How could anyone get tired of ‘Carmen’? The seductress returns to Kansas City opera

Mention “Carmen” to a hardcore opera maven, and you’re likely to get a serious rolling of the eyes. Many opera snobs don’t care if they ever hear or see the mass-appeal chestnut again.

Well, count me among those who can’t get enough of Bizet’s sexy, tuneful, over-the-top dramatic masterpiece.

And apparently I am not alone. According to Operabase, “the world’s greatest organizer of opera data,” “Carmen” is the second most performed opera in the world, coming in second after Verdi’s “La Traviata.”

The Lyric Opera of Kansas City will add to those stats when it presents “Carmen” for three performances beginning Sept. 25 at the Muriel Kauffman Theatre.

Deborah Sandler Kemper, general director and CEO of the Lyric, says she knows why “Carmen” sells so many tickets.

“It’s very popular for a reason,” she said. “It’s popular because it has tunes that people remember and they like the story and it’s a little bit exotic. If you watch TV, if you watch Netflix, there is story after story about ‘scandale.’ And ‘Carmen’ is a ‘scandale.’ And, again, the music is so memorable. It’s been used on Madison Avenue for years and years.”

The Lyric is playing up the sexy side of “Carmen” in its marketing materials. On the cover of the brochure is the tagline “Bad Girls Make Good Opera.” On the inside, it’s “Love Burns Hottest When You’re Playing With Fire.”

Kemper says she’s found the perfect person to play the seductive, tragic heroine.

“Ginger Costa-Jackson just looks the role,” Kemper said. “You could never find a more perfect-looking Carmen in your life. When we did ‘Lyric Opera Goes to Hollywood,’ one of the singers that was featured was Ginger. People may also do something of a double-take because her sister, Marina Costa-Jackson, was our Tosca. They are both magnetic on stage.”

The rest of the cast are no slouches either.

Eric Fennell, who sings Don José, has performed lead roles with New York City Opera and Deutsche Oper Berlin. Richard Ollarsaba, who plays Escamillo, the toreador, has a distinguished resumé, including the title role in “Don Giovanni” with Opera Grand Rapids and Opera Carolina. He has also had lead roles in “The Marriage of Figaro” with Virginia Opera and New Zealand Opera.

“What I think is really interesting is the creative team,” Kemper said. “Roberto Kalb is a Mexican-born conductor, and he is really making his mark in the opera world. We got him on the way up, but he’s practically there. He’s making his debut at San Francisco Opera this year, and he’s performed a lot in Europe, in France. He’s one of the recipients of the Solti Foundation career awards.”

The director, Anna Maria Bruzzese, also happens to be a choreographer, which Kemper says will serve her well as director of “Carmen.”

“She’s Italian and actually began her career as a dancer, and then she went into choreography and directing,” Kemper said. “‘Carmen’ has music that makes you want to move, and one thing you can bet on is that dance will be a large part of the show.”

The Lyric is only presenting three performances of “Carmen,” a scaled-back schedule that Kemper says is pandemic-related.

“Nobody is where we were before COVID,” Kemper said. “We can’t do more performances than is financially responsible given the audience. We have met our subscription goals, so that’s good news, but all of the research and all of the anecdotal information that we get throughout the performing arts, and I’m talking about opera, ballet, theater and the symphony, they’re all reporting that we are not back to pre-COVID levels. We hope, we hope, we hope that will change.”

And as for those opera snobs?

“If somebody feels that it’s this old thing again, I can only say that it’s our commitment each time we do a show to do it better and better,” Kemper said. “We try to do lots of different things to appeal to the different expectations and tastes of our audience. ‘Carmen’ is about great singing, it’s about great direction, it’s about great melodies. We believe it’s one of the most perfect shows to bring people to opera.”

7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 and 30 and 2 p.m. Oct. 2. Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. $33.50-$193.50. 816-471-7344 or kcopera.org.

‘Allure’

Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company is planning a magical early autumn program. The always intriguing ensemble will be joined by the Jacob Schwartzberg Trio for “Allure: An Evening for the Senses” in the Starlight Ballroom of the Hotel Kansas City on Sept. 23.

The program will include the premiere of “Packaging: A Construct,” by Los Angeles choreographer Charissa Barton, as well as “Aretha” by DeeAnna Hiett and “Time Change,” a solo work set to music by Dave Brubeck by the company’s co-founder, Mary Pat Henry.

7:30 p.m. Sept. 23. Hotel Kansas City, 1228 Baltimore Ave. $65-$100. wylliams-henry.org.

You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.