‘My Carmen shows solidarity among women’
OperaA curious approach from mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb, who sings Carmen in the new Glyndebourne production:
‘She is a freedom fighter, but I also perceive her as a true feminist. For example, in the fight scene where she is supposed to engage with Manuelita, she actually conspires with her friends in the tobacco factory to stage a fake fight, allowing her to escape. This demonstrates solidarity among women, rather than competition and aggression….
‘My aim is to present a multifaceted Carmen to the audience—a fighter, a survivor, and the epitome of honesty. She is lively and charismatic, yet she marches to the beat of her own drum. She refuses to let any man, group, or societal norms define her or dictate her beliefs. I endeavor to bring a Carmen to the Glyndebourne stage that is raw, honest, powerful, and, above all, true and I look forward singing it in front of this special audience.’
If Carmen is so admirable, does that make Micaela chopped liver?
if micaela is chopped liver, then carmen is foie gras, jose is giblets, and escamillo is chicken feet.
Oh dear…
Why not just peform carmen as it was supposed to be and forget all your woke shite ology
It’s not a museum item which gets dusted off every few years. The brilliance of the role is trying to work out exactly who she is and how she behaves. Nothing is written down beyond the libretto to guide you. If it works on the night it works
I don’t get what the woke element is. Chaieb’s take is a fairly straightforward, even conventional take on the character. I don’t think it’s particularly woke to say that Carmen is an independent free-thinker or that she’s defined by others’. That said, I’m not quite sure if the take on Manuelita makes sense when just looking at the libretto Bizet set to music. Maybe that’s more the Merimee?
Oh puuleeeease, spare us the modern-day feminist claptrap! There is no deep “meaning” in any of this, just sing n act n entertain us.
Carmen is obviously a bit much for you – I’d say the Folies Bergère is more your level of simplistic “entertainment”.
However much a feminist, fighter, and epitome of honesty Carmen may be, she certainly doesn’t survive a fatal stabbing at the end.
Always reminded of Roger Scruton when I read this dreary stuff.
“Not surprisingly, therefore, the literature of feminism is devoid of humor — and advisedly so, for if it ever were to employ this resource it would die laughing at itself.”
Which reminds me of a joke.
–How many militant feminists does it take to change a light bulb?
(Answer) THAT’S NOT FUNNY!
In some productions she does survive…maybe winden your horizons
There is an old joke about a psychologist giving a patient a Rorschach test. The patients spins out ever more deranged fantasies of psychosexual violence with each ink blot. Finally the shrink tells him, “You know, you really need help. Your answers indicate an alarming pathology.” To which the patient replies, “Oh yeah? Well you’re the one showing me all the dirty pictures!”
I suppose we all see what we want to see.
I can get onboard with this Carmen (based on the picture)
onboard or onbed?
Nice to know she believes in this nonsense anyway!
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