The Amore Opera Company

The New Amore Opera Season
“Carmen” is now one of the world’s most favorite operas. Full of sweeping passion, its
melodies are the source for many an earwurm. But, it wasn’t always so: Its premiere
at the Opéra-Comique of Paris on March 3, 1875 was a disaster. The audience was
shocked that such a wanton woman as Carmen should be celebrated on the stage,
and the young Georges Bizet’s masterpiece seemed to be headed for oblivion.
Indeed, Bizet died two months later thinking himself a failure. It was only after “Carmen”
escaped the confines of Parisian bourgeoisie society that it found its audience
and quickly established itself as an international sensation.
Even today when examined closely, it is not an easy story, and it must have been
truly shocking to Victorian audiences. Carmen is made the heroine, but she is from
the lowest caste of European society, the Gypsies. Euphemistically, she is described
as “free with her love,” but it is obvious that it is more than that. Indeed, she uses her
overpowering sexuality as a weapon of first choice, and it is this mismatch that starts
Don José on his downward spiral to ruin and insanity.
However, through modern eyes, she is also a victim. While the original audiences
might have concluded that Carmen “got what she deserves”, today’s viewers are
more likely to be shocked by the evolution of José into a monstrous stalker. There are
other problems that jolt modern sensibilities, too, including the maddening task of
accepting the fact that Carmen is both the prototype of the emancipated woman and
at the same time bound by the predestination foretold by Tarot cards. In short, “Carmen”
is a surprisingly deep work of art that continues to fascinate each succeeding
generation in unsuspected ways.
For us, “Carmen” represents something totally different - the successful conclusion
to Amore Opera’s second season. Against the odds, veterans of the Amato Opera have
established and evolved a new house which has found favor both within the opera
community of artists and from the opera-going public. Next season, we are planning
another series of popular operas and another series of our “Opera in Brief” for
children and families, and we invite you to be the first to know about it by getting our
Amore Newsletter. Just send an email to newsletter@amoreopera.org, and we’ll keep
you abreast of all our exciting developments!
Finally, producing opera demands great dedication on both sides of the footlights.
Please consider joining us as a volunteer. We need everything from ushers to painters.
Or, if you are an overly busy New Yorker, please think about giving us a donation
to help us with our quest. In addition to writing a check this evening, you can also
conveniently make a donation online at www.amoreopera.org.
Thanks to everybody involved – the singers, the instrumentalists, the artistic staff
and the administrators - for loving and nurturing the Amore Opera. Now, onto our
third season!
Nathan Hull
Amore Opera President
This production is dedicated to the memory of John W. Behonek,
Actor, Singer, Producer, Gentleman, and Supporter and Patron
of the Amore Opera and many, many other Opera & Operetta companies