It's only a week to go until we bring Carmen to Edinburgh fringe, and as our followers will no doubt have noticed, this one's a little bit different. Not least because we are joined by the fabulous Moira Lewitt as our Flamenco Consultant who will also dance through the piece representing the spirit of Carmen. Read on for Moira's thoughts on her role with us:
‘A mysterious force that everyone feels but no philosopher has explained… The duende is not in the throat: the duende surges up, inside, from the soles of the feet.’1
I am thrilled to have been invited to embody the spirit of Carmen in Aria Alba’s production of Bizet’s Carmen. It has been a unique opportunity to infuse flamenco movement, and hopefully duende, into the performance. Like opera, flamenco communicates deep emotional states. The two artistic forms sit perfectly together, but it is important that the authenticity of each is respected, that neither is diminished. This is not the flamenco of the cafés cantantes of Bizet’s time, shaped for wealthy audiences, but a style influenced by modern flamenco theatre, more intimate and open to a dialogue with opera, with its music, lyrics and characters.
I have endeavoured to introduce flamenco percussion as well as movement to Bizet’s original score. Although Bizet’s music is notably lacking in flamenco elements, it is possible to use flamenco movements, and to overlay flamenco rhythms with footwork and palmas (clapping). Thereby, I have tried to bring flamenco authenticity. Bizet incorporated castanets, which we have included in the ‘Habanera’ in Act I, faithfully to the score. Tambourine, associated with gypsy music but not traditionally used in flamenco, is also called for, and I have used it to beat a more flamenco rhythm in the ‘Chanson Boheme’ at the start of Act II.
When Carmen was first performed in Paris in 1874, the audience was shocked - the upper classes in France, and in Spain, considered the on-stage depiction of gypsies, thieves and the leading female character vulgar and reminiscent of cafés cantantes where women performed and men watched. The cafés cantantes were part of the social upheaval of the time, a reflection of the struggles between classes and between genders. Unlike in Paris, performers in the cafés cantantes of Seville remained closely connected to traditional practice in the community: flamenco was, and continues to be, embedded in Andalusian life, sitting alongside other aspects of culture. Federico García Lorca, for example, explored both the bullfight and flamenco in essays and poems. The posture and practice of the matador's pose is an inspiration in flamenco performance. Helped by the writings of García Lorca, flamenco cante jondo (deep song) was recognised outside of Andalucía: flamenco thrived and rose above the cafés cantantes.
Carmen may have been a symbol of cultural resistance when Bizet presented her to the world. What about today? I think she remains a symbol of femininity that is not submissive: a complex ‘free spirit’ to which modern performers and audiences can relate. Our Carmen has a flamenco spirit that, hopefully, I have portrayed in a way that is relatable, and that might facilitate the duende in Aria Alba’s production. What is duende? It is hard to define, it is more than a spirit, it is a force that transforms a work, it needs to be felt – I refer you to the essay by García Lorca’s in the footnote1. Aria Alba presents three Carmens, each feels the character differently, and so each time the performance is unique - I am enjoying communicating their multifaceted story and range of emotions.
The experience of working with Aria Alba has been amazing – it is a supportive environment in which to learn, and there is mutual respect and kindness. Becoming the spirit Carmen is a rewarding journey for which I am grateful.
Moira Lewitt
1quotes from Federico García Lorca (1969) Theory and play of the duende. (trans. A.S. Kline 2007) https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Spanish/LorcaDuende.php
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