Carmen: How an Iconic Opera Is Being Adapted as a Graphic Novel
Artist P. Craig Russell adds another iconic opera to his repertoire.
150 years after its original debut, it's safe to say Georges Bizet's Carmen is one of the most well-known and beloved operas in the world. Now the Arizona Opera is spearheading an ambitious attempt to translate that tale of jealousy and seduction into a graphic novel.
Carmen: The Graphic Novel is written by opera singer and director Alex Shrader. The book also boasts artwork by P. Craig Russell, whose previous work on adaptations of Mozart's The Magic Flute, Strauss' Salome and Wagner's Ring cycle makes him arguably the foremost authority on combining opera and comics. Russell will provide page layouts for the graphic novel, with Aneke (Catwoman) handling finished pencils, inks and colors. Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (Red Sonja) is lettering the book.
Check out the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive look at Carmen: The Graphic Novel:
Like the source material, Carmen: The Graphic Novel is set in 1830's Seville and is centered around the treacherous Don José. José is lured away from his life as a soldier and his lover Micaëla after encountering the titular Carmen. José's infatuation with Carmen turns to jealousy when she chooses a bullfighter named Escamillo over him, culminating in a tragic showdown outside a bullfighting ring.
“I chose CARMEN for three reasons," Shrader tells IGN. "For one, it’s possibly the most popular opera of all time (and lacked available adaptations, unlike Wagner’s Ring, for example). Also, I absolutely love the music— it’s tuneful, dramatic, and evocative… it’s iconic."
Shrader continues, "Finally, I was drawn to CARMEN because I hate José. Yes, I hate him. He is everything wrong with men: egocentric, privileged, living without consequences. Through his eyes, our heroine is objectified, vilified, her autonomy taken, and then her life… The story remains timely, to say the least. And that means it’s a story we have to keep telling.”
Carmen: The Graphic Novel is currently being crowdfunded through Kickstarter. In addition to the 90-page graphic novel, certain tiers will include art prints from a number of other popular comics creators. Colleen Doran, Erica Henderson and Marguerite Sauvage will all lend their take to Carmen, while three other artists will provide prints inspired by other operas being performed during the Arizona Opera's 2022 season - Ariadne auf Naxos by Natscha Bustos, Tosca by Erica d'Urso and Marissa Louise, and The Magic Flute by Ana Mirallès.
In other comics news, The Batman is getting a comic book prequel called Riddler: Year One, and it's written by Paul Dano himself. We also have a full breakdown of Marvel's cosmic hero Nova, who looks to be headed to the MCU soon.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
