![]() ![]() Hammerstein’s next choice was where to situate his adaptation. And now his grandson was willing to pick up where he had left off, listening to a recording of Carmen from La Scala over and over until he knew it by heart. He came by his operatic passion honestly, because his grandfather, Oscar Hammerstein I, had devoted his life to the cause of popularizing opera and had spent several fortunes opening a series of eleven opera houses and going head to head in a war with the Metropolitan Opera. He felt that the artificial style of most productions of the time and the archaic translations that were employed stood in the way of their success. It only took twenty years for that to happen.Īs Hammerstein slowly set to work that long, snowy winter, he was driven by his secret belief that opera could reach a much larger audience if it could only make sense to them. Hammerstein had been a lifelong opera fan and as far back as 1934, after witnessing a concert version of Carmen at the Hollywood Bowl, had suggested to MGM that it might make a smashing film. As Hammerstein himself later put it, “After going through such disappointment trying to write what I thought the public wanted, I decided to write something just for myself”. Because not since 1932’s Music in the Air had the once triumphant lyricist behind Show Boat written anything that had met with favour from the critics or the public. in January 1942, his thoughts must have turned to the non-stop string of flops he had endured in New York, Hollywood and London over the past decade. ![]() When Oscar Hammerstein II sat pensively at his farm in Doylestown, Pa. ![]() Although the tragic story of Carmen may show the perils of following your natural instincts too passionately, the musical Carmen Jones demonstrates the rewards of just such a path. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |