Resident Artists Véronique Filloux and Jeremy Harr Reflect on the Production and Their Time with the Company
By George B. Parous
Carmen, the perennial favorite; Carmen, the Georges Bizet masterpiece that keeps French opera on the boards as few others in that genre do, will finally hit the Benedum stage next Saturday evening, March 26, for the usual run of four performances. The production was in rehearsal in March 2020, then hoped for (with daily dwindling optimism) for the autumn lineup of the same year. Another rescue – at last – from the COVID crisis, it’s easy to imagine that the production will be a popular draw, just as it’s always been for nearly 150 years.
The production will also mark, at least for now, the final appearances with Pittsburgh Opera of several Resident Artists, two of the finest being soprano Véronique Filloux, and bass Jeremy Harr. Both have come through trying times with the company with flying colors, and have given audiences displays of their superb vocal talents, versatility, dramatic ability and commanding stage presences. I am very grateful to them both for taking the time for a recent interview on their roles in the upcoming Carmen production – and on their time with Pittsburgh Opera.
“I play Frasquita, a friend of Carmen and Mercédès,” Ms. Filloux said of her role in Carmen. “You’ll find her in the tavern, and also secretly working with the smugglers. She’s in a beautiful quintet in Act 2 where they are trying to convince Carmen to go with them on their journey. She is young and earthy, she dances a lot, and she’s got big dreams of a life of wealth, excitement, and fortune.”
“And I play Zuniga, who is the new lieutenant in charge of the military outpost in Seville,” added Mr. Harr, his speaking voice almost as deep and resonant as his singing one. “He is Don José’s boss, and like most men in the show he is immediately taken with Carmen. What I find amusing about Zuniga is how very self-assured he is, and how he is fully convinced that he is part of a love triangle with Carmen and Don José, when in fact he’s not even really in the picture.” He added that for himself, and Ms. Filloux, that this will be the first time they’ve sung the roles. “But it definitely won’t be our last, based on how frequently Carmen is performed.”
Both singers, masked, made their debuts with Pittsburgh Opera in “‘Covid’ fan tutte,” in front of 50 socially-distant patrons in Pittsburgh Opera’s headquarters. I remember the productions done there and found the most disheartening part to be the “final curtains,” as it were.” Masked singers, 50 of us trying to make as much applause as we could. We couldn’t tell if the singers were smiling. They couldn’t even hold hands for the traditional parade across the stage. What a treat it was to see that all fly out the Benedum window with November’s The Magic Flute. It was a tremendous pleasure to see Ms. Filloux and Mr. Harr in that spectacular production as well. Asking for comments on their somewhat roller-coaster of a ride in the Resident Artist program couldn’t be missed.
“We remain very, very grateful to Pittsburgh Opera for our first year here,” Véronique began, “being basically the only company to put on a season of full opera. For us what that meant was we were doing larger roles in our first year than we might have done otherwise. But we were doing them in a smaller space, with masks, and with microphones for the livestreams. So the singing for that was a very different experience – we were learning as we went how to sing under those conditions, and how to communicate primarily with our eyes and our bodies, since the audience can’t see most of our faces with our masks on. But that performance space is a lot more intimate than the Benedum, and makes it possible to be really up-close with the audience. What’s been exciting about this second year here is the mix of venues. We got to be up close with the audience in The Rose Elf in Pittsburgh Opera’s headquarters, and also get to be on the big stage of the Benedum, that you typically associate with opera singing. It’s exciting for us to be back in that world after almost two years away from it.”
“Something special about the two-year journey with Pittsburgh Opera has been being able to share it with so many of the same people across two years,” Jeremy added. “We’re fortunate that six of the seven Resident Artists this year were here last year, and the new addition is an absolute delight as well. We’ve gotten to work through these less-traditional projects together and come out the other side with trust and understanding amongst one another. As far as this being the last production? It’s exciting and bittersweet. It’s the culmination of a very important chapter in our lives. We’ve had to make do with some strange circumstances, but have still been in an environment where we can continue to grow, thrive, and become full-fledged artists ready to go out into the world. We’ve all known that our time as Resident Artists would eventually come to an end. The fact we’re able to end our time as Resident Artists with such an exciting show and such a great group of people, and feel as though we’ve come such a long way from our first days here, makes it all the more rewarding.”
“It’s been really wonderful to see people grow and succeed, and make really exciting discoveries about their singing and performing,” Véronique said, in closing. “It feels really apt that we get to finish our season in a show that’s so large – both compared to last season’s COVID chamber operas and also in that I’m dancing and singing with the majority of my cohort in this piece, and I get to do a lot more ensemble work with my cohort. It’s nice to be finishing in that way with what feels like a big group effort.
“It’s been a great pleasure to get to do so many new roles and exciting, varied projects as a Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist. It’s been great to be in this city. I didn’t know much about Pittsburgh before I came to this program. I hope I’ll be back.”
We all hope you will be, Véronique, and Jeremy, and the other departing Resident Artists who have managed to ride the course, singing magnificently all the while.
To get more information and full production details on the long awaited Carmen, and to GET TICKETS, visit Pittsburgh Opera. https://www.pittsburghopera.org/season/carmen/
Special thanks to Chris Cox, Pittsburgh Opera’s Director of Marketing and Communications
Categories: Show Previews
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