A & E

When Jon Eaton walked into the Persian carpet room of Artifacts, he was enchanted -- but he wasn't looking for home decor.

The artistic director of Opera Theater of Pittsburgh was searching for a suitable venue in which to present "Djamileh" (the "D" is silent), an obscure opera by Georges Bizet set in the Arab world.

"I don't know any flying-carpet operas, but 'Djamileh' is a charmer, and I thought this would be a splendid place to do it," he says.

What is almost certainly the Pittsburgh premiere of "Djamileh" will be presented Friday and Saturday evenings by Opera Theater in Artifacts, a store that sells antique furniture, art, Oriental rugs and other items in the West End. Admission includes cocktails, canapes and dessert.

Eaton never had seen nor heard "Djamileh" and discovered it while searching for short operas for non-theater venues appropriate to their subjects for the company's new Salon series.

"I feel this production is a super choice for this series. It's exotic. It's fun. And it fits the context. It's full of glamorous belly dancing, which is very popular in this city. Pittsburgh is one of the belly-dancing centers of the U.S.," he says. And it suits the company's mission of expanding the repertoire and attracting new people to opera.

Bizet is best known for his opera "Carmen," but Eaton points out that the composer "has a whole catalog of opera before 'Carmen' from exotic places."

"Djamileh" was written in 1872, a year before Bizet began "Carmen." He died in 1875, shortly after the premiere of "Carmen," which was a big hit only posthumously. "Djamileh" is a one-act comic opera that includes an aria for the title character that anticipates the "Habanera" aria in "Carmen."

"The plot on the surface is straightforward," Eaton says. "It's about a very rich and very spoiled playboy who likes to change his ladies every month. He picks his new temporary love from a series of belly dancers who are presented to him. His current lover, Djamileh, has fallen in love with him and doesn't want to be shed. So she disguises herself, dances for him again and is the chosen one. It all ends happily when she converts him into a decent human being."

Eaton says he was surprised to discover, while doing his research, that belly dancing was not designed to please men. "It is done by women and for women, to affirm their womanhood."

Opera Theater's cast is a group of excellent young singers -- including Cristina Nassif as Djamileh, Matt Morgan as the playboy King Haroun, Daniel Teadt as the king's adviser Splendiano, and Robert Frankenberry as Hassan the slave trader -- but finding an excellent belly dancer was a key ingredient. Eaton says, "If anyone could make belly dancing rise to this drama, it's Olivia Kissel (who provided choreography) and Zafira, a prize-winning troupe.

"Through belly dancing, the unique strength of Djamileh comes through and puts this playboy rich kid in his place and teaches him a lesson about the power of women," Eaton says.

• Most Read
• Most E-mailed
• Latest News