In its world-premiere adaptation of Carmen, Charlotte Ballet introduces a character inspired by Vegas’ most famous denizen.
by Page Leggett
There’s no evidence that Elvis Presley ever saw Georges Bizet’s opera, Carmen. (He did, however, once take B-movie actress/pinup girl Jeanne Carmen to a drive-in movie.)
While Elvis and opera, at first blush, don’t seem to have much in common, Charlotte Ballet will bring them together at a world premiere of Carmen (Knight Theater, May 2-11) as you’ve never seen it.
The company commissioned Andrea (“Andi”) Schermoly, a South Africa native who’s now Louisville Ballet’s resident choreographer, to create an original ballet. She and her old friend and Nederlands Dans Theater colleague — Charlotte Ballet’s Artistic Director, Alejandro Cerrudo — chose to update Bizet’s 1875 love triangle. The action now takes place not in Seville but in Sin City in 1973.
Cerrudo, who’s directing, trusts his former dance partner completely. “As a director, my job is to be a facilitator for artists,” he says. “If there’s any idea I don’t quite see yet, I trust the artist we’ve commissioned. I try my best, even if I have opinions, to keep them quiet. I never want to impose what I’m thinking on the artist.”
Memphis meets Vegas
Adapting Carmen is nothing new. As a 2018 BBC story points out, the “sexy and scandalous Carmen simply refuses to remain in the opera world, having flirted with ballet, hip-hop and even rock and roll.” The queen herself, Beyonce, portrayed the famous femme fatale in a 2001 MTV special, Carmen: A Hip Hopera.
But bringing the pompadoured, pelvis-swiveling King into the mix might be a first.
Schermoly worked with a frequent collaborator, set designer Joe Schermoly (who happens to be her brother) on creating a set that looks like Vegas in the groovy 1970s. Carmen is the siblings’ fifth collaboration.
They found the larger-than-life character Escamillo — a bullfighter in the original — reminiscent of a pop idol. Elvis, in his jumpsuit-and-cape phase, provided the inspiration for Escamillo, whom Schermoly calls “a big, glam rock star — a womanizer who knows what he wants and can get it easily.”
Carmen craves excitement. And Escamillo is more exciting than her other suitor, Don Jose, whom Schermoly has turned into a deputy sheriff working the casinos.
“He’s a loose cannon,” she says. “I don’t think he starts off pristine and becomes a murderer. I think he’s got a screw loose. He’s not the cleanest cop on the force.”
A feminist heroine
Bizet’s Carmen worked in a cigarette factory. Schermoly has given her a promotion to Vegas showgirl.
“Showgirls are travelers,” Schermoly says. “There are parallels to what we now call the Romani [formerly called ‘gypsies’]. There’s an interesting, raw nature to the showgirl life, as there is to the Romani life. They live a wild, not very fiscally stable, life. They’re making their money on the fly.”
Casting hadn’t been finalized at press time, but Carmen will be played by two or three different dancers. “This is a company of excellent artists, and to serve their talent is really important to me,” Schermoly says. “My wish is for this to be an ensemble piece. I want all the dancers dancing.”
Andi Schermoly and Alejandro Cerrudo at rehearsal. Photograph courtesy Charlotte Ballet.
The freewheeling era in which this Carmen is set gives Schermoly artistic freedom. “The ’70s were a period of anything goes,” she says. “A number of women could play Carmen for different reasons, which is nice. I didn’t want to pigeonhole her to an age, ethnicity or look.”
She also makes Carmen the star.
“The original was told through Don Jose’s eyes; Andi is telling the story through Carmen’s eyes,” Cerrudo says approvingly.
Indeed, most adaptations have told Carmen’s story through Don Jose, which doesn’t sit well with Schermoly.
“Carmen is a very specific type of person and was persecuted for it,” Schermoly says. “She’s a bold woman who doesn’t apologize for being who she is — even though she’s ultimately hurt because of it. The ballet illuminates the fact that a lot of women don’t get to play by the same rules as men.”
Rather than presenting Carmen as a “vehicle for the more well-rounded character of Don Jose,” Schermoly hopes the audience will view her with some level of empathy.
“Whether people like her or not isn’t my job. What stirs thought is how we perceive women, jealousy, unrequited love.”
Still explosive
The ballet involves moments of violence, including psychological violence, Schermoly says.
“I have a lot of thoughts about violence against women, and I’m going to approach it carefully,” she says. “I hope to leave people questioning how it got to this point.”
Her vision is being brought to life by a talented, international team. Tom Visser, who worked with Cerrudo and Schermoly at Nederlands Dans Theater, designed the lighting. Chicago-based Mara Blumenfeld, who’s worked with the Metropolitan Opera and Australian Ballet, designed the over-the-top costumes.
While the set, the moves and the costumes all scream, “Vegas, baby,” the music will take you back a bit farther than 1973. It’s Bizet’s music from the 1870s performed live by the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.
You won’t hear the entire score, though. The original opera was three hours long. Schermoly’s is an audience-friendly 90 minutes.
Dance is in her DNA
The dancers are likely relieved about the shorter length, too. Schermoly’s choreography is a joy to watch — and, apparently, grueling to perform.
“I get a lot of comments from dancers — once I’ve left — that it’s difficult,” Schermoly says. “It is quite athletic. I tend to pack in quite a lot in a short time, and I like big, exciting movements.”
That’s not surprising. Originally trained as a gymnast, she was a member of South Africa’s Olympic rhythmic gymnastics team.
But dance is in her DNA. Her grandmother was a dancer with Paris Opera Ballet, and her mother was in a contemporary dance company. Schermoly began training as a dancer at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg before earning a full scholarship to The Royal Ballet School in London.
Her work makes headlines across the globe, and Dance magazine mentioned her Carmen as a national best bet for 2025. Charlotteans get to see it first.
Whether you’ve seen Carmen dozens of times — or don’t know Bizet from Beyonce — Schermoly says there’s something in her version for nearly everyone. Both opera and ballet are sometimes criticized — mostly by people who’ve never attended either — as a little high-falutin’. But a ballet featuring a character inspired by an icon who wore sequined onesies can hardly be considered elite.
Like Elvis himself, Charlotte Ballet’s Carmen will be a crowd pleaser. SP
What happens in Vegas: See the world premiere of Carmen, commissioned by Charlotte Ballet, May 2-11 at Knight Theater. Tickets start at $30.
