Richard Eyre in his programme introduction has described Carmen as “… about sex, violence and racism… It is sexy in every sense. And I think it should be shocking”.
The story is well known. Girl meets boy and then some more boys, and then dies for her sins. The original setting was written as being in the 1830s. This production is updated to the Spanish Civil War of the thirties, without any appreciable alteration to the theme.
The opening, however, is a revelation of design and direction. The curtain shows a ragged red line which opens to portray two dancers performing to the background of the overture. This is very visual, as is the rest of the production, helped considerably by the design flair of Rob Howell and his use of a revolve to change the scenes.
The cast fills the stage and if one is to have a small quibble, it is that the eye is distracted from the singer to the fidgeting behind.
As Carmen, Elina Garanca has the looks and the voice to fully justify her casting. The rest of the cast are somewhat overshadowed by her performance and can be said to perform adequately.
This Carmen is, however, because of the vast expanse of a production and cast, a worthy successor to the many previous reprisals.
Metropolitan Opera, New York, America, December 31-May 1
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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