Don Jose (Fatman Purnama) kills Carmen (Heny Janawati) out of his jealousy. Courtesy of ImageDynamics

Classical music buff, composer and conductor Avip Priatna had dreamed of watching classic opera in Jakarta. His dream materialized last weekend at the Ciputra Artpreneur Theater.

“I have been wanting to present a classic opera for 10 years, to be performed in its original European style. Through discussion with some relevant people and having learned of the growing interest in classical music in Indonesia, I chose Carmen,” Avip said after the opera’s dress rehearsal on Friday.

“We chose to present it, not only as an interesting and beautiful performance, but as a way to educate the public about what an opera really is,” Avip added.

Under his music school, The Resonanz Music Studio, Avip brought together the Jakarta Concert Orchestra, large choral groups Batavia Madrigal Singers and The Resonanz Children’s Choir along with soloists Heny Janawati, Fatman Purnama, Harland Hutabarat, Birgitta Dewi Sisca Puspita, Valentina N. Aman, Fitri Muliati, Rainier Revireino, Renno Krisna, Hari Santosa, Renno Krisna and Alvin Tobing.

Carmen is the name: Mezzo-soprano soloist Heny Janawati plays the carefree Carmen in The Resonanz Music Studio’s Opera Carmen at the Ciputra Artpreneur Theater in Jakarta. JP/Seto Wardhana

Sponsored by Bakti Budaya Djarum Foundation, Jos Groenier, renowned Dutch director and stage director, helmed the production, with vocal coach Brian Masuda set with the task of training the performers in French pronunciation, enabling them to sing the libretto written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy in its original language.

The French-language realist opera is regarded as a perfectly composed production with grandeur melodies and the kind of never-gets-old love story that guarantees a hit performance — so long as the notes are performed just right.

Aided by a unique stage concept, Avid’s cast of performers managed to achieve considerably more than that as skillful lead singers led a powerful performance, well beyond audience expectations.

The orchestra pit was moved to the center stage, a circling ramp surrounding it, with a large multimedia screen featuring projected scene backdrops.

As narrator, Happy Salma, using Indonesian, acted out an additional role as a spectator on stage, providing another dimension to the scenes.

At the center: Actress Happy Salma narrates the life story of Carmen. While Maestro Avip Priatna leads the orchestra in a pit located at center stage. JP/Seto Wardhana

Two feature screens allowed the audience to view an Indonesian translation of the libretto.

Screened footage of a dancing Gypsy girl, an industrial town, villages and a bull fight transported the audience to the heart of Sevilla in southern Spain, where the four-act story adapted from the novel by Prosper Mérimée, written in the 1800s, begins.

The titular character, a gypsy, is the most beautiful worker at the cigarette factory. Working in close proximity to a military camp, the gypsy’s attention is sought after by all the soldiers. Low-ranking soldier Don Jose is the only soldier to ignore her because he was in love with his childhood friend Micaela.

Carmen, a carefree soul, manages to get Don Jose to fall for her. She turns him into a murderer and he deserts the armed forces to join the outlaw band of Gypsies. However, Carmen knows that her relations with Don Jose would lead to death.

She abandons Don Jose and seeks love from Escamillo, a matador champ. In frustration, Don Jose kills. Carmen after Escamillo wins the bull fight.

So lively in her cadenza and sweet sorrowful aria, Heny’s Carmen was wild and seductive, especially towards men. This depiction of Carmen was a hurricane on stage, whirling with ease around trills and turns with her mezzo soprano vocal.

Tenor soloist Farman played Don Jose, whose vocal range left the audience in awe. His duet with Harland’s Escamillo was unforgettable, the latter’s powerful bass-baritone vocal embodied the proud matador character.

Birgitta was a perfect Micaela with a sweet soprano vocal that transformed with a powerful cabaletta. And, although Valentina (Mercedes), Fitri (Frasquita), Alvin (Dancairo) and Hari (Morales) — the Gypsy clan — were cast in supporting roles, their ensemble was among the highlights of the opera.

The choral parts were definitely not complementary as they occupied the whole stage and the room with harmony.

Balinese Heny, a trained opera singer who has previously performed in North America and Europe, said that Indonesia possessed enough qualified talent to have an opera company.

“People think that opera is a segmented form of entertainment, but with the right package and promotion it can definitely sell.”