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A Carmen double take
REVIEW: CARMEN
Royal Opera House
LONDON is fortunate to have had two completely contrasting productions of Carmen this season.
After ENO’s dark, modern setting, Francesca Zambello’s thoroughly traditional 2006 production is back at the Royal Opera House with an excellent new cast.
Tanya McCallin’s single set skilfully transforms from the sun-baked ochre walls of the Seville town square, to Lilas Pastia’s inn, a mountain hideaway and, finally, the walls of the bullring.
Zambello creates wonderful stage pictures, enlivened by the splendid choreography of Arthur Pita.
But they are sometimes a little too stylised and lacking spontaneity – in particular the over-drilled children’s chorus.
Spanish mezzo Nancy Fabiola Herrera is a mesmerising Carmen, beautiful of voice and appearance, portraying this enigmatic fatalistic free spirit, with her streak of darker, underlying cruelty, with enormous musicality and artistry.
The Argentine tenor Marcelo Alvarez, although pleading a bad cold, had no need of an apology. He portrays Don Jose as perhaps too pathetically weak to begin with so that the relationship with Carmen is not entirely convincing.
But his singing is magnificent, with a voice of burnished gold, conveying the frantic despair of rejection with utter conviction.
Kyle Ketelsen cuts a handsome figure as the Toreador. Arriving on a horse, he gives a most attractive performance and commands the stage, but his fine voice is a touch too lyrical: more Latin swagger and machismo is needed.
Susan Gritton as Micaëla, Don Jose’s rejected sweetheart, has a charming voice and sang most sympathetically.
The many supporting roles were vividly portrayed.
Israeli conductor Daniel Oren drew stylish playing from the ROH orchestra, nicely contrasting the spacious tempos of the arias with the rhythms of the dance songs although, overall, wanting a touch more driving tension.
The ROH chorus sang rousingly, transforming themselves from townsfolk to smugglers with immense panache.
HELEN LAWRENCE
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