`La Tragedie de Carmen' shuns traditional treatment

By Alice T. Carter, TRIBUNE-REVIEW THEATER CRITIC
Tuesday, December 11, 2001

It was said of Michelangelo that he sculpted his statue of David by taking a block of marble and carving away everything that wasn't David.

In a similar manner, The Pittsburgh Opera Center and Quantum Theatre have freed the passions of "Carmen" from the romanticism of the original opera.

The tool they use is Peter Brook's 1983 deconstruction and adaptation of Bizet's "Carmen" that he did in collaboration with French composer Marius Constant.

The result is the spare, concise and dramatically effective "La Tragedie de Carmen" that continues through Sunday at the Brew House on the South Side.

Rust marks flow down the white ceramic tiles of this scruffy two-story former brewery space. A century of industrial foot traffic has polished its cracked concrete floors with an ashen patina. Chains and hooks dangle from the ceiling. Long abandoned crescent wrenches and long-handled tongs still cling to the walls.

It's not the Benedum, by any means.

But this rough, raw space could easily pass for the real-world barracks, cigarette factories and bars that "Carmen" is set in.

Props and scenery are limited to a spiral staircase, some tables and chairs and a semi-ellipse of raised benches and some colorful but unnecessary and silly decorative flags.

The audience surrounds the action on three sides. Performers fill the space, employing the aisles, stairs and upper reaches of the high-ceilinged space to dramatic advantage.That enhances action and emotion. But it also makes it hard for those not fluent in French or familiar with the opera to follow the simultaneous translations that illuminate a rectangle above the center playing area. Streamlined to a quick 75 minutes and six performers, "La Tragedie de Carmen" jettisons the adult and children's chorus and larger ensembles, including the Act Two quintet.

The focus here is on the relationships between the feckless Gypsy Carmen, the hapless corporal Don Jose who falls for her, the virginal and virtuous Micaela who loves him, and a trio of other men -- Zuniga, Garcia and Escamillo, whom Carmen bewitches.

Under the direction of Quantum artistic director Karla Boos, these half-dozen young singers turn this classic opera into a gritty, often very immediate theater piece about young passions and impetuous actions.

At this stage in their training, these young performers are often more proficient singers than they are actors. Boos offers tremendous support in her direction, keeping actions, intentions and drama clear and compelling.

Their emotions connect most clearly and directly when they're singing, which they do with full, rich voices that nicely fill the space.

What's occasionally lost in the stiffness of their acting and movement is compensated for by their youthful appearances that nicely fit these characters. That lack of experience adds to the sense of danger during the knife fight scenes choreographed by Shaun Rolly.

The roles of Micaela, Carmen and Escamillo are double cast. The performers seen on opening night and discussed here are those scheduled to play Friday and Dec. 16. Melissa Brezinsky's tepid, tentative Micaela matches her character's bewilderment. Daniel Gross' swaggering Escamillo grows in bravado and confidence as he dons his toreador's costume. Karin Caspi's voluptuous Carmen is often surprisingly playful and flirtatious.

Matt Morgan's Don Jose is a dumbstruck, deer-caught-in-the-headlights corporal who's no match for this or any Carmen. He's sweetly artless, but too passive. Matthew Shaw's Zuniga lacks menace. In the smaller roles of Lillas Pastia and Garcia, Javier Abreu displays strong, intelligent acting skills that create vivid characters without much dialogue.

"La Tragedie de Carmen" is not for traditionalists who like their operas filled with pomp, circumstance and pretty costumes. Those who know the opera well will see it with new eyes in these unexpected surroundings.

For adventurous theater buffs, especially those familiar with Quantum, this "Carmen" offers a rough-hewn, sometimes imperfect but involving, highly musical blend of opera and theater.

The Pittsburgh Opera Center and Quantum Theatre's collaborative production of "La Tragedie de Carmen" continues at 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday at the Brew House, 2100 Mary St., South Side. Tickets: $18. Details: (412) 394-3353.

Alice T. Carter can be reached at acarter@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7808.