Carmen, a French opéra comique composed by Georges Bizet, premiered in 1845. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, and is based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. Bizet was commissioned to write the opera by Camille du Locle, the artistic director of the Opéra-Comique in early 1873.
Set in Seville, Spain around 1830, the story centers around the eponymous Carmen, a beautiful but promiscuous Gypsy with a fiery temper, and her relationship with the corporal Don José, an inexperienced soldier.
Carmen woos the corporal Don José, amidst an array of adoring admirers including the handsome toreador Escamillo, who constantly seek her love. Their relationship leads to his rejection of his former love Micaëla, mutiny against his superior Zuniga, and joining a gang of smugglers. Consumed with jealousy when Carmen rebuffs him for the bullfighter Escamillo, Don José, murders Carmen.
Adaptations and the Globalization of Carmen
While there have been many adaptations of Bizet’s tragedy including numerous ballets, the Broadway and film versions of Carmen Jones, MTV’s Carmen: A Hip Hopera, concert versions, a contemporary fully-staged version conducted by Daniel Barenboim, the 2010 Metropolitan Opera update, documentaries, and Matthew Bourne’s dance production titled The Car Man (which contains music based on Bizet’s opera but not the story), not many of these adaptations have attained the enviable glory or rave reviews garnered by the casts of the fully-staged traditional productions.
Great singing actors such as tenors Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Roberto Alagna in their roles as Don José, and such divine and seductive divas as Leontyne Price, Grace Bumbry, and Jessye Norman in their roles as Carmen, remain the talk of the opera circuit as the crème de la crème in their respective roles.
Los Angeles Philharmonic Concert Rendition of Carmen
In his USA operatic debut, maestro Gustavo Dudamel, the Musical Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra in a concert version (without dialogue and with orchestra, chorus and soloists only) of the venerable opera. Assisted by subtitles on two jumbo video screens, Dudamel, who hails from Venezuela, led an international cast in a one-night only program at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA.
The cast consisted of Natascha Petrinsky (Austria) who sang the role of Carmen, Yonghoon Lee (South Korea) in the role of Don José, Alexia Voulgaridou (Greece) in the role of Micaëla, Kyle Ketelson (USA) in the role of Escamillo, Francois Lis (France) in the role of Zuniga, among others. The cast was also accompanied by the Los Angeles Master Chorale and The Los Angeles Children’s Chorus under the direction of Grant Gershon and Anne Tomlinson, respectively.
In the August 1, 2010 concert version, mezzo-soprano Natascha Petrinsky sang her role as Carmen very well but still lacked the scorching fire, seduction and passion that the title role of Carmen is known for. Dressed in a fiery red gown, Petrinsky’s Act I Habanera was marred by acoustic glitches that sounded like rapid gunfire. Thankfully, she overcame this distraction and completed the aria to an appreciative applause.
In her subsequent arrest scene, to escape, Carmen seduces José with a Seguidilla which she should have sung with more seductive allure. However, before Don Jose removed her imaginary handcuffs, Petrinsky reached outward to him despite the imaginary handcuffs that were supposed to hold her arms behind her back!
But that error was soon forgotten when in Act II, in Lillas Pastias’ Tavern, Escamillo sings his infamous Toreador’s Song. Ketelson has a great voice, has mastered this role and received a very deserved roaring ovation.
Petrinsky slightly missed her entrance cue in Act III. This was noticeable because this cue requires her to break up the fight between Don José and Escamillo. She and her companions Frasquita and Mercedes entered a tad late after the two men had completed their phrase.
Micaëla’s air in Act III was absolutely beautiful as she reveals that Don José's mother is dying. Her soprano voice was clear, crisp, and beautiful and was a wonderful highlight of the entire opera.
In Act IV, the lack of drama and chemistry between Carmen and Don José made their pairing unbelievable. As Carmen attempts to get past him after telling Don José that their relationship is over and that she loves Escamillo, Don José’s anger and jealous rage was barely noticeable and seemed marginalized. His stabbing gesture wasn’t forceful and lacked realism. For those audience members who didn’t know the story, it was hard to imagine that he had just killed the woman he loved in a jealous rage. However, his contrition was sung with remorse and compassion.
Under Dudamel’s enthusiastic baton, The Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra was perfect. The music was performed impeccably throughout the concert and Dudamel’s vigor and youthful exuberance was captivating and enthralling. While the overall cast was strong, splotchy amplification, low-flying helicopters, noisy distractions by restaurant employees from the adjacent Bowl restaurant, impolite chatter by audience members and obscured supertitles detracted from the perfection of Dudamel’s USA opera debut. Despite the errors and distractions, the company received a raving standing ovation complete with red roses being tossed to the cast from an admiring audience member during their curtain call.
For more information about the upcoming concerts and events at the Hollywood Bowl, please visit their website at www.hollywoodbowl.com.
Source: Opera America
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