Carmen works her magic for Opera Australia
NEARLY 143 years on from Carmen’s scandalising debut in Paris, it is hard to see what all the fuss was about.
Wentworth Courier
Don't miss out on the headlines from Wentworth Courier. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Out with the old and the new
- Magnificent end to Mozart magic
- Journey of light and shade
- Solti's landmark recordings at your fingertips
NEARLY 143 years on from Carmen’s scandalising debut in Paris, it is hard to see what all the fuss was about. It is even harder to believe that so many of Georges Bizet’s resounding show-stoppers initially failed to impress Parisian opera-goers.
After the opera’s premiere on March 3, 1875, Bizet was convinced it was a failure and he died of a heart attack three months later, aged just 37, unaware that the work would become an enduring success internationally.
Two of its arias ⸺ the rousing Habanera from Act I and the Toreador Song from Act 2 ⸺ together with another of his creations, In the Depths of the Temple, from The Pearlfishers, are now among the most familiar melodies on the planet.
This production, first performed last June, is a bit like the proverbial curate’s egg: good, perhaps even great, in parts.
MERCURIAL
Israeli-born mezzo-soprano Rinat Shaham once again made an outstanding Carmen, a role she has made her own since Glyndebourne in 2004. Her highly expressive voice and subtlety of tone proved an impressive match for the strutting and mercurial Carmen.
She dominated the stage from her first scene in Act I, with able support from soprano Jane Ede, as Frasquita, and Iranian-born Agnes Sarkis, as Mercedes, both gypsy friends of Carmen.
Australian-Mauritian soprano Stacey Alleaume excelled as Micaela, the good country girl who tries to save Don Jose from himself.
Less impressive was Argentine tenor Marcelo Puente as the naïve Don Jose, who succumbs to Carmen’s wiles and becomes insanely jealous when her eye begins to wander. In Act I and several times later, the right touch seemed to prove elusive, his line was ragged, with an uncomfortable-sounding vibrato. Opening night nerves, perhaps? He did improve as the night progressed.
SWAGGERING
By contrast, Michael Honeyman’s rich baritone was as reliable as ever. As the rock star-like torero Escamillo, who wins Carmen from Don Jose with tragic consequences, he strutted the stage, costume a-gleam, swaggering with easy confidence.
In this production, director John Bell has moved the scene from the Spanish city of Seville to a depressed Cuba, where smugglers like Dancairo (baritone Luke Gabbedy) live by their wits and a convincing air of menace.
An ancient Kombi and a possibly older flat-bed truck brought a titter from the audience as they trundled across the stage as props for the smugglers.
Lastly, the chorus and the orchestra were in fine form, the athletic gyrations of the youngest members were a great hit and the colourful costumes of designer Teresa Negroponte added immeasurably to the style of the production.
DETAILS
● OPERA: Carmen
● STARS: Rinat Shaham, Marcelo Puente, Stacey Alleaume, Michael Honeyman
● AT: Sydney Opera House
● UNTIL: March 23
● BOOKINGS: www.sydneyoperahouse.com, tel 9250 7777