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| Programme |
Micaëla, a peasant girl from Navarre, is searching for Don José, a soldier, with a message from his mother. She asks a group of soldiers if they know him and is told he will be arriving shortly with the next watch. They invite her inside but she is wary of their advances and slips away. Don José arrives with the guard change and is told a girl is looking for him. A bell rings at the nearby tobacco factory and the workers stream outside for a short break. Among the factory girls is the beautiful Carmen, she teases the men and throws Don José a flower before disappearing back inside with the other girls.
Micaëla returns to find Don José who greets her as his sweetheart from his home village. After a brief reunion Micaëla tells Don José she was sent by his mother to bring him a letter. She leaves to let him read the alone alone. In it his mother urges him to to marry Micaëla. As he is in love with her anyway he gladly submits to his mothers wish. Just then however, a commotion erupts in the factory. Carmen has go into a fight with another woman who is injured. Carmen is arrested and brought outside. Don José is ordered to tie her and take her to prison. Before they depart, however, Carmen beguiles him into untying her and she slips away. He is then arrested for neglect of duty.
Some weeks later Carmen and her friends Frasquita and Mercédès are entertaining the soldiers officers including their commander Zuniga at a tavern. She learns that Don José has been released this very day. The bullfighter Escamillo is heard approaching and the officers invite him inside. He regales them with stories of his profession, in particular his amorous conquests. As if to prove his boasts he propositions Carmen, but she spurns him. Zuniga is also smitten with Carmen and promises to return to see her later.
Next, the smugglers Dancaïre and Remendado enter. They want the girls to help them with some contraband, the other girls agree but Carmen wishes to wait in the tavern for Don José. When the latter arrives, she tells him she has been dancing for his officers. His earlier promises forgotten, Don José is overcome with jealousy until she promises to dance for him alone. Just then the bugle sounds summoning him back to his post. As he prepares to leave, Carmen mocks him, for being a slave to duty. He replies by showing her the flower she threw him and saying it was all that sustained him during the weeks in prison. She scorns him saying that if he really loved her he would desert and with her her to a life of freedom in the mountains. When he cannot bring himself to do so she dismisses him contemptuously. Just then Zuniga returns. He orders Don José back to his post but in a fit of jealousy José attacks him. The smugglers return and seperate them tying up Zuniga. Don José now has no choice but to desert and join the smugglers.
At the smugglers mountain hideout Carmen and Don José quarrel. He misses his mother who lives in the valley below and Carmen taunts him to go down and join her. Frasquita and Mercédès begin telling fortunes with a deck of cards. They foresee for themselves rich and gallant lovers, but for Carmen and Don José they foretell death. The smugglers need the women to distract the customs officers who are guarding the pass and all depart leaving Don José in charge of the camp. Micaëla appears, having climbed the mountain in search of Don José, and hides among the rocks. Next Escamillo arrives transporting bulls to Seville, and he and Don José get into a fight over Carmen. The smuggling party return and separate them whereupon Escamillo invites everyone, especially Carmen, to be his guests at the next bullfight in Seville. Micaëla is then discovered from her hiding place and begs Don José to return with her to his mother who is dying. He leaves, promising Carmen that they will meet again.
At the bullring in Seville the Frasquita and Mercédès are excitedly cheering the bullfighters. Carmen enters with Escamillo and the other girls warn Carmen that Don José has been seen in the crowd. She says that she is not afraid. Don José then enters and urges Carmen to forget her past and start a new life with him. She refuses, telling him she is done with him and now loves Escamillo. Don José pleads with her deperately but to no avail. She takes off the ring he once gave her and throws it at his feet. Distraught with rage and jealousy, Don José takes out a knife and stabs her, killing the woman he loved.
This was a production of truly international proportions, staged in England, set in Spain, sung in French, performed by a Moldovan company and conducted by a Ukrainian. Surtitles were provided by means of an electronic prompter suspended over the stage. This was ideally placed for those like myself viewing from the dress circle, who only needed raise our eyes slightly to read the text. For those in the stalls, especially the front rows, some straining of the neck must have been involved before the end of the night.
Overall, with a 38 strong orchestra and a cast numbering over 40 on the night, this was a large scale production for such a relatively small stage. So much so in fact, that in the opening of the second act, one could not help but feel that the three pairs of gypsy dancers were holding back from performing freely because of the very real danger of colliding with each other. With virtually the full cast on stage in that scene there was barely room to swing the proverbial cat, let alone a full grown woman!
Visually the production left little to be desired. Without being particularly elaborate the scenery was effective and well constructed representing four quite different locations; the main square in Seville, inside the tavern, the mountain hideout and outside the bullring. The colourful and varied costumes were well made and added greatly to the visual appeal.
Nicolae Busuioc was truly impressive as Don José bringing considerable passion to the role especially in the dramatic closing scene. His rich tenor was supplemented by a fine acting performance adding to his credibilty in the role. Tatiana Busuioc as the heroine/villainess Carmen sang the part beautifully with controlled strength and crystal clarity, and certainly looked the part of the fickle temptress. My only criticism (which feels a little churlish in light of her vocal performance) is that she ultimately lacked sufficient stage presence to command the stage as fully as befits such a strong and dominant character. No such criticism against Petru Racovita whose larger than life performance exactly fitted the character of the vainglorious Escamillo. His initial entrance, singing the Toreador song, was a highpoint of the production. The very talented Irina Vinogradova as Micaëla, the wronged girlfriend, had some of the most melodic songs in the production and her lament for Don José in the third act was so beautifully sung it brought tears to the eyes. A pity her character was totally absent from the second and fourth acts. Whilst some of the crowd scenes looked a little unconvincing, the remainder of the cast nevertheless provided strong vocal support.
Visuellement impressionnant avec remuer des exécutions vocales et des points orchestraux suscitants (Visually impressive with stirring vocal performances and a rousing orchestral score).