All of you who read our site regularly may know me as a writer, podcaster, editor and crowdfunding correspondent. But what you may not know is that while I’m all those things by night (and later afternoon, early morning and the occasional lunch break), by day I’m the director of IT at a regional theater in the Philadelphia suburbs. It’s not common when my two worlds collide, but when they do, I have to pay attention.
The Arizona Opera has just launched an ambitious Kickstarter to fund a graphic novel adaptation of Georges Bizet’s classic opera, Carmen. With art by the legendary P. Craig Russell and Aneke, and letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, this book looks to be a visual treat. We had the opportunity to talk with Alek Shrader, an opera singer and the writer behind this unique project.
Matt Lazorwitz: I’m not sure how many of our readers are familiar with opera in general, even one as famous as Carmen, so to start, can you give our readers an idea of what Carmen is about?
Alek Shrader: Carmen is about an intelligent, daring young woman who wants to live her life in her own way, but her autonomy is challenged by society, misogyny and men who don’t take “no” for an answer. She is objectified and vilified by those who try to control her. Ultimately, she decides to let fate run its course, choosing freedom above all else. IT’S VERY TIMELY, NO? And Bizet’s music is immortal at this point. Even if you don’t know it’s from Carmen, I’m sure *everyone* knows a few of its many tunes.
Matt: Have you always been a fan of comics and graphic novels? Or is this something new for you?
Alek: I am a lifelong comics fan and collector, long before getting involved with opera. I still have my old torn and worn issues from my childhood (OHOTMU FTW). I came back to comics in a big way in the late ’00s when I could afford to pick up issues regularly, and I’ve been subscribing ever since. I feel like the current big trend of graphic novel adaptations wasn’t yet a thing when I was in high school (Could be it wasn’t in a thing in *my* high school), but I am so glad to be with it now. I recently picked up Slaughterhouse-Five by North/Monteys (after Vonnegut). It’s the good stuff.
Matt: Can you talk a little about how this project was conceived? I see there was a challenge and a grant involved?
Alek: Yes! Arizona Opera held the OnPitch Business Challenge (think Shark Tank for opera) to try to find sources of revenue that were not dependent on wealthy individual patrons (which is how most American opera is funded). My sister sent me the link, and we brainstormed a few of our many ideas. We felt a comic book was both achievable for an opera company, as well as reaching a potentially huge new audience. So I did a Google-dive and put together a business plan. I made hilarious (so I’m told) video and submitted my pitch against about 200 other projects. And I won! And we picked Carmen to adapt, since it was on AZO’s upcoming season, was among the most popular operas ever created and didn’t have a recent graphic adaptation. NOW WE JUST NEEDED ARTISTS haha.
Matt: How was the creative team gathered? Were you involved in that? P. Craig Russell is a pretty huge get, with both his renown and his history with adapting opera to begin with, for instance.
Alek: I just reached out to them! I was polite and offered their full rates! I still can’t believe this happened! Honestly, most people I contacted in the comics industry were extremely generous and responded to my cold-call DMs. With Craig, I made contact and he emailed me to set up a phone call. So I made a huge list of questions, figuring I could get a crash course in how to make this book. But instead, we talked about opera and then he offered to do the layouts himself! I was stunned! PCR was going to work on the book! Aneke was much the same— she is very busy with other books (including her excellent Bylines in Blood), but she was able to make this project work in her schedule. I am so grateful for her art, because she is the perfect caretaker of Carmen. Aneke’s voice is essential to this story. With Hassan, I am a longtime subscriber to his industry mag Panel x Panel, and I follow him on Twitter. One day, he put out a call for interesting projects, and I DM’d him immediately. I was so happy when he emailed me about it — the dream team had been assembled!
Matt: How has the collaborative process on this felt, in comparison to your work as a director and singer? What are some of the similarities and differences in stage collaboration vs. print collaboration?
Alek: Collaboration is key! Organize your plan and give it room to grow. When I direct, I like to know everything about the story, the culture, the setting, the creators, etc. I need to know all the little specifics so I can collaborate with performers who are inhabiting all that with their bodies. But with this graphic novel, Craig was the de facto director. The drama, the pace, the delivery and focus— it’s all in the art, of course, and the blueprints for the art are the layouts. So, as writer/adapter/opera guy, I found that I should pare back much instruction for details. I needed to get out of the art’s way! That being said, when there was something that I felt was vital for the adaptation, Craig heard me, and we worked it out together. He treated me like an equal and truly cared about how we are presenting the opera. I have so much respect for him as an artist and now, a mentor.
Matt: Why do you love opera? What is it about the artform that draws you to it?
Alek: Opera is humans vibrating. You can feel it. It’s communication and storytelling on a basic level in a beautiful way. It’s entertaining, and it’s cathartic. It’s relatable, and it’s escapist. It’s music. It’s art. It is for everyone. Some people don’t know that. When I was only performing, I enjoyed inhabiting a character. It was liberating and fun. Now, as a director, I enjoy exploring the craft of communication. We tell so many stories to each other. … Opera is a great way to communicate.
Matt: If this is a success, could you see doing it again? And if you can, what opera would you like to work on next?
Alek: It’s already happening! I have a few projects in the early stages of adaptation, and I would love to do more (hit me up!). I hope when our Carmen book is successful, more opera companies will see the benefit in reaching out to new audiences in their preferred format! Through glorious art, we can invite readers to the opera! In any event, we made a very cool graphic novel that I will cherish forever. I do have a few specific wish list operas for specific wish list artists, so I don’t want to jinx it by revealing what they are! However, I honestly think *any* opera would potentially make a great graphic novel.
You can back Carmen on Kickstarter. The campaign ends April 28.
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of five. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the creator interview podcast WMQ&A with Dan Grote.
