Kansas City Blog Opera

Have you ever been in love? Love is a form of art. And without it there would be no passion and beauty. This is what La Boheme teaches us. “The most beautiful poems teach us how to love,” states Rodolfo, played by Jose Simerilla Romero in Lyric Opera’s production, currently onstage at the Kauffman Center. Thanks to the director Garnett Bruce, we truly feel the story come to life, both through the words as well as other theatrical elements.

As we first see Rodolfo and Mimi meet, their love is instant. Mimi, played by Gabriella Reyes, is portrayed as a gentle spring and bright like a sunrise. Her love for flowers brings out her personality and the character she is. Rodolfo is so infatuated with her and sings, “For I am the poet, she the poetry,” and “I’m a millionaire in dreams, and you are all of them.” Through words we can feel their love so obviously. There's power not only in words but also in their voices. The power of their voices is ear-ringing–literally. These amazing actors have so much voice control, whether they need to be “whispering” or be as dramatic and loud as possible. Yet words are not everything. We also need to see love through actions and body language. Though these actors have amazing voices, I didn’t feel their faces always matched the words. As Rodolfo and Mimi are speaking of their love for each other, I saw distressed looks. Love should be easy and joyous, but I saw expressions that were stressful and dark.

Doors fly open as the set slowly starts to open and light begins to shine through cracks in the wall. Porgy slowly walks toward the light, looking into a future so bright he must close his eyes. And then, just as fast as the stage illuminated, it turns dark. These are the final moments of Porgy and Bess presented by the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a show that made me think so much about the material. Every character in this show feels so real and alive; I can feel each character's past, desires and emotions throughout. 

A group of soldiers. A cigarette factory. A woman named Carmen, whom all the men love. A soldier, Don José, initially shows no interest in Carmen. But Carmen has her eye on José. A turbulent love. A group of smugglers. The foreshadowing of death. A toreador in love with Carmen. A village girl in love with José. An argument. A bull fight. A murder. A suicide. A tragedy.

I went to see Carmen at the UMKC Conservatory on February 11th. I had never seen this opera before, but it has many famous songs, composed by Georges Bizet. The Habanera, “L'amour est un oiseau rebelle,” sung by Carmen (Samantha Georgiana), is instantly recognizable, with its simple melody. The Toreador song sung by Escamillo (Igor Vieria) is also very well known for its refrain. Some that sounded familiar to me were also "La fleur que tu m'avais jetée," sung by Don José (John Henrikson), and "Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante," sung by Micaëla (Yiyu Tang). 

This piece was written by a TeenTix KC teen who is learning about arts journalism. TeenTix KC seeks to engage teens in the arts and amplify their voices. This may be the first time this teen has publicly expressed their opinion about an arts experience. Thank you for reading this, and in doing so, supporting this teen’s development as an arts journalist.

There’s something special about the ferocity of women in opera. The bigness of the medium, all the lights and music and murder adds to the image of a woman who is almost divine in her nature. From Carmen to Tosca, a well-executed opera can make the audience feel as though they’re living the story themselves. I’m so glad TeenTix KC gives me the opportunity to attend them.