‘Carmen’ production felt forced

ORONO — Theater is the grown-up version of the children’s game of make-believe. All the different forms of theater, from Japanese Kabuki and Noh, to the Medieval Passion Play, to Modern Minimalist Theater, depend on one thing to succeed: the willing suspension of disbelief on the part of the audience.

This is perhaps even more true of opera, that hybrid cross between music and theater, since it requires quite a stretch of the imagination to believe the often tortured plots, and another stretch to believe the characters really do communicate by singing their words in grand operatic style and most usually in one of an assortment of Western European languages.

The key word is belief. Without belief the entire theatrical production will fall like the proverbial house of cards. And when the quality of the singing is also less than spectacular, the entire spectacle falls like the proverbial failed souffle.

And that is what happened last Thursday night at the Maine Center for the Arts in Orono as the London City Opera Company performed Georges Bizet’s “Carmen.” A full house of opera enthusiasts, music lovers and those wishing for an evening’s entertainment came

to the event, hoping to be transported to a fantasy version of Spain played out with a colorful cast of gypsies, soldiers and bullfighters. Instead they saw some acting, mostly very bad. They heard some singing, some of which was quite good, and they finally left for home, vaguely dissatisfied, never really having been allowed to suspend disbelief.

The opera, while written by a French composer and most often sung in French, reflects a romanticized vision of Spain, its passionate nature represented by the actions and personality of the title character Carmen, a seductive gypsy who drives men mad with passion. Thursday night, Carmen was neither seductive nor passionate. Theresa Goble sang the role as if she were bored to death with it, which she may have been, since the “Carmen” tour of the London City Opera Company encompasses more than 60 performances across the United States. Her voice is rich and sultry enough to sing the part, but in this particular performance, all the fires were out and the hearth was cold. At times she sang with her back to the audience as if making the effort to perform was too great a task. The tender recapitulation of “L’Amour” at the end of the first scene was the one point in the evening’s performance in which Goble showed any true emotion.

The rest of the cast also seemed to be fatigued, singing well, but not remarkably well. Catherine Mikic as Micaela gave a tender portrayal of the good girl from the hometown, and her lighter voice was admirably suited to the role she played. Probably the most fun to watch and hear was baritone Richard Morris, who sang the dashing bullfighter Escamillo with brio and a certain humorous macho. Ralph Meanly as the officer Zuniga also was pulling his weight, singing his brief role well and performing with humor and panache throughout the evening.

However the best part of the show was the tiny, but very competent, group of musicians playing unseen in the orchestra pit. Consisting of only about a dozen instruments, the orchestra, conducted by John Beswick, played the familiar overture and entr’actes with polish and grace, managing to sound larger than they actually were.

But an orchestra cannot pull together a theatrical performance like Bizet’s “Carmen.” That relies on the skills of the ensemble and most importantly of the central characters, chief among them Carmen, herself. There is no question that these singers are talented. As to whether they lived up to their talent this past Thursday night, there are many doubts, indeed. Perhaps in another city, on another night, this ensemble will charm an audience into simple belief.

Helen York is a classical music host on Maine Public Radio, and also works as production manager at WERU community radio in East Orland.