Carmen, The Traveler – An actor-musician opera workshop performance

Pensacola Opera Hosts a Workshop Performance of New Production

Carmen: The Traveler features artist-musicians and a new spin on the classic story

Pensacola Opera hosts a special workshop performance of the newly created work Carmen: The Traveler on Saturday, August 17th in Brooklyn, New York. The performance is a culmination of a 4-day workshop where Pensacola Opera joins with mezzo soprano Caitlin McKechney, Joseph Brent, and The Opera Cowgirls to adapt Bizet’s Carmen into an acoustic, actor-musician production. 

Producing this piece is a collaboration between Pensacola Opera, The Opera Cowgirls, and several performing artists, that will premiere to the public in the fall during Pensacola’s Foo Foo Festival. Orchestrating the piece is Joseph Brent, a professional mandolinist who has performed all over the world, and stars Caitlin McKechney, founder of The Opera Cowgirls–an alt-country band where grand opera meets the grand ole opry.

Carmen: The Traveler originated from mind of McKechney where she says, “Rather than a full orchestra in the pit, Joe Brent’s reduced orchestration is played on instruments that you might see in a Romani band in a bar somewhere on the border of France and Spain, which is where this production is set. We are also setting the production in the late 1930’s, as fascism was on the rise and “gypsies”, the derogatory term for the Romani people, were being persecuted alongside other people in Europe, including the Jews, for being “other”. In most productions, Carmen is sent to jail for getting in a fight with another factory worker. In ours, she is sent to jail just for being herself.”

This workshop performance is a chance to experience this world premiere piece in its infancy and provide a special, interactive sneak peek into the making. The performance is Saturday, August 17th at 7:30 PM and is held at The Space at Irondale in Brooklyn, New York. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased through Pensacola Opera’s website here, or by calling 850.433.6737