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1.     According to Susan McClary, the opera Carmen plays “along important faultlines of racial, class, and gendered Otherness. In what ways does it do so, and how do these “categories” inflect each other in the opera?

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2.     Carmen falls under the genre opera comique. What are the typical plots, characters, and musical styles associated with this type of opera? In what ways does the opera adhere to these conventions and in what ways does it transgress or expand on them?

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3.     What kind of evidence does McClary use to support her ideas? Do you find this evidence credible/valuable? What other kinds of evidence might she draw on to give her argument more weight?

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This article discusses a Regietheater production of "Carmen" that is reframed in the style of the Netflix show "Orange is the New Black." It connects to Bizet's original setting in compelling ways. (Carmen is a prisoner and Don Jose is a guard.) The show deals a lot with power relations and hierarchies within the prison and by extension society. The opera replicates these structures. There is also a lot of fluidity in the gender roles that OITNB presents. Like Bizet in the 19th century, the opera also engages in contemporary issues regarding gender politics and violence by having a transgender singer play Carmen and a woman play the role of Don Jose.

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Carmen has long been opera's most liberated woman: a sultry Gypsy cigarette girl who considers her sexual independence a birthright. She can have any man she wants, but she'll do the picking, thank you. Her credo: Free she was born, and free she will die.

At its heart, Georges Bizet's masterpiece can be read as an opera about power relationships, about Carmen and the men who would try to define and, ultimately, own her. Now, you know what else is all about power relationships? "Orange Is the New Black" - the hit Netflix series set in a minimum-security prison for women and chronicling the complexities of life among the prisoners and corrections staff. Danielle Wright, executive director of Opera MODO, saw some fundamental links between this unlikely pair, and the light bulb went off over her head. The result is a modern-dress version of "Carmen" opening this weekend that re-sets the opera in a contemporary minimum-security prison.

As the company's marketing tag line puts it: "Bizet Is the New Black!"

Wright has done a lot of trimming to make the concept work, reducing the opera to just more than two hours, merging a couple of characters into composites and assigning some lines to other characters. Carmen is an inmate; Don Jose is a guard. All of the defining music is here, but there are other wrinkles that add layers of gender-bending metaphor. Carmen will be portrayed as transgender. Jennifer Trombley will sing the title role at two of the performances, but at the other two, countertenor Bryan DeSilva will take over the role. In addition, at two of the performances, Don Jose will be sung by soprano Melissa Crosby appearing as a woman (not as a man in a so-called trouser role) - a nod to the numerous lesbian relationships in "Orange Is the New Black."

"We just want to show that power is not limited by gender," said Wright, who is committed to finding ways of making opera attractive and relevant to younger audiences. "We're the gateway drug to opera anyway," she said.

The high concept aside, this is a landmark production for Opera MODO, a young company relying on emerging singers. Wright, a mezzo-soprano, founded the company in New Jersey in 2011 and then reformed it in Detroit when she moved here, taking up residence at the Carr Center. Last year, Opera MODO received a Knight Arts Challenge grant of $20,000 to fund its unusual "Carmen." The grant required a $20,000 match that Opera MODO raised within just a couple of months. The money is going to pay the singers - the first time the company has been able to do so - as well help underwrite the creation of the production.

The opera will be sung in French with the standard recitatives rather than spoken dialogue. Under the musical direction of Steven McGhee, the score has been reduced to a chamber ensemble of six musicians including violin, flute, clarinet, cello and piano four-hands. Wright directs. Set designs are by Jeremy Barnett and Jason Maracani. For those who want to target a particular combination of Carmen and Don Jose, here's the scorecard for the leading roles: On Friday, Jennifer Trombley and Melissa Crosby will appear as Carmen and Don Jose, respectively. On Saturday, Shawn McDonald will replace Crosby. On Feb. 26, it will be Bryan DeSilva and Crosby. On Feb. 28 it will be DeSilva and McDonald.

7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, the Carr Center, 311 E. Grand River, Detroit. 313-451-0806. www.operamodo.com. 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26, 3 p.m. Feb. 28. The Jam Handy, 2900 E. Grand Blvd. $25, $15 student.

Brahms Festival continues: The Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Brahms Festival heads into its second weekend, with music director Leonard Slatkin conducting two programs, with the First Symphony anchoring Friday's concerts at 10:45 a.m. and 8 p.m. and the Second Symphony anchoring the concerts at 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Orchestra Hall, Max M. Fisher Music Center, 3711 Woodward, Detroit. 313-576-5111. www.dso.org.
JAZZ
Akinmusire at the Max: At 33, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire is a good example of what some of the best young musicians in jazz are up to. A trumpeter with a moody sound and enviable technique, he favors roiling, changeable rhythmic grooves and improvisations that lean on elusive, asymmetric phrases that slide all over the horn. His quartet of peers includes pianist Sam Harris, bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Justin Brown. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Music Box, Max M. Fisher Music Center, 3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit. 313-576-5111. www.dso.org.

Ches Smith at Trinosophes: There's a surprise around every corner on drummer Ches Smith's compelling new recording "The Bell" (ECM) with pianist Craig Taborn and violist Mat Maneri. As an improvising chamber ensemble, the trio offers unique sonic textures, a marriage of written material and open-form solos and intuitive interaction. The music morphs surreptitiously from whispered atmospherics to sturdy rhythmic hooks. Smith, Taborn and Maneri sound as if they are sharing secrets with each other - and with us. Doors at 8 pm. Thursday, Trinosophes, 1464 Gratiot, Detroit. 313-737-6606. www.trinosophes.com. $18 reserved, $10 general admission.

SuperBand at Sound Board: The Mack Avenue SuperBand has been making annual appearances at the Detroit Jazz Festival since 2012 with a live-recording from the festival gig emerging around five months later. "Live from the Detroit Jazz Festival 2015," a game but under-seasoned collection of original compositions from within the group, continues the tradition with a cast drawn from the locally based Mack Avenue label under the leadership of bassist Christian McBride. This year, the SuperBand has also hit the road. The cast that arrives this week in Detroit - vibraphonist Gary Burton, alto and soprano saxophonist Tia Fuller, trumpeter Sean Jones, pianist Christian Sands, drummer Carl Allen - is close to the lineup on the recording. (If McBride, a charismatic bassist and bandleader, has an extra spring to his step, it might be because he won a Grammy Award on Monday for best improvised solo on "Cherokee" from his own Mack Avenue release, "Live at the Village Vanguard.") 8 p.m. Thursday, Sound Board at MotorCity Casino, 2901 Grand River, Detroit. Ticketmaster: 800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com. $20-$30.
Contact Mark Stryker: 313-222-6459. mstryker@freepress.com
Read or Share this story: https://on.freep.com/1TpY9BL

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MODO reframes 'Carmen' against 'Orange Is the New Black'

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Carmen has long been opera's most liberated woman: a sultry Gypsy cigarette girl who considers her sexual independence a birthright. She can have any man she wants, but she'll do the picking, thank you. Her credo: Free she was born, and free she will die.

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This is achieved by the setting of the opera and how Bizet crafts the characters, Carmen specifically. Carmen is almost demonized and criminalized purely because of her race, class, and gender. Her actual character traits, other than these three things, have very little to do with people's attitudes that she got what she deserved

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During a tumultuous time in French history, issues of race, class, and gender were unnerving to members of an upper-class struggling to uphold their sense of societal order. The stage depictions of oriental cultures and exoticism were often used to further assert the dominance of western culture, because characters of the “other” race would be scripted as barbaric or primitive in most instances.
-Bizet portrayed topics such as violence and prostitution through Carmen's character who was likely received comically by a French audience.

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The character Carmen within the opera falls into a marginalized part of each of the fault lines that McClary brings to light. On the subject of race, she is part of the Romani people group, a group significantly marginalized and fetishized by the French during the time. She is a working, lower-class person, putting her once again in a marginalized group. And, obviously, she is a woman, putting her in a marginalized situation where she is unable to be and punished for being in touch with her sensuality.

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Opera comique tends to draw character archetypes and plot outlines from the Italian tradition of the commedia dell'arte. The opera itself obviously lends itself to the outlines laid out for stories about sex/love. Carmen as a character easily fits into the archetype of "the lover." The opera also tends to expand itself from the origins and ideas laid out by the archetypes by going into a specifically tragic idea towards the end.

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Most of McClary's work comes from direct interpretations of primary sources of the people she is talking about. For example, when talking about Victor Hugo's opinions on Orientalism, she quotes him directly from the preface to Les Orientales and then expounds upon what was written to what the deeper effects and meaning of his feelings means to the people of the era.

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Carmen puts a major focus on the perceived concept of the orient, and all of the inequalities that come with it, ranging from racial and class issues to gender inequalities. All of these issues are interconnected and play roles in how Carmen is seen to the French and society based on their assumptions of societies that belong to the "outside" aka eastern cultures. Because of this, Carmen is seen as exotic and unknown and is subject to these social prejudices.

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- Don Jose is in a higher social position than Carmen. Don Jose's role as a male also places him at an advantage against Carmen. Her status as a gypsy affects her both racially and socially.
- Micaela, Carmen's foil, is affected socially because of her suppressed sexuality as opposed to Carmen's more outward displays.

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-Carmen contains racial faults in the depiction of those deemed as "extoic." Don José represents the Western way of thinking while Carmen is the character who is viewed as exotic to fascinate the Western character. Similarly, Carmen is a Roma woman, and often these people in literature are given characteristic such as sexual promiscuity, and similarly, have connotations that tie them to Jewish people, who in an anti-Semitic Europe are viewed as infiltrators of Europe.
-The working class is depicted unfairly and viewed as animalistic in a way. Carmen shows traits of violence with coworkers and insubordination. Similarly, people of higher classes often fetishized the working class in that the fantasized about an escape to that class. Don José represents this idea in the way he seeks an escape from his lower class lifestyle, and Carmen is the one who provides him that escape. Yet in the end, he is a lowly criminal which is a negative depiction.
-Gender issues are prevalent in the portrayal of women, such as in the prostitution aspect. There is also the fact that Carmen panders to the desires of males. Similarly, prostitutes are viewed as in need of a moral rescue by a man, which is evident through Don José's infatuation with her and idea that there is authenticity there.

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Carmen's role in race, class, and gender all play together to villianize her in the story. In order for her to be a socially acceptable villain she has to be a woman and control her sexuality. For that to happen, she has to be a woman from the outside, or a woman of color. Due to that, she cannot be well-off. She must be from a lower class. All of these characteristics are vital to portray her in the manner that she is.
This is farther perpetrated by the comparison to Michaela, Don Jose's other woman. She is the pure woman who is "not like other women." It's the difference between  the socially acceptable woman and the femme fatale.

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* reflects attitudes of the time by using Carmen's character, a woman and "gypsy", not of the bourgois class, as a sort of scapegoat who basically causes the downfall of Don José and herself

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*Carmen musically follows the general structure of LOpéra Comique through its use of arias and spoken dialogue.
* also based on pre-existing material (novella, habenera)
* differs through a more serious, tragic story with aspects not suitable for younglings

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* uses history and Bizét's personal life to show how the historical context was reflected in the Opera

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- The plots were typically a mixture of comedy and tragedy; these two styles were alternated throughout the opera.
- As Carmen is a later opera comique, it features the idea of realism in its depictions of violence and the dark side of human nature.

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Opera comique began in the early eighteenth century. Up until this point, a lot of opera dealt with mythological beings that were only seen in fantasy settings. Carmen, for example, is one of the operas that broke this trend of operatic work. Carmen, in a sense, transgresses and expands upon the idea of opera comique in that the characters and musical stylistic traits are different. In Carmen, there are common characteristics that one would find in everyday reality, such as prostitution, factory work, etc. They are everyday people rather than mythological people.

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- McClary references musical and non-musical works as well as historical events to support her arguments.
- The evidence used is credible because there is little to no room for bias; McClary's references can be verified through several sources.
- McClary could use more writings from 19th century female authors to provide primary sources.
- McClary could use less of a historical backdrop; this made her argument convoluted.

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https://www.boredpanda.com/what-were-you-wearing-sexual-assault-art-exhibition/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
The article discusses the victim blaming culture that follows sexual assault survivors. The rationalization of Don Jose's actions in the opera stem from a place of feeling as though Carmen "got what she deserved". If she hadn't been so promiscuous, Don Jose wouldn't have done what he did. If she hadn't "corrupted" him, she might have survived. This article puts into perspective that the victim's of these types of crimes are not at fault, just as how more modern interpretations of Carmen are framing Don Jose as the true villain of the story.

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Though this is a tragedy Carmen still use a sense of humor depending on the audience watching the opera. Characters in an opera comique are usually everyday people living their every day lives. Even though Carmen is more dramatic it is still about everyday people.

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At the time, it was portrayed as a light hearted opera, so it did fit into opera comique. The tragic ending was view rather as a happy end because she "got what she deserved". Presently, we view it as a tragedy and we see it as a window in the the French socio-political landscape of the time, making it similar to opera seria.

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McClary used quotes that connect the French culture to the conflicts within the opera and the time period in which the opera was written.
She also recounts the ways in which the lower-class individuals are portrayed throughout this time period by mentioning on details about the experiences of lower-class characters in French society in order for readers and audience to better understand the way in which these individuals lived and the conflicts they faced.

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-Carmen falls under opera comique in that it has flashy characters and plots that instead of representing European characteristics, it represents the "exotic" with the aim to excite the audience.

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As mentioned in class, Opera-Comique was traditionally family friendly. Carmen was not. It was very transparent in its sexual and violent themes. However, the moral of the story was one that many families would have approved of, since Carmen got her comeuppance. The opera did follow some things though. It was comical and the music light hearted in character, and it also used spoken dialect and musical dialect.

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-McClary uses historical evidence such as tracing the concept of exoticism and "Orientalism," historically
-Also incorporates context from Bizet's own life and influence on the characters.
-Draws literary comparisons to Victor Hugo, and his depiction of Roma women and his ideas regarding "Orientalism"

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https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-rage-of-the-incels

Blaming women for many things has been a trend through out most of history. Carmen is often blamed for the events of the opera. Incels are a current group of people that blame and hate women for any reason. the reason for their hate is a dangerous cycle of masculinity.

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McCleary used historical context and primary sources to support her argument and this serves well. McCleary's  argument would be strengthened by an organization that more frequently connects the evidence to specific attributes of Carmen.

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Italian director, Leo Muscato, has rewritten Carmen to where she is no longer killed by her ex-lover Don Jose. Instead, Muscato gives the opera a modern spin. Carmen kills Don Jose. In Italy, 2014, the death of women, at the hands of their partners, was a huge issue. The Italian government increased laws to decrease violence against women.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-women-opera-carmen/opera-carmen-gets-new-ending-to-stop-violence-against-women-idUSKBN1ES1Q6

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https://www.bustle.com/p/lgbtq-representation-in-film-in-2019-shows-where-change-is-still-needed-according-to-a-new-glaad-report-17920428