Carmen

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“Three years in development, bravely conceived and executed, Carmen #YesAllWomen stands as a testament to the courage of its creators. A difficult piece. A shout of rage. A scream. A plea. Viau and company have forged a devastating work.”

– Opera Going Toronto 2019

“This really is a genre defying show. The use of live video is completely new. …everybody has at least two views of the action; the real and at least one projection, giving a sort of multi viewpoint augmented reality. I found this very effective. Definitely worth a look. It’s very cool.”

– Operaramblings 2019


Created by
Alaina Viau

Re-composed and Arranged by
Samuel Bisson

Electronic composition by
SlowPitchSound

Libretto by
Alaina Viau and Monica Pearce

As an ambitious and strong willed women, Carmen, who works as a bartender, is working towards owning her own establishment. John Anderson is a PTSD war vet who is homeless on the streets of Toronto. He finds hope in Carmen who he becomes obsessed with. Carmen navigates a patriarchal society and is ultimately overtaken by John’s possessive jealously, which leads to her untimely death.

Although Carmen is her own strong independent woman, our history, stories and perspectives as women have been told through the lens of a patriarchal society on the backdrop of sexism and internalized misogyny.

A contemporary look at the normalization of harassment that women face everyday, these elements feed the culture that continuously makes women victims for being themselves. In Carmen #YesAllWomen, Loose Tea strives to give the opportunity for Carmen’s story to be told through her eyes, as a strong independent woman striving and achieving within a patriarchal society and the dangers that she faces simply for doing that.

Cast

Carmen
Erica Iris

John
Keith Klassen

Michaela
Beth Hagerman

Maximillian
Bradley Christensen

Zander and Carmen’s Friend
Keenan Viau

Franky
Erin Stone

Mercedes
Zoe Clark

Drunk Guy
Brock Johnson

Lilly Preston
Ramona Carmelly

Other Bar People
Carl Lyons & Patrick Scanlon

Land Acknowledgement
Joanna Diindiisikwe Simmons

Artistic Team

Music Director
Scott Christian

Director & Production Design
Alaina Viau

Sound Design
SlowPitchSound

Videographers
Stephen Bell & Ryan Harper

Costume Design
Maureen Russell

Stage Management
Laura Krause

Cellos
Samuel Bisson and Amahl Arulanandam

Photo Gallery


Funding Provided By