CA – Golden Gate Opera, following the successful April debut of opera in Marin County after almost two decades, will present CARMEN, by Georges Bizet, Friday September 23 and Saturday September 24, 8 PM at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Carmen is the story of a Gypsy cigarette girl whose charm, guile and love of freedom sets her on a precarious path with the powerful men in the Spanish infantry. Set in 1820 in Seville, Spain, the opera is performed in the original French, with English Supertitles. “Free I was born and free I will die!” Carmen proclaims, taken from the Merrimac play. The performances will be at the Marin Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium, 10 Avenue of the Flags at Civic Center Drive in San Rafael. Tickets are $60, $45 and $30; Full-time students with student ID and children $10 discount; Groups of 15 or more, $2 off per ticket, and can be ordered through the Marin Center Box Office at 415-499-6800, Ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets throughout the Bay Area. For additional information, visit the website at www.goldengateopera.org After seeing the beautiful Carmen on her lunch break at the Cigarette Factory, the Spanish solider Don Jose falls in love with the bewitching Gypsy woman. He deserts his post and Micaela, his lover, to join the Gypsy Band. Carmen quickly grows tired of Don Jose and pledges her love for the Toreador Escamillo, fatalistically embracing the warning of death she has seen in the cards. As Escamillo triumphs in the bull ring, Carmen is confronted by the spurned Don Jose. This time her defiance cannot save her! Carmen” opened in 1875 at the Opera Comique in Paris, with controversy, and became the most popular opera of all time. As with the Golden Gate Opera’s first production of 2005 in Marin, Madama Butterfly, Carmen will feature international as well as local talent. Golden Gate Opera will feature international artists in the leading roles – mezzo-soprano Carla Lopez-Speciale as Carmen, soprano Florencia Tinoco as Micaela and baritone Salvador Padilla as Escamillo, all from Mexico. Ms. Lopez-Speciale has performed at many major opera houses, including the role of Carmen at Teatro Bellas Artes in Mexico. Tenor Roy Stevens, returning from performances in Wagner’s The Ring in Austria, performs the role of Don Jose. Returning to the Marin Center’s pit are 41 of the best professional musicians in the Bay Area. The production also features the acclaimed Carolina Lugo and Brisas de Espana, Flamenco Dance Company. Golden Gate Opera Chorus includes singers from Marin as well as the Bay Area. Local children have been cast to perform in the opera, plus members of Ragzzzi Boys Chorus in the roles of Ragamuffins and Street Urchins. This production is under the direction of the same Artistic Team that led GGO’s Madama Butterfly last April. Conducting is Geoffrey Gallegos, who also serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Kensington Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the San Francisco Concerto Orchestra, and Assistant Conductor of the Peninsula Symphony. International opera star Edna Garabedian returns as the Stage Director. She has performed the title role on many of the world’s noted opera house stages. Scenic designer of the four sets for Carmen, again in the style of “Historic Realism,” is Paula Langhoff Barton and John Jacobs’ lighting design has enhanced many major productions at the Marin Center. Costume Designer is Tracy Bell of Tracy Bell Designs of Novato, who has designed costumes for Pavarotti as well as for Victoria’s Secret. Roberta Becker is General Manager of Golden Gate Opera. Four different scenes, Golden Gate Opera’s original designs, will take opera goers into the story: In addition to the town square with Soldier’s Quarters and Cigarette Factory, sets include Lilas Pastia’s Tavern--den of dancing, gamboling and meeting place for the Gypsies; the Gypsy Camp in the mountains outside of Seville; and the entrance to the bull ring amphitheatre. Sponsors of Carmen include Wells Fargo Bank, Bank of Marin, Marin Independent Journal and Marinscope Newspapers, The Fred Gellert Family Foundation, Marin County Board of Supervisors and Marin Theatre Company. Visit Golden Gate Opera on the web at www.goldengateopera.org or for information call 415-399-9546
