Carmen

Carmen
Central City Opera
Central City, CO
July 8 - August 6, 2017

Every year, the Central City Opera Festival presents their Young Artists in a Family Matinee. This year, the opera was Carmen – a daunting task for any young artist. But this group proved they were up to the task.

The sets and ensemble of the show are the performers from the opera festival. As usual, they were both outstanding. The set was simple – a balcony and moveable stairs. But the placement of the stairs, the lighting and spare furniture transported the audiences to four distinct locations.

Out front were the four young artists in the roles of Carmen, Don Jose, Escamillo and Michaela. Each one brought a strong voice and impressive acting ability too their role. Carmen was beautiful and bewitching. Don Jose gave an exhausting emotional performance. Escamillo had all the charisma needed to capture the audience. Michaela was pretty and naïve.

The support of the ensemble lifted these young artists to a new level. Despite working with a whole group of different actors than they were used to, the chemistry among the cast was just right.

In each year I have seen the young artists perform, I have left wondering about the performances of the regular cast. This year, the young cast gave a satisfying show with no such thoughts lingering in my mind.