The Atlanta Opera’s Big Tent Series kicks off this week with two vibrant productions re-imagining classic operas. “The Threepenny Opera” by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht will feature puppetry, produced in collaboration with the Center for Puppetry Arts. They will also be performing “The Threepenny Carmen,” an adaptation of Georges Bizet’s 1875 masterpiece. Both are directed by Atlanta artistic director Tomer Zvulun. He joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes, along with puppet maker and Artistic Director for the Center of Puppetry Arts Jon Ludwig, to talk about the upcoming productions.
Interview highlights:
Why “The Threepenny Opera” and “The Threepenny Carmen” formed a natural pairing:
“Both the pieces are about marginalized societies,” said Zvulun. “It’s very blatant in Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill – they were very influenced by Marxism and by the idea of how much they hated capitalism, and how they felt that it creates abuse of certain weaker parts of societies. Same thing goes for ‘Carmen,’ which was originally about the marginalized communities of the gypsies at the time.”
On the two operas’ skillful social commentary through storytelling:
“The reason [‘The Threepenny Opera’] was such a hit in 1928 is because it was such a fun evening in the theater. The music was catchy, the audience laughed … it was an escapist way from the woes of the time period, and the same goes for ‘Carmen,’” said Zvulun. “We can talk a lot about the intellectual part of it, but the bottom line is that those are some of the most beloved, entertaining, catchy pieces.”
