Carmen for its passionate, compelling story and wonderful music is a great favourite of mine. If there was a title for the quintessential French opera, it would be Carmen, followed closely by Faust and Manon. This Carmen is impressively done on the whole, though falls a little short. Its biggest let down is Act 3, which didn't really catch fire being too static and there is little of the sense that the act is supposed to taking place in a smuggler's lair in the mountains. As well sung as Je Dis Que Ne Rien M'Enpouvente is, the idea to have Micaela sing it on a highly raised platform made it very restricted dramatically and because there's no intimacy also emotionally. The costumes and sets are a little lacking in authenticity and there are times where people are too well-dressed(the factory girls in Act 1), but they are well designed and colourful which nonetheless make them appealing at least. The staging mostly is compelling, the high point being the searing finale of Act 4, and Carmen's introduction was boldly done. The spectacle is also a feast, the standouts being Escamillo's entrance in Act 4 and the fireworks display at the end. The orchestra play with ravishing tone, dramatic intensity and rhythmic drive, the chorus are involved in the drama and sing excellently and the conducting doesn't let the crucial parts lag.
The spoken dialogue is minimal, but well rehearsed, confidently delivered and mostly coherent. The picture and sound quality are sharp and clear and the video directing is fine as well. The performances are excellent on the whole. Violetta Kowal and Stephanie Atanasow as Frasquita and Mercedes stand out in the supporting roles, all of which were well-rounded and characterised. Aleksandrs Antonenko fares the least of the four leads, that doesn't mean at all that he's bad far from it; he does have a strong and well-produced voice though a few top notes(the high B flat in the Flower Song) are a little tight, and in his acting he starts off rather ill at ease but as Don Jose's personality darkens his characterisation matures to a very vivid Act 4. Sebastian Holecek sings with swagger and great energy throughout, and his Toreador Song especially shows off a firm voice that is even through the range. Asa Elmgren has a radiant voice that blooms positively at the top, and anybody that gives a notoriously flat and passive character some backbone deserves to be applauded. Nadia Krasteva's Carmen is the highlight of the production, her singing is warm and rich and her acting passionate and sensual, Habanera and the Fortune/Card scene were her high points(not a bad dancer either). To sum up, has a disappointing Act 3 but well sung and impressively done overall. 7/10 Bethany Cox
