Based on Carmen, Georges Bizet’s best-known, and last, work, The Essential Carmen tells the classic story of love and betrayal in less than an hour — and in English.
Five singers perform all parts and interact with the audience, which also has a role in the performance.
The audience becomes everyone else in the scene, director Mike Ramach said. They are the spectators at the bar, bullfight, et cetera. The cast goes through the audience and plays to them as if they are part of the story. It should be interesting.
A fall production is new this year for the opera theater program.
The opera is an opportunity for our advanced students to perform in an unconventional setting in the community. The Rudyard Kipling is a venue for small, experimental theater productions, alternative music and other unconventional performances, Ramach said. So you can get dinner, a drink and see this contemporary take on a classic.
Performances start at 7:30 p.m. both days. There is no set admission price. Patrons are asked to pay what they can at the door. Dinner reservations are available beginning at 6 p.m. by calling the Rudyard Kipling at 502-636-1311. Rudyard Kipling is at 422 W. Oak St.
The Essential Carmen is recommended for mature audiences.