Carmen

Carmen is a French opéra comique[1] in four acts by Georges Bizet (1838-1875)[2].

The original text

Based on the novella Carmen[3] (1845) by Prosper Mérimée (1803-1870)[4], with a libretto by Henri Meilhac (1830-1897)[5] and Ludovic Halévy (1834-1908)[6], it tells Don José, who is seduced by the fiery gypsy Carmen and thus abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts from his military duties. When he loses Carmen's love to the glamorous torero Escamillo, the healous José kills her.

Carmen was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875 and the first audiences were shocked and scandalized by its transgression of the usual conventions, but the work gained international acclaim over the next decade went on to become one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the classical canon.

Translations and adaptations

International versions

There have been many adaptations of the opera, including Carmen Jones (1943) by Oscar Hammerstein, La Tragedie de Carmen (1983), a 90-minute version by Peter Brook, various ballet versions and numerous films.[7].

South African versions

Carmen (1946) translated into Afrikaans by Gideon Roos.

U-Carmen (2001)

A notable South African Xhosa and English adaptation is U-Carmen (2001) first performed by the multiracial South African company, Dimpho di Kopane at the Spier Amphitheatre, directed by Mark Dornford-May with musical direction by Charles Hazlewood. The play went on a hugely successful tour to the US, Australia, Canada, Turkey and the UK over the next few years.

U-Carmen eKhayelitsha (2005)

An award-winning film version (now wholly in Xhosa) called U-Carmen eKhayelitsha (2005), was made by Dimpho di Kopane‎ in 2005, produced by Spier Films and again directed by Mark Dornford-May with musical direction by Charles Hazlewood.The text was translated into Xhosa by performers Andiswa Kedama and Pauline Malefane, and it contains music from both the original opera and traditional African music.

Performance history in South Africa

1893-4: Performed in its original by the Lyric Opera Company on tour in South Africa, including performances in the Opera House, Cape Town.

1899: Performed and taken on a tour the South African cities and towns by the visiting Arthur Rousbey Grand English Opera Company, under the management of Frank de Jong and Herbert Flemming, appearing in Cape Town's Opera House in the second half of the year.

1912: Presented by the Quinlan Opera Company.

1946: First performance of Carmen in Afrikaans, presented by John Connell at the Empire Theatre (also presented in English).

1953: Presented at the Labia Theatre by the Labia Grand Opera Company with the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra, conducted by Walter Swanson, produced/directed by Alessandro Rota (4-18 April 1953).

1956: Presented as a concert version by the Pretoria Opera Group.

1962: Presented by the Pretoria Opera Group.

1967: Presented in French by CAPAB Opera, with Nellie du Toit as Micaëla, produced by Jan Bouws Jr, conducted by Derek Hudson.

1968: Presented in French by CAPAB Opera, with Nellie du Toit as Micaëla, produced by Jan Bouws Jr, conducted by Georg Tintner.

1969: Concert version presented by PACOFS Opera.

1970: Presented by PACOFS Opera.

1972: Presented by PACT Opera; presented by NAPAC Opera.

1973: Presented by PACT Opera.

1974: Presented by CAPAB Opera; presented in French by NAPAC Opera, with Nellie du Toit as Micaëla and Gé Korsten as Don José, produced by James Conrad, conducted by John Pryce-Jones.

1976: Presented by CAPAB Opera.

1989: Carmen presented by CAPAB Opera (3–15 February)

1995: La Tragedie de Carmen presented by CAPAB Opera (26 January – 5 February)

1996: La Tragedie de Carmen presented by CAPAB Opera (15–22 June)

1999: Carmen presented by Cape Town Opera (9–21 September)

2001: Debut performance of U-Carmen at the Spier Amphitheatre, Stellenbosch, in January.

2005: Carmen presented by Cape Town Opera (24 September – 8 October)

2011: Carmen presented by Cape Town Opera (9–19 March)

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_(novella)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosper_M%C3%A9rim%C3%A9e

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Bizet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Meilhac

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludovic_Hal%C3%A9vy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-Carmen_eKhayelitsha

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimpho_di_Kopane

https://www.charleshazlewood.com/ucarmen

http://www.playbill.com/article/south-african-troupe-dimpho-di-kopane-reinvents-carmen-the-beggars-opera-and-hans-christian-andersen-in-nyc-com-122338

D.C. Boonzaier, 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1932. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.203-205

Wayne Muller. 2018. A reception history of opera in Cape Town: Tracing the development of a distinctly South African operatic aesthetic (1985–2015). Unpublished PhD thesis.

Sjoerd Alkema. 2012. "Conductors of the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra, 1914-1965: a historical perspective". University of Cape Town. Unpublished PhD thesis.

Alexandra Xenia Sabina Mossolow. 2003. The career of South African soprano Nellie du Toit, born 1929. Unpublished Masters thesis. University of Stellenbosch.

Hilde Roos. 2012. 'Indigenisation and history: how opera in South Africa became South African opera'. Acta Academica Supplementum. 2012(1).

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