The Opera...
After an unenthusiastic première back in 1875, Carmen eventually not only becomes a probably one and only Bizet’s masterpieces; it is also one of the greatest opera of the operatic repertoire.
Simply, it is a blockbuster; Carmen a free-living girl advocates free love, counterbalanced by Micaela the good catholic girl and Don José a desperate lover…
Carmen is sentenced to death from beginning; a leitmotiv of pathos is associated with her… but I guess that’s a classic femme fatale, although she is not the one who conquers man; they simply run after her.
Carmen (Ekaterina Semenchuk) has a pretty traditional look and all spoken dialog was delivered in perfect French (at least for me). Great mezzo and she have really captured sexual/superstitious/vulnerable Carmen.
I’m not impressed by Don José (Paul Charles Clarke), in my view he should be more potent. Escamillo (Jørn Pedersen) was very convincing and very attractive character. As for Lieutant Zuniga (Kjeld Christoffersen)... well I’m simply disappointed by the cast director.
The starting scene… impeccable; unfortunately I don’t have a picture of the smugglers resting at night in the mountains. It was a perfect scene like painting of Goya, depicts a grim scene of turn of the 19th century Spain; rotten in body and soul.
Fantastic music with a lot of Spanish dances rhythms, a perfect scenography, and richer version, with the full spoken dialogue, which is a rear experience of Carmen.
A trivia for you: ‘Habanera’ moment when her ex-lover (Don José) stabs Carmen to dead is probably the most famous and popular melody from the opera, unfortunately for the mobile phones.
Don’t miss it.
Copenhagen, Operaen, Store Scene
Period: 08. November - 12 June
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