 27. For information and tickets visit eden-court.co.uk or call 01463 234234
It will then be at His Majesty’s Theatre on Thursday June 1 and Saturday June 3, with a relaxed afternoon performance on Friday June 2. For more information and tickets visit aberdeenperformingarts.com or call 01224 641122.