Interview · moment 8 of 18
Carmen, Lincoln Center, and the Death of Accessible Opera
from The Great Francis James · #110
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
3 minGuest
Francis discusses seeing Carmen and Don Giovanni, his childhood as a child actor in black box theater, and laments how opera has gone from popular culture for the masses to an expensive elite pastime, including a bit about the old Amato Opera on the Bowery.
- 19:02Tim's cousin Robert Lopez wrote the music for Book of Mormon, Avenue Q, Frozen, and Let It Go—he's an EGOT winner.
- 19:44Tim attended Carmen at Lincoln Center with his mom and the Rosary Altos Society from church, where old women were farting the whole time.
- 20:26Carmen is a very erotic opera that rivals Don Giovanni in that regard.
- 20:36Opera was popular culture for the masses when it was created, but now it's only accessible to the elite.
- 20:51Tim grew up in Long Island doing theater as a child in accessible black box productions where anyone could see shows.
- 21:23Twenty years ago Tim went to the Amada Opera on the Bowery, which was an affordable ensemble venue doing six or eight operas a year, always sold out.
- 21:40The Amada Opera was proletarian—on the Bowery near CBGBs—but now it's a John Varvatos store.
Robert LopezBook of MormonCarmenAmada Opera