Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ – Royal Opera – ROH

14 Oct 2009 3 Comments

by StellaB in ROH Reviews

With an opera that is performed as often as Carmen it seems like a tough job trying to bring much originality to it. With so many past productions, opera houses the world over have done it all. But that is precisely what makes Francesca Zambello’s production so wonderful. She has gone back to the roots of this opera and come out with a classic production that is earthy and sumptuous and simply everything Carmen should be. Fiery and seductive, the whole production oozes heat and sexuality. Having spent the last year or so primarily in the world of challenging German opera it was incredibly rewarding to return to the world of popular opera, which gives so much and demands so little from it’s audience. I don’t mean to say that the audience doesn’t give anything, but Carmen is certainly an easily – if not the most easily – accessible opera out there and Zambello’s production only serves to amplify that feeling of satisfaction.

Tanya McCallin’s designs really produced the ultimate Carmen set. With huge towering earthy red walls which could be moved to create each different space for each act, it was utterly evocative of Spain. Clearly it was a design aimed at realism, with a water trough in the centre of the square in act one and an orange tree, but you can get away with being classic and unsurprising as long as you do it with utter confidence and commitment, thus producing a piece of work that is really perfect in every way. The costumes were equally well placed, with the soldiers in their uniforms of deep blue and the gypsies in red and green corsets and full skirts, dark hair tumbling over bare shoulders. This must have been exactly what Bizet had intended when he wrote the opera.

Leading this wonderful cast as Carmen was Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča. I could not have imagined a better singer for this part. Beautiful, with curled dark hair framing a face alive with mischief and a body that moved with seductive passion, she was everything Carmen should be. Not to mention her astounding vocal ability; able to project a dark danger into her voice when necessary, she was also capable of being truly subtle in moments of quiet desperation – of which Carmen does have quite a few. Matching her at every step in passion and physicality was French tenor Roberto Alagna’s Don Jose. Although I initially felt his voice was slightly too whiney, he soon proved me wrong and where he lacked subtlety he more than made up for it with pure, raw emotion. His anger in act four was terrifying and utterly convincing and I was completely caught up in his torment. Appropriately difficult to watch and purely heart-breaking.

Meanwhile, Ildebrando D’Arcangelo’s Escamillo was full of bravado – surely helped by the horse he rode onto the stage – and perfectly self assured. His voice was well projected and incredibly sexy as he seduced Carmen and fought Don Jose for her. Louise Innes’ Mercédès was pure gypsy and her voice was beautifully and appropriately earthy. As usual Eri Nakamura, as Frasquita, was highly impressive and the Japanese soprano continues to wow audiences at the Royal Opera House, as I hope she will continue to do for a long time to come. She is one of two members of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme to appear in this production, the other being Changham Lim, whose Moralès was wonderfully sung and I only wished that I could have enjoyed it for longer.

Zambello’s direction was beyond reproach in her attention to detail. Every slight movement of each single character on stage seemed to have been carefully thought through and directed by Zambello to create an incredible stage picture. Opening with what must have been around thirty people on stage, the numbers only grew and still, no matter where you looked, it was utterly evocative of a town square in Seville, not one actor or singer letting on for even a moment and I found myself constantly forgetting that I was in the Royal Opera House. The only fault I can find with Zambello’s production was that it seemed slightly over indulgent. At the end of almost every choral piece – of which there are many – the entire cast moved towards the front of the stage and the sound and picture was always stunning and big. Even this is hard to fault, because everyone loves big, exciting stage images and stunning climaxes, and I cannot deny that it was highly satisfying and utterly mesmerizing. But as a fan of the quiet subtleties directors such as David Alden and Nicholas Hytner and, perhaps most notably, Christof Loy produce, I did feel quite overloaded by the end of this production.

Paule Constable’s lighting design was wonderful and really created the heat and passion of sunny Spain. Carmen seemed well placed and with the red walls and all the earthy tones on stage, Constable’s design just seemed to emphasize in all the right places.

The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, conducted by Bertrand de Billy, was under admirable direction, able to evoke everything that was required of it. Also displaying wonderful passion and heat was the Royal Opera Chorus, directed by Renato Balsadonna. Building up to those wonderful group scenes, the chorus was fiery and enraged when needed and at other times beautifully sweet. If it were not for Zambello’s over indulgent use of her chorus, it would have been a perfect performance for all involved.

Despite my criticisms, this is by far the best Carmen I have ever seen, or heard for that matter, and it is no wonder that it has been revived all around the World. Garanča is set to sing Carmen at the Met and I would encourage anyone on the other side of the Atlantic to try their best for a ticket. A more perfect Carmen is hard to come by. And as for Zambello’s production – it holds too much joy and satisfaction to be passed up by any Opera fan.

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