By: Nareg B., Capital Opera Teens; National Opera Teens Advisory Committee

Capital Opera Teens loved the Washington National Opera’s Carmen (running September 19 through October 3, 2015)—the sets, the costumes, the incredible artists! The timeless story of a willful personality making her way in the world. But because we saw a piano dress rehearsal, we did not get the full effect of the production. We were missing the orchestra. So I thought I would interview a member of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra to get her perspective on Carmen.

I was lucky to be able to speak with Ms. Susan Robinson* (see below for bio), principal harpist of the Opera House Orchestra since 1995. This is her 3rd Carmen here in DC.

Tell us a little about your experience performing Carmen with young conductor Evan Rogister.

Rogister has lots of energy (one of my colleagues quipped that he is the “hardest working conductor” on the circuit, because he does really emote on the podium and sweats profusely!) He is a very appealing conductor and intensely engaged with the music and with the orchestra. Lots of eye contact, lots of positive contact.  He’s quite tall of course, and he even does a little singing and other audible things on the podium! While it is rare that a group of 60-90 individuals are unanimous in their opinion, and it is rare that a conductor won’t cause offense in some quarter (say, by spending too much time shushing the brass, or by failing to acknowledge a woodwind solo), I do believe that Rogister is well respected and liked.

How does Rogister’s conducting compare to the other Carmens you have performed?

I’ve played two other runs of Carmen during my 20 years in the Opera House Orchestra.  The first was with Domingo on the podium.  As many opera musicians will (respectfully) note: Domingo is not really a conductor first and foremost, but he had his deep musicality and profound understanding of the vocal challenges of an opera.  I always enjoyed having him on the podium, even though there were some “special” challenges when he was up there, because he was so musical and he would often do a lot of singing in rehearsal, which was of course great to hear.  

The other production I did was under Julius Rudel, who had a long and very distinguished career as an opera conductor. Many of my colleagues had played under him quite a bit in the early years, but I never had. Rudel was the opposite of Rogister—he was quite elderly at the time and his conducting was marked by an extreme economy of movement.  That may have been due in part to the fact that he was older, but I also felt that given his long career, he had so internalized the music and the technique that that was all that was needed. It was just amazing how much he communicated with so little gesture. I loved him (and he was one of those conductors who seemed to really love the harp.) Sadly he fell twice during the rehearsal period and the run was conducted by the cover conductor.

How does Rogister’s “vision” of the score compare to other conductors you have worked with? Are there any particular challenges you face in the orchestra under different conductors or when performing different operas?

Of course, you should understand that each section of the orchestra has different challenges.  For the harp, the challenge is often “extra musical”: in Carmen, in all Verdi and Wagner operas, really in much of the repertoire, the harp plays very intermittently. So part of my challenge is sitting down there and waiting for 20-30 minutes at a stretch and staying fresh and knowing when to come in!  And the wait for Wagner and Verdi operas stretches to literally hours at a time!  Once a horn player who sat next to me asked “What bar do you come in on?” so he could mark down “harp” in his part as a cue, and I said “Bob, you realize that when I make that entrance it’s the first I’ve played in about 65 minutes—are you sure you trust me?”  That was a long-winded way of pointing out that sometimes as little cogs in a big machine we don’t necessarily see the big picture, or the conductor’s overall “vision” but are more focused on where our next entrance is, or being sure to follow the flute, or playing in tune with your section.  

Thank you so much for your insights. Do you have any final thoughts for Opera Teens?

I want to congratulate you on your efforts in getting teens out to the opera!  I think that is awesome! I will say that my husband and I have had our chamber music group IBIS for nearly a decade, and while we do have parents who bring younger kids to concerts (many of our concerts are free) seeing a teenager is a rare event indeed!  (And I am a parent to a 17 year old.)  So, if you don’t mind, I am going to add you to our mail list, and encourage any of your teen members to email me at [email protected] if they would like to be on our list as well. Please don’t hesitate to get back in touch and hope to see you at the opera soon!

Carmen is a timeless opera and, like other timeless works, is a standard piece of repertoire and consequently has been subjected to numerous interpretations. Likewise, the eponymous title role has had its fair share of singers attempting to portray, in their own way, the character– some good, some bad, some excellent; some a sweet victim, some raunchy. Each Carmen has her own merit. Still, here are a few of the more noteworthy Carmens performing the famous aria “L’amour est un oiseaux rebelle”, or the Habanera aria: 

1. Elīna Garanča, Latvian mezzo-soprano, in concert and at the Metropolitan Opera. I love Elina Garanca as Carmen, because her voice is very deep and rich. Moreover, she just owns the stage, and her acting is just so natural. She embodies the Carmen that we all know. 

2. Nana Mouskouri, who is not an opera singer, does her take of the ‘Habanera’- I like Nana Mouskouri in general, so I may be a little biased. However, she does a really good job of portraying a sultrier Carmen. (Also, her diction is pretty good.)

3. Julia Migenes-Johnson in the film Carmen. In this clip Julia interprets Carmen in the usual way; that is, she portrayed the character as flirty and with a commanding presence. Still, I enjoy how light and beautiful this Carmen is. These qualities of voice add a little innocence.

Popular for more than 200 years!

Even if you think you don’t know the opera Carmen, you will probably recognize some of the music. It’s the type that gets stuck in your head for days. And it’s recently been covered by people like Beyonce, who did a “Hip Hopera” version of the entire opera in 2001, and Stromae, a French pop singer who just did a cool adaptation of “Habanera” that updates the song to the Twitter Age. The adaptation by Stromae is especially interesting because it makes some of the timeless themes of the opera feel really modern. The first line of Bizet’s version translates to “Love is a rebellious bird that nobody can tame.” Stromae says “Love is like Twitter” and uses the image of the bird from Twitter to talk about how fickle social media can be.

Check out the trailer for Carmen the Hip Hopera, the Music Video by Stromae, and the YouTube of Maria Callas (a famous opera singer) singing the “Habanera” in the 60s.

Beyonce! (Trailer for Carmen the Hip Hopera)

Stromae! (Music Video for “Carmen”)

Maria Callas! (“Habanera” from Carmen by Bizet)!