Welcome Students and Teachers to Opera Online!! Continuing with our preview of Carmen this week we will take a look at video clips from Acts II, III, and IV of the opera and take an inside look at the world of gypsies.Video Clips of the Week!!
We start this week with Act II of Carmen. Our fist clips comes from another famous song from Carmen- the Toreador Song. This aria introduces Escamillo, a famous bullfighter who eventually wins Carmen's heart. In this clip from 1959 we will see the final dance for the gyspy song and hear baritone Robert Merrill sing this familiar aria.
Our second clip comes from the beginning of Act III. Frasquita and Mercedes begin reading tarrot cards and eventually Carmen joins in. This famous duet eventually becomes a card trio as Carmen reads her death. This clip comes from the 1985 Glyndebourne Festival with soprano Elizabeth Collier as Fresquita, mezzo-soprano Jean Rigby as Mercedes and mezzo-soprano Maria Ewing plays Carmen. (Note: This clips does not have English translations. The translation is on Page 31 of the student guide starting with Frasquita and Mecedes singing "Shuffle! Cut! Good, that's that!...". The clip finishes at the end of the track 7 section.)
Our last two clips are from the final scene of the opera. The first clip is from the 2006 Covent Garden production in London. This scene features mezzo-soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci as Carmen and tenor Jonas Kaufmann as Don Jose. As you watch this scene, listen carefully to the music. Which songs or tunes from the opera come back in the finale?
The last clip is the final scene from Carlos Saura's dance version of the opera Carmen. There is very little dialogue in this final scene? How does the director use sounds, costumes, and movement to show who is Escamillo, Carmen, and the Don Jose character? How does this scene compare to the same scene in the opera? Which version is more dramatic?
Website of the Week!!
The gypsy culture has been around since the Middle Ages. Check out this website on the different gyspy cultures living in the United States today!!
Opening Night Philadelphia!
On September 30, at 8 PM the Opera Company of Philadelphia is hosting a free, public simulcast of the opening night of Bizet’s Carmen at the historic Independence Hall. Come listen to world-class opera in Philadelphia's most iconic public places. Bring a blanket and a pinic and join us for opening night under the stars! Click here to register and learn more about this performance.
Opera on the Air!!
On Saturday, September 17th at 1 PM, radio station WRTI will be broadcasting the Met Opera Live Recording of The Barber of Seville from 1950 . The Barber of Seville is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. This production has an all-star cast including legendary soprano Lily Pons as Rosina, tenor Giuseppe di Stefano as the Count Almaviva, and baritone Giuseppe Valdengo as the scheming Figaro.
Until Next Week!!
Comments
Everyone expects Carmen to love Escamillo because he's a famous bullfighter. Carmen would love him because he has action and popularity.
I think Escamilo in my opinion is a good soldier, and a nice guy.
Carmen would be attracted to him because he is nice, can defend himself and is a soldier.
I think that Escamillo seems nice so it would be fine if Carmen liked him. I believe that Escamillo must be very handsome and a very good bull-fighter. He is probably quite popular. Those are my reasons that Carmen might be attracted to him.
Escamillo is a brave and courageous character. Escamillo is daring and risky, just like Carmen. I believe Carmen fell for Escamillo because he is a sneaky, strong, gypsy-like man. Carmen said that she would always be free, until she met Escamillo because she didn't think that anyone was good enough for her. The End
I think Carmen is attracted to Escamillo because he is a toreador and is famous.
He is very daring. Carmen probably thinks he is a strong bullfighter who is charming.
Carmen would be attracted to Escamillo because he was also stubborn, and not afraid to tell the person he loved that he loved them, just like Carmen isn't afraid. For example, after Carmen said that she didn't need loving, Escamillo said that her answer was unfriendly, and he would just hope and wait until she loved him. She could also be attracted to him because he is a bullfighter, and bullfighters seemed to be looked upon highly.
Escimillo is full of himself. he is very arrogant.that is why Carmen likes him. because she is very much like him.
I think of Escamillo as a very well respected man. I also think that he is a man of high authority and that he is very famous among the people. Carmen might be attracted to Escamillo because he is famous and relatively powerful.
I think that Escamillo is a bit full of himself. In the libretto he is very in love with Carmen. Carmen likes him because he has a popular and very rewarding job. He also seems to be nice and kindhearted.
I think that carman would be attracted Escamillo because he is supposedly he is handsome, and I think that Escamillo is a good person.
I think Escamillo is a sweet-talker. For example, he says that he would utter Carmen in his worst of perils to Carmen, which lures Carmen a little. Carmen would be attracted to Escamillio because he is a champion bullfighter, which could place her in the lap of luxury.
I think Escamillo is stuck up, strong, and handsome. He is persistent, and he has fallen in love with Carmen because in the libretto on page 25 he says to Carmen, "In my worst danger I want to utter your name." I think Escamillo is stuck up because in song he brags about his victory as a bullfighter. Carmen would be attracted to Escamillo because he is handsome and he is obviously strong, because he is a successful bullfighter. That is my opinion.
I think of Escamillo as a man who thinks he is the best because he is the bullfighting champion and thinks he can use this to get women. In this instance the women is Carmen. I think Carmen is attracted to Escamillo because he is the winning bullfighting champion, uses words well and in a way is trying to make Don Jose jealous.
I think Escamillo is brave because he is a fearless bullfighter. I think Carmen would be attracted to Escamillo because he is famous and a winner.
My favorite character is Escamillo because he is sort of the joker of all of them. My least favorite character is Don José because he has such a short temper and he is really protective and annoying.
I like carmen the most, because she is sneaky and mysterious, but she still seems nice. I dislike escamillo, because he seems like he thinks he is better than everyone. I think this because he calls himself the Granada matador
My favorite character in Carmen is Carmen. She is free spirited beautiful character. She also is very popular, all the boys wanted to be Carmen boyfriend. That is why Carmen is my favorite character. My least favorite character is Don Jose. He says he loves her but the he kills her because she wouldn't be with him. What is the point of that? He should at least force her to like him. It makes no sense to kill her. That way there is no chance whatsoever that she will change her mind. That is why Don Jose is my least favorite character.
My favorite character is Carmen because she lives life to the fullest. My least favorite characteris Escamillo because he tries to steal Carmen away from Don Jose.
My least favorite character in Carmen is probably Carmen herself, because she doesn't seem to care about how other people feel. She can be very self-centered, like when she gave Don José the flower to make him love her, even though he really DIDN'T love her. It was selfish of Carmen to do that, because she was completely changing Don José's life, just by causing him to love her. Then, Don José had to leave to go back to the military, but Carmen was very angry. She refused to love him unless he quit the military and joined the gypsies. Carmen in general isn't very nice.
So far in the opera, my favorite character seems to be Carmen. Carmen has few lines, but she is clever and charming. I prefer her personality. Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, my least favorite character is now Jose. Jose is easy to manipulate, and he made some decisions which I dislike. Perhaps my opinions will soon change.
The character I like the most is Don Jose because I think that he is loyal and smart. Also he will fight for who he loves. The character I dislike the most is Escamillo because I think that he is a stuck-up rich guy who cares only about fame and girls.
The person I like the most is Micaela. I like her the most because she would travel far and risk losing her life to tell Don Jose that his mother is sick and dying. She also was willing to marry Don Jose when he asked her. The person I dislike the most is Don Jose. He said that he would marry Micaela then he starts to date Carmen. Also, he was willing to let his mother die to be able to stay with Carmen.
My least favorite character is Ecimillo because he is arrogant and is a know it all
I like Don José the best because I feel sorry that his mom is dying. On top of that, Carmen only half loves him. I dislike Carmen because she made Don José choose between her love and his lifestyle.
I like Don José the best because I feel sorry that his mom is dying. On top of that, Carmen only half loves him. I dislike Carmen because she made Don José choose between her love and his lifestyle.
My favorite character is carmen, because she is not afraid to do what she wants. My least favorite is jose because he was mean to people.
My favorite character in the opera is Micaela. Micaela is my favorite character because she is so innocent, helpless, and that brings great drama, which is good for an opera. Also, I like Micaela because it is so sad that Don Jose and her had once been in love and were supposed to get married before Don Jose had met Carmen. My least favorite character is Escamillo because he is the reason Don Jose went crazy with jealousy and killed Carmen. These are my favorite and my least favorite characters.
I think Carman is the main character and Jon Jose was her conflict.
Don José changed the most in this story because before he didn't love Carmen, but now he kills her because she loves someone else and not him. I think that the protagonist is Carmen because she is the person in this story. The antagonist is Don José because he used to be fine but now he became the selfish guy who is overly protective.
The character who changed the most was Don Jose because he went from loving Carmen so much to hating her like mad in a single song. I would say Don Jose is the protagonist and Escamillo is the antagonist because Don Jose seems like the good guy who is falling in love and it seems to me that Escamillo is was trying to steal Carmen from Don Jose. The literary elements of Carmen are that the fury between the protagonist and antagonist just grows as the story goes on, the characters seem so life like, and the setting is strong and detailed.
I think the protagonist in Carmen is Carmen because she really changes a lot and the story is named after her. I think that the antagonist in Carmen is Escamillo because he takes Carmen away from Don Jose and also because ,in my opinion, he is a very hatable fellow.
I think the character that changed the most was Don Jose because he started out loving Micaela, then Carmen, then for a moment hating her. Killing her! Then realising what he had done. I think the protagonist was Carmen because she really was the main character in the story. The antagonist was Escamillo because he broke up Carmen and Don Jose.
The character who changes the most in Carmen was Don Jose because he started as the good guy and then he turned into the bad guy all because of Carmen. When he changed, this part was the climax. The protagonist of the story was Carmen because the whole opera was based all on her. The antagonist was Don Jose because Don Jose wanted to be with Carmen, but Carmen wanted to be free. This made the conflict. The conflict was about man vs man. Every story needs a plot, conflict, climax, and the resolution. THE END
The main character that changed the most during the plot, in my opinion, was Don Jose. Jose originally was loyal to the military, but after becoming love-struck with Carmen, had longed for her. Eventually, he killed Carmen to always be with her (dead body). Don Jose had significant changes to his personality throughout the opera. In my opinion, the protagonist was Carmen.
Carmen had gone through so much, however, the plot was unclear a bit. The antagonist was Jose in my opinion. He had stalked Carmen, eventually killing her.
The literary elements in Carmen included a plot, conflict (Jose loving Carmen, but Carmen loving Escamillio), characters,a climax, and genre(love).
I think the antagonist is Don jose because he murdered Carmen
Carmen's basic plot is, Don José loves Carmen, and Carmen briefly loves him, but then she decides that she doesn't love him anymore. The exposition is when Carmen gives Don José the flower to make him fall in love with her. The climax is when Carmen decides that she isn't in love with Don José anymore. The resolution doesn't really RESOLVE much... it's when Don José stabs Carmen, and she dies. There is lots of man vs. man conflict. For example, the fight between Carmen and and another woman, and when Don José and Carmen argue with (and/or kill) the other. The protagonist is probably Carmen, because she is the main character, and she had fairly good intentions when she was trying to get Don José to love her, although she ended up not loving him, which caused some problems. I think that the antagonist is probably Don José, because he caused lots of trouble with Carmen, like when she said she didn't love him anymore. Instead of taking it well, he just exclaimed how much he loved her, and then took her life, he was so mad.
I think Don José changed the most. At the beginning he was just a content soldier, in the middle he became love struck, and at the end he was a love blinded murderer. I think Carmen was the protagonist because she is a better person than Don José who I think is the antagonist because he murdered Carmen. Plus they were the main conflict in the opera. Some literacy elements I could see in the libretto were the conflict and not so go resolution between Carmen and Don José.
I think changed the most, and protagonist was carman because the she is the main character and the antagonist was don jose because he killed carman. sapence, love and death.
I think that Don Jose is the best character at this period. This is because he thinks that Carmen is annoying and he's right.
From the libretto of Carmen, the protagonist is Don Jose, because of his loyalty & the antagonist is Carmen, because she lies and cheats. I think Don Jose changed the most because he started in the military and not caring about Carmen. He ended up as a gypsy loving Carmen.