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Bizet,  Carmen : Soloists,  Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa. Coro de Ópera de Bilbao. Conductor: Patrick Davin. Palacio Euskalduna de Bilbao. 14 & 15. 2.2009. (JMI)

Production: Finnish  National Opera.

Director: Arnaud Bernard
Sets: Alessandro Camera
Costumes: Carla Ricotti
Lighting: Patrick Méeüs
Choreography: Gianni Santucci

Casts:

Carmen: Natascha Petrinsky/Maria Riccarda Wesseling
Don José: Marco Berti/Alejandro Roy.
Micaëla: Latonia Moore/Kristin Lewis
Escamillo: Teddy Tahu Rhodes/James Creswell
Zuñiga: Nicolas Testé
Morales: Javier Galán
Frasquita: Gladys Rossi
Mercedes: Nuria Lorenzo
Dancaïre: Manel Esteve
Remendado: Jon Plazaola

A few weeks ago, when writing about a Tosca in Bordeaux, I mentioned its great appeal to the public  and also the difficulty there seems to be in fulfilling audience expectations with new productions of such a familiar work. Carmen is another example of the same kind. This is an opera which is much loved by the public, but it can often be a problem to find a truly good performance. This ABAO  (Asociación Bilbaina de Amigos de la Ópera) Carmen was no exception, and the cold reception it received from the audience was evidence of this.

Carmen seems to be a jinxed title  for ABAO. In the last run (2003) the heroine cancelled and had to be replaced at the eleventh hour On this occasion both Carmen (Sonia Ganassi) and Don José (Marcello Giordani) cancelled, with detrimental effects as a  result.

Arnaud  Bernard is for me one of the most promising French stage directors, and I have had the  opportunity to attend several of his works in Toulouse, where he has for some years been assistant to Nicolas Joël. This time however, his work did not convince me completely. The production comes from Finnish National Opera in Helsinki, where it was premiered in the autumn of 2007, having also visited Lausanne last May. The production moves the action to the 1950s, which does not make much difference to the work.

Mr Bernard’s production has some  positive aspects: there is outstanding direction of the crowd scenes, interesting and attractive sets, good costumes (except for Micaëla in Act I) and a remarkable set in Act III.  Sadly, there are also some less positive aspects to , for example the  almost constant  use of a black curtain to change scenes, which disturbs the   flow of the drama.

The greatest change and perhaps the least successful aspect of Mr Bernard's  interpretation by comes in the last act which, instead of starting in the open space near the bull ring, is set in the hotel room that  Escamillo shares with Carmen. Here, there is a balcony from which the torero waves  when the Choir sing “l’espada, Escamillo”. Finally, Escamillo leaves and Carmen remains alone in the room.

Mr Bernard focused the act on the personal drama, eliminating the traditional colourful stage chorus, which became  simply an off-stage chorus.  And although it would certainly have made sense for the final duet to take place in Escamillo’s room, instead it took place in the street next to the ring.

Together with these positive and negatives in the production, there are also some errors of fact: La Guardia Civil in Spain, unlike the Army or the Police, has been always a rural organisation, even in the 1950s, but the action of Carmen takes place in the city of Seville. Because of this, the uniformed Guards singing “La cloche a sonné, nous des ouvrières” seems slightly absurd to a Spanish audience and it would be refreshing if more attention had been paid to the libretto from this point of view.

If the cancellation of the leading singers was a huge handicap for the performance, the presence of Patrick Davin in the pit did not help much either. His reading was too bland, superficial and routine to allow the opera to fly. This was a huge disappointment. I have seen him in the past on several occasions and I would never have expected so dull a reading of Carmen from him. The Orchestra also gave a very weak and lethargic performance. There were also some problems of adjustment between stage and pit, particularly in Act III and I had the impression that everything was under-rehearsed musically, something which is not acceptable in a well known opera  house.

Don José: Marco Berti and Carmen: Natascha Petrinsky

But what can be done when during rehearsals,  Sonia Ganassi, one of the best Carmens singing the role today,  cancels? The answer is clear: salvage the performance as best as you can.  Natascha Petrinsky stepped in and saved the day with  great dignity but without much brightness. She is a good singer, very suited for other roles of lesser importance, but Carmen is too big for her.  At first she was rather nervous, which gave problems with pitch, but her acting was very good. The public at premieres in Bilbao are well known for their coldness, but I think they were basically right on this occasion. There was no applause for the Habanera, Seguidilla or the Cards aria.

In the second cast Carmen was played by Maria Riccarda Wesseling, best known for her baroque interpretations. She has not got the right voice for Carmen, something which became more apparent after a decent first act.

Marco Berti is far from being an attractive Don José. His sallies into the verista repertoire and the heavy Verdi roles have made this singer into a tenor in whom quantity predominates over quality. There is no question that he has a shining and sonorous high register, but Don José requires a sensitive singer as well as one with power.  He was not too good in the duet with Micaëla, he sang the Flower aria with lots of decibels but without much passion, while there was no feeling of regret or remorse in the final scene. On paper he made a very good substitute, but was ultimately disappointing.

In the second cast the young Asturian tenor Alejandro Roy was very promising. In one year he has made good progress musically, with a middle range reminding me of Corelli, although the high notes are more reminiscent of a  somewhat forced Carreras. In any case, his Don José was quite convincing and I suspect that hHis future will depend on his intelligence and his capacity to say No. Time will tell. At the moment, his is probably the most promising voice in Spain.

As always, or almost always, the biggest success of the evening was for  Micaëla. Latonia Moore was the only singer perfectly suited to the role, if we accept the figure she cuts on stage. Her aria in the smugglers’ scene was the best thing of the  night.  

Kristin Lewis was also  good, not at the level of Latonia Moore the day before, but still full of promise. She is a soprano with an important voice in the middle range and she knows how to sing, although there were  some irregularities in the higher  zone. She seems ready for a heavier repertoire and I am convinced that she has a fine career ahead of her.

Teddy Tahu Rhodes was the reverse of Latonia Moore, having the appearance of a movie star but being vocally inadequate for the role of Escamillo. The voice is decent in the middle, although he has problems with projection. The high notes are too colourless however and the bottom end of his singing lacks consistency.  James Creswell, nn the next day  made a better Toreador. The voice is good, although his projection is not perfect, but  he reaches  both ends of the tessitura very adequately.

The secondary roles were very well served in general. Javier Galan (Morales) and Nicholas Testé (Zuñiga) were good. The male smugglers, Manel Esteve (Dancaïre) and Jon Plazaola (Remendado), were even better and Gladys Rossi and Nuria Lorenzo completed the cast without difficulties.

At the premiere there was no more than courtesy shown to the singers, except for Latonia Moore, and the creative team was received almost in silence. For the second cast the audience was much warmer, and Kristin Lewis and Alejandro Roy were  bothe received with cheers.

José M Irurzun

Pictures ©  E. Moreno Esquibel

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