Ah Carmen, one of the Top Four Most Popular Operas Ever, and my number one favorite. This was the simulcast this past weekend. Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili sang the title role of the tragically foolish gypsy girl. Tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko was Carmen's victim and downfall, the soldier Don Jose. Soprano Anita Hartig was Jose's childhood sweetheart Micaëla, and rounding out the cast was Ildar Abdrazakov making his second Live in HD appearance in a row this season as the swaggering bullfighter Escamillo.
The plot is straight forward enough. Carmen is a gypsy girl who is used to dishonest men and so is only in it to survive. She seduces men, loves them for a while, and then ditches them. Don Jose is an army corporal who is engaged to his childhood sweetheart Micaëla. One day, Don Jose is ordered to take Carmen to prison after she fights another girl and slashes her face. Carmen seduces Don Jose, who lets her go, and for that he arrested, demoted, and sent to prison for two months.
At Lillas Pastia's inn, Carmen meets the bullfighter Escamillo, who says he will wait for her. When she and Don Jose meet again that night, she dances for him until bugles sound calling Don Jose to return to barracks. Carmen and Don Jose argue and he produces the flower that she threw him, and declares his love. Carmen, who is not used to a man truly loving her, mocks him. He is about to leave when his superior comes in in order to take him back to barracks. Don Jose fights him and now has no choice but to join Carmen's gang of gypsy smugglers.
Several months have gone by and Carmen has tired of Don Jose and left him for Escamillo. Carmen consults some tarot cards which predict death for both her and Don Jose. When Escamillo arrives and reveals that he is Carmen's new lover, he and the jealous Don Jose duel, ending when Carmen comes in. Meanwhile the faithful Micaëla has come looking for Don Jose to tell him that his mother is dying. Deeply moved, he follows her home.
Several more months go by and it's the day of the big bullfight. Two of Carmen's friends warn her that Don Jose is in the crowd, but Carmen, both proud and superstitious, says she is not afraid and believes her fate is inevitable. After everyone enters the bullring, she confronts Don Jose alone. He pleads with her but she'll have none of it. Don Jose's jealousy mounts as Carmen's defiance continues and finally he stabs her to death just as the crowd inside proclaims Escamillo's victory.
I have one major quibble with the direction in this production. It is a very sensuous opera already, but many directors, such as Richard Eyre (the man behind this one), think that they need to step up the level of sexy and make it shocking. Talk about Coals to Newcastle! This opera was already shocking for it's day when it premiered in 1875. It does not need to be made more shocking than it already is.
One thing I would love is to see a production that focued on the drama as opposed to the sex. I have seen clips and photos of a recent production in Lyon that was so obscene I don't even want to hint at it, and it makes want to douse my head in bleach. We don't need to see Don Jose get between Carmen's legs or even kiss her shins. Don't get me wrong, the acting was superb. But the sex content was just so in your face. The soldiers in the first scene try looking up Micaëla's dress. I mean come on, does that not scream excessive to anyone? There is enough sensuousness in the music and the story that making it sexier just distracts from the drama. Mind you, there was no nudity or actual sex (thankfully), but it was still as subtle as a brick.
I also hate it when Carmen is made into a feminist icon. She is a foolish gypsy girl who has only known dishonest people. So in her mind, if she's calling all the shots, she's home safe. It's her failure to recognize when someone is genuinely in love with her that destroys her (Jose isn't exactly a paragon of wisdom either).
Again, don't assume that somehow I hate the acting. Anita Rachvelishvilii is a superb Carmen and even looks the part. What's even more amazing is that she has performed the role numerous times already, is a huge opera star, and she's only a year younger than my oldest sister (who is 30).
Ildar Abdrazakov has already run the gamut and it's only the beginning of the season. He has performed the roles of both Figaro and Escamillo back to back, which is no small undertaking. To be able to do both hilarious Mozart lyricism and gritty Bizet realism requires quite a lot of stamina.
Aleksandrs Antonenko was respectable as Don Jose. While I don't think he's quite on par with the likes of Yonghoon Lee, Placido Domingo, or Roberto Alagna, he does a decent job with the role. I think his best scene is where at the end, but that's because he looked a bit like Wolverine from X-Men minus the claws and super powers (it was the way his hair was done).
Whatever critics said about Anita Hartig as Micaëla before I can safely say that they were wrong about her performance. I think she was the most superb Micaëla I've ever seen, save perhaps Barbara Frittoli back in 2010. Hartig brought out the country girl's strength in a way I had never seen before. You know, Micaëla is the one character in Carmen whom I think doesn't get enough respect in this day and age. I used to think she was just some whiny little dope, but after seeing Frittoli in action and especially after working on the Act 3 aria myself, i can safely say Micaëla comes off as the stronger character than Carmen does. But she's too often treated as kind of a sweet young thing rather than the strong woman that she is. She's going up against soldiers and smugglers alone. That takes guts. And Hartig's Micaëla was also very passionate and stern. I had never seen that in any Micaëla for the longest time.
If there is one moment in the opera that I would say is my favorite, it's the Act 1 love duet between Don Jose and Micaëla. This is the only moment in the whole opera where we see someone truly happy. Jose and Micaëla talk about home and Jose's mother who is praying and thinking of him. And we see that they love each other and want to be together. It is so moving I cannot explain it.
The singers' performance was outstanding, but seriously, the sexuality needs to be taken down several notches. I want subtle sexual tension even from a sensuous opera like this one. I wouldn't be so hard on productions of Carmen if it didn't happen to be my absolute favorite opera ever. I have very high standards for this piece.
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