A P

I should have read the description CAREFULLY before buying a ticket. WOW! Could not have been more disappointed! First: the vocal performances were great - especially the women! In an attempt to make Carmen “relevant,” somebody decided it would be a good idea to set this in contemporary times. Nope. Nope Nope. Did I go to the opera to be reminded of the “Me, too” movement and choosing the bear over the man? No I did not. The sets and props were quite deliberately ugly - dire and dour and gray. Really an affront to the audience. Except for the backdrops of scaffolding with flashing strips of lights all over which were utterly seizure-worthy, nothing about the sets or lighting was remotely interesting. It was giving “low budget” all the way, and completely distracted from the music. I mean, there was literal garbage, chain link fence, those plastic flap doors restaurants use to keep out flies…I cannot imagine who all thought any of this would be a delightful escape from the ordinary. I was exhausted and bored by the end of the second act. Intermission was inexplicably, painfully long. The show started at 7:30 and at 10PM they were just starting the third act. I had to leave after intermission, unable to support any more of this depressing production. What happened to scenes from mid 19th century SEVILLE with all the gorgeous, colorful, sets, all sumptuous, voluptuous, florid and ruffled? What I saw today was no way to build people’s appreciation of opera or attract younger new enthusiasts to the genre. More bummers: the opera house felt outdated. There were stains and patches of missing gilded paint in the ceiling. The seats were uncomfortable. Intermission was awkward thanks to the dearth of standee tables in the bar area. Queues for refreshments were poorly defined and they still don’t take Apple Pay at the bar registers. I was treating myself to a nice night out and it was a total miss. Will be trying to return my next tickets if they’re taking the same contemporary approach for everything. Such a huge let-down.