Pared-down ‘Carmen’ hits Heights opera

Everyone knows “Carmen,” with its steamy portrayal of love and jealousy.

But not quite so many people know “La Tragédie de Carmen,” a retelling of George Bizet’s famous opera, created by the English opera director Peter Brook, 34 years ago.

Houstonians will have the chance to hear Brook’s adaptation when it’s performed by Opera in the Heights FridayMarch 29.

“Peter Brook is known for stripping away trappings and getting to the heart of a piece,” says Lynda Keith McKnight, who will stage the production. “He took away everything that wasn’t essential — the chorus and extraneous characters.”

However, McKnight is quick to point out that, musically speaking, “La Tragédie de Carmen” still is very much based on Bizet’s score.

“There are four singing roles,” she says, “Carmen, Don José, Escamillo and Micaëla, and also two spoken roles. The “Toreador’s Song,” the “Habañera,” and all the famous tunes are in the show. It uses the same music, with a little variation.”

McKnight has staged numerous productions for the company, including “La Traviata” and “MacBeth.” She’s also an accomplished operatic soprano and a vocal instructor at the University of Houston.

She acknowledges that staging the Brook version of “Carmen” — which reduced the piece from more than three hours to just 90 minutes — was an idea that took some getting used to on her part.

“When I was first asked to direct show,” McKnight recalls, “I thought I would really miss the chorus. But this is a pithy, succinct way of telling the story. It’s a lot more intense. And it plays up the ritualistic nature of Carmen and her worldview. Some of those things get glossed over in the big opera.”

McKnight also thinks that Brook’s Carmen will work well with Lambert Hall’s modest dimensions.

“Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ is a massive work with a huge chorus and a big orchestra. So it doesn’t really fit in small theater. But ‘La Tragédie de Carmen’ lends itself very well to the intimacy of our theater, and our orchestra. It’s a perfect fit.”

When Brook set about condensing “Carmen,” he also re-examined the source of Bizet’s opera — an 1845 novel by the French writer Prosper Mérimée. By returning to the story’s roots, he was able to include some original elements in his version that can’t be found in Bizet’s.

In Brook’s adaptation, Carmen has a husband, named Garcia. He’s killed by Don José — who also does in Zuniga, his commanding officer. Clearly, this Don José isn’t the innocentbut-misled guy he is in the Bizet version. And Micaëla isn’t the reliably sweet thing she is in Bizet, getting into a nasty dust-up with Carmen at one point.

Brook created “La Tragédie