The Atlanta Opera’s ‘Big Tent Series’ Reimagines Two Classics In Partnership With Center For Puppetry Arts

Performances of “The Threepenny Carmen” begin on April 15.

Atlanta Opera

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.”