The Tragedy of Carmen
Adapted by Peter Brook | Music by Georges Bizet
Directed by Karen Tiller
Conducted by Emily Senturia
Sung in French with English Supertitles
Approximately 90 min | No Intermission
Single Tickets Start at Just $30
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Carmen is a sizzling seductress—but when you play with fire, you’re going to get burned! Naïve young soldier Don José falls for her, shunning his childhood sweetheart Micaëla in favor of a life of passion and crime with Carmen. But when she abandons him for the charismatic bullfighter Escamillo, jealousy ignites and Don José is pushed to murderous acts.
Peter Brook’s gripping, 90-minute adaptation of Bizet’s opera retains all of your favorite tunes but brings the story back to its origins of sexual intrigue, power and complexity. Carmen’s embrace of her dark fate is elevated from an act of submission to an assertion of power. Karen Tiller returns to direct the HOT debuts of Ashley Dixon as Carmen, Kyle van Schoonhoven as Don José, Christian Pursell as Escamillo, and Maria Valdes as Micaëla, with Emily Senturia conducting.
THE TRAGEDY OF CARMEN
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18 AT 7:30PM
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20 AT 4:00PM
NEAL S. BLAISDELL CONCERT HALL
Lanai Lectures start 60 min & 30 min before the performance begins on the Ward Avenue Lanai
Season subscriptions are available through the HOT Box Office. Subscribers and ticket buyers with questions or concerns can contact the HOT Box Office at 808.596.7858 or hottickets@hawaiiopera.org.
Note to attendees: Current audience guidelines to safely welcome patrons back to the theatre can be found on the HOT website at hawaiiopera.org/plan-your-visit.
Watch the Trailer!
MEET THE CAST & ARTISTIC TEAM
Ashley Dixon, Carmen | Mezzo-soprano Ashley Dixon, a Grand Finals winner of the 2018 Metropolitan Opera National
Council Auditions and a recent graduate of the San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship, is quickly
establishing herself as one of the most exceptional artists of her generation. Possessing a “robust instrument full of beguiling vocal colors, as well as formidable technical command” (The San Francisco Chronicle), she is at home in a repertoire spanning three centuries. In spring of 2020, Ms. Dixon made her critically acclaimed debut with the Los Angeles Opera, stepping into a run of performances as Sara in Roberto Devereux. Ms. Dixon continued to perform this last season as a featured guest artist with Opera San Jose. In addition, she joined Atlanta Opera for performances as the title role in Carmen, and
appeared in San Francisco Opera’s Holiday Gala. Future engagements include the title role in Lucrezia for Opera Louisiane, Annio in La clemenza di Tito at the Ravinia Festival, and Carmen in Hawaii Opera Theatre’s production of The Tragedy of Carmen and Adalgisa in Norma with Festival Opera.
Kyle van Schoonhoven, Don José | American tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven, a Grand Finals winner of the 2017 Metropolitan Opera National Council competition, is a Wagnerian star on the rise. The New York Times praises him for possessing a “gleaming, potent” instrument with a “steady, burnished sound.” Of a concert performance with the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Chronicle raved: “the title character’s prayer from the final act of Wagner’s Rienzi elicited a gleaming, potent performance from tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven, marked by suave phrasing and tonal freshness.”
Mr. van Schoonhoven’s most recent engagements include performances of Tchekalinsky (while covering Ghermann) in The Queen of Spades with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos with Cincinnati Opera, the title role in Act III of Siegfried with the New York Repertory Orchestra, and Lensky in Eugene Onegin with Livermore Valley Opera. Van Schoonhoven was scheduled to make his Metropolitan Opera debut in Tristan und Isolde, sing his first performances of Erik in The Flying Dutchman for Opera Maine, and return to Lyric Opera of Chicago in Samson et Dalila, but unfortunately all of these engagements were cancelled or postponed due to Covid-19.
Christian Pursell, Escamillo | Hailing from the Santa Cruz mountains of California, bass-baritone Christian Pursell is a rising star among the next generation of singers. His post-pandemic season kicks off with his role debut as Escamillo in Carmen at Cincinnati Opera in July 2021, followed by appearances as Escamillo with Houston Grand Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Pursell returns to the Bay Area in December 2021 to perform in Handel’s Messiah with San Francisco Symphony, and will join Arizona Musicfest in February 2022 for Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.
His 2019/20 season started with a return to San Francisco Opera as Lieutenant Ratcliffe in Billy Budd. Prior to cancellation, Pursell was to perform Escamillo in Carmen at Houston Grand Opera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Handel’s Messiah with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Maria Valdes, Micaëla | American soprano Maria Valdes was recently described as a “first-rate singing actress and a perfectly charming Gilda” (New York Times). In 2021, Ms. Valdes sang the role of Younger Alyce in Glory Denied at Atlanta Opera, joined NYFOS@ Home for their It’s Summer in South America recital, covered the role of Lucy in The Threepenny Opera for Atlanta Opera and joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for their series of short films called In The Key of Bach. This summer, she reprised the role of Younger Alyce in Berkshire Opera Festival’s production of Glory Denied and will perform as the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with Summer Singers of Atlanta. During the 2021-2022 season, Ms. Valdes will make her Georgia Symphony Orchestra debut as the soprano soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, returns to The Phoenix Symphony as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, makes her Hawaii Opera Theater debut as Micaëla in Peter Brook’s La tragédie de Carmen, makes her Gulf Coast Symphony debut reprising the role of Gilda in Rigoletto, rejoins Berkshre Opera Festival for a resital, debuts the role of Maria in The Sound of Music with Charlottesville Opera, and returns to the Bellingham Festival of Music to sing a concert of Strauss lieder and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4.
Benoit Weber, Zuniga & Garcia | Benoit Weber moved to the United States from France at age 19 to study music and recording engineering. A Hawaii resident of 20 years, he is no stranger to HOT after singing in the chorus of over a dozen operas from 2003 to 2012. He also acted in several Diamond Head Theatre musicals, most notably as Nick Arnstein (Funny Girl, 2012), and even appeared in a bit of local TV advertisement. Benoit was the music teacher at Assets School in Honolulu from 2002 until 2014, when he moved on to become an airline pilot. He now flies for Hawaiian Airlines and is excited at this unique opportunity to reconnect with his HOT community and ohana after 10 years.
Kip Wilborn, Lillas Pastia | Kip Wilborn has appeared as a leading tenor with opera companies and symphonies around the world and has also enjoyed success in both film and Musical Theatre. He starred in the Hal Prince productions of Showboat and Phantom of the Opera. At Hawaii Opera Theatre he has performed Luigi/Rinuccio – Il Trittico, Pinkerton – Madama Butterfly, Siegmund – Die Walküre, Canio – I Pagliacci, and Don José in Carmen. He has provided stage and music direction to numerous productions on O’ahu, including conducting the orchestra for the Hawaii premiere of Allegiance at the Hawaii Theatre Center. Currently, Kip is the Executive and Artistic Director at Manoa Valley Theatre.
Karen Tiller, Director | Karen Tiller has had a long career in the field of opera: beginning at Virginia Opera directly after completing college, and moving on to become Director of Production for Opera Memphis 2 years later. She was in Memphis for seven years, ending her tenure there as Executive Director. She left Memphis to become the General Director of Opera Festival of New Jersey, followed by the role of Managing Director of Music Theatre Group in Manhattan. During those years she served as both a frequent panelist and onsite evaluator for the National Endowment for the Arts, and was also a board member and board consultant for Opera America. She moved to Honolulu in 2004 to become the Executive Director of Hawaii Opera Theatre.
Karen served as the ED of HOT for over nine years. Throughout her time at HOT, she directed several critically acclaimed HOT productions including: Susannah, Jun Kaneko’s Madama Butterfly, The Pearl Fishers, and the 2013 production of Turandot. Other notable productions in her career include; Sweeney Todd at HOT, The Turn of the Screw at Opera Memphis and Orpheo et Euridice at OFNJ. She directed Three Decembers for HOT with Frederica von Stade, which led to two more opportunities to work with the grand dame of opera at both Livermoor Opera and San Diego Opera.
Emily Senturia, Conductor | Praised for her ability to “draw a rich and beautiful sound,” Emily Senturia is quickly earning recognition as a talented opera conductor capable of leading a wide spectrum of repertoire. In 2018, Senturia made her mainstage debut with Houston Grand Opera conducting Il barbiere di Siviglia, followed by her Kennedy Center debut leading the same piece for Washington National Opera, and her West Coast debut leading Mata Hari for West Edge Opera. In the same year she was selected by The Dallas Opera to participate in the Hart Institute for Women Conductors for the 18-19 season, and in the spring of 2019, made her Hawaii Opera Theater debut leading La traviata and led a workshop of a world premiere for San Francisco Opera, and made her Wolf Trap Opera mainstage debut conducting Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos. This season, Senturia returns to Opera Philadelphia as music director for the world premiere of Denis & Katya, makes her Boston Lyric Opera debut conducting Fellow Travelers, makes her Florida Grand Opera debut conducting Il matrimonio segreto, conducts the Mill City Summer Opera’s production of Rigoletto, and joins On-Site Opera as music director for their production of Das Barbecu.
SYNOPSIS
THE TRAGEDY OF CARMEN
(La tragédie de Carmen)
Micaëla, a young country girl, arrives in Seville looking for her childhood sweetheart, Don José. She brings him a letter from his mother. A gypsy, Carmen, throws a flower to the young corporal and sings an erotic love song.
The two girls fight and José’s superior, Zuniga, appears. Unable to control Carmen, he orders José to take her to jail. En route, Carmen promises José that if he lets her escape she will meet him at the inn of her friend Lillias Pastia. José lets Carmen go, whereupon Zuniga locks him up and takes away the corporal’s rank. Carmen arrives at the inn with stolen goods. Zuniga comes to see Carmen and offers money for her favors. Carmen accepts, but shortly thereafter Jose enters.
Carmen abandons Zuniga and sings for José. At this moment the bugles blow, summoning José back to the barracks. Carmen is furious and taunts him; the situation becomes tense. José discovers Zuniga, loses control and kills the officer.
The body is quickly hidden as Escamillo, a famous bullfighter, enters. Buying drinks all around, he announces that he, too, wants Carmen. José, jealous, picks a fight with Escamillo. Carmen separates them and Escamillo withdraws, inviting all to his next bullfight.
José, who has now killed for Carmen, sings of his love for her. They go to the mountains where an old gypsy woman unites them.
While they are sleeping, Garcia appears at the camp. He is Carmen’s husband, though she has hidden his existence from José. The two men challenge each other and as they go off to fight, Carmen reads her tragic fate in the cards. The song ends, Garcia returns wounded and falls dead at Carmen’s feet.
Micaëla appears again searching for José; the two women seem to understand each other. They sing while José, twice a murderer and abandoned by Carmen, flees. Carmen becomes Escamillo’s mistress. José returns to persuade her to leave with him to start a new life. She refuses, knowing she is putting her life in jeopardy.
Escamillo is killed in the bullring. Carmen still refuses José’s offer, but she goes with him as far as the place where the cards have foretold that she will die.