Kirstin Chávez as Carmen in “Carmen Inside Out” Photo: Mr. Eguchi

WRITTEN BY MERRITT MECHAM

During rehearsal for “Carmen Inside Out – The Live Concert,” singer and co-creator Kirstin Chávez got an alert from her smart watch: Should it call 911? It turns out Chávez had gotten so involved in her performance and had put so much passion and effort into it, her elevated heart rate sent her watch’s sensors reeling.

Chávez, Professor and Artist in Residence at the U’s School of Music, is a vibrant, passionate performer, which is why she’s perfect for playing the titular role in Bizet’s “Carmen.”

Set in southern Spain, the opera tells the story of Don José, who falls for Carmen after she is brought to a prison where he’s a guard. José lets Carmen escape and takes the fall, and Carmen, impressed by his sacrifice, waits for him and pledges her love. When he is released, they take up as lovers. However, José is unaccustomed to Carmen’s lifestyle and social freedom and grows increasingly bitter and jealous. They break up. When they see each other again, José begs Carmen to return to him. When she refuses, he stabs her.

Over her career, Chávez has performed Carmen at the Sydney Opera House and the Arena di Verona among many others. It is her speciality. Chávez deeply loves the opera and the character — and her deep knowledge of the text supports her opinions of the character. “She is her own woman,” says Chávez. “And in the very best of ways, she is used to living life with a freedom that most women… don't experience. She is true to herself. She loves life. She is generous and warm and inviting and charismatic... She's passionate and she loves without feeling the need to give excuse.”

Kirstin Chávez as Carmen in “Carmen Inside Out” Photo: Mr. Eguchi

Which is why it felt deeply wrong whenever she’d be asked to portray Carmen as nothing more than a seductress deserving of death. “You can imagine that if she's played as some sort of prostitute-like character who's nasty, everybody watching is going to think, oh, she deserved to be killed,” Chávez said. And, indeed, many productions have portrayed the character that way. “There was a need to basically make her somehow less, base, easier to understand. She must be nasty and that's why she's killed. But isn't that a horribly, grossly simplistic way to portray a terribly complex, interesting, deep, rich character?”

Chávez recalls one production where she found the interpretation of the character particularly reprehensible. “At the end of the show in this version, José slits Carmen's throat — doesn’t stab her — he slits her throat… When my throat was slit, the audience laughed.”

Not only was this performance challenging for Chávez, but she also felt angry on behalf of the audience. “I also felt so upset that the audience was given this version of things where Carmen’s death was justified and basically celebrated… I felt that [the audience members] were cheated.”

When Chávez was invited to re-imagine the opera with Stage Director Johnathon Pape, she said “I jumped at the chance. I was ready because… these things had already been festering in my brain for years.” Her version of “Carmen” would showcase the character as Chávez saw her, based on her observations from the source material.

With “Carmen Inside Out,” Chávez centers Carmen’s story to not only present feminist perspective but to inspire the audiences to live with the same vivacity and freedom that the character does.

Now, in 2025, “Carmen Inside Out” has been performed all over the world to great success. But Chávez and her collaborators want to expand the project so that it can reach a wider audience, including those right here in Utah.

Executive Producer and Visiting Assistant Professor James Bobick explained that they developed Carmen’s true character by taking inspiration from what a film portrayal of her could look like. “It was with the medium of film in mind that we produced the live performance in Kingsbury Hall on January 9, 2025,” he said, which ultimately provided Chàvez’s vocal students with the opportunity to perform classic repertoire alongside professionals. Working again with Pape, Chávez used the one-woman show as the framework for a version of “Carmen Inside Out” that featured a cast of thirteen.

For this special performance, officially called “Carmen Inside Out – The Live Concert,” Chávez brought in two colleagues with whom she has performed “Carmen” many times: Richard Troxell (as Don José) and Luis Ledesma (as Escamillo). “That’s how we conceived of this live concert performance that we did on January 9th,” Chávez said. “It was partially to give my dear friends the opportunity to shine as the gifted, incredible humans, artists that they are, and partly to give some of our students a very unique, wonderful, amazing opportunity to perform this opera with professionals.”

World famous flamenco dancer Sol “La Argentinita” Koeraus (left) and professional actor Gustavo Salazar (right) who played Gustavo pose backstage. Photo: Courtesy of Kirstin Chávez

And it was an amazing experience. U Student Rocio Valle Lucero, who performed in the concert as Frasquita, said that it was “like a live, intense masterclass.”

“Seeing these professionals on stage and at the same time performing, rehearsing, and spending time with them encouraged and taught me how to be a better singer and performer,” she said.

Student Sam Plumb, who performed as Remendado, loved the opportunity to perform at such a professional level. “I enjoyed the rapid pacing of the rehearsal process; everybody prepared so that we were able to stage the show in less than a week, which is a lot faster than I am accustomed to,” he said. “I think this may also have been the largest orchestra I have performed with, given that Dr. Baldwin was conducting the full version of the score in the pit. That was awesome to experience!”

Which, yes — Robert Baldwin and the U Philharmonia got to be involved as well. “The chance for our orchestra students to perform with the professional singers for ‘Carmen Inside Out’ was invaluable,” said Baldwin. “Our students got to experience firsthand a professional environment, from the rehearsal schedule to the production quality. We always talk about it, but this gave them a chance to live it.”

“Carmen Inside Out – the Live Concert” was a thrilling night, and a chance to experience “Carmen” the opera in a more accessible setting. “I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that the performance that we were able to give was essentially a dream come true for me,” said Chávez. “It was the convergence of two very important worlds, my performing world, which I've been enjoying a 25-year career at this point, and the convergence of my teaching world, having my own students on stage with me, getting to share with them in an intimate way. [It’s] what I so, so love about being an artist in this world.”

Chávez continues to find ways to bring Carmen’s story to audiences all over. “This story is timeless,” says Chávez. “If it is told well, if you have a production where the characters are actually three-dimensional real characters, then the audience cannot help but fall in and feel these things.” And, just like Carmen, Chávez has the passion and wherewithal to make that come to pass.