Choreographer destroys Carmen in the process
With Carmen, the iconic opera by Georges Bizet (1838-1875) which celebrated its 150thst anniversary last year, choreographer Wim Vandekeybus makes his first opera production. It was exciting to see what his approach and vision would be.
To get straight to the point: it was a deep disappointment. Wim Vandekeybus is known as an inspired and original choreographer, and that remains evident after this production. Yet it has become abundantly clear that this doesn't make for good opera direction.
Rocky terrain and bales of tobacco
The set is dominated by large black rock formations and on the other side peat-colored blocks as walls of the cigarette factory: this is where the story of passionate love and jealousy must find its place. Bales of tobacco dominate the entire opera's set, as Carmen is after all a worker in the cigarette factory.
Before the prelude, there is far too much carving in the rocks, which is tedious from the start. That a savage then bursts out of those rocks must—as I understand it—embody the archaic and instinctive force of the opera and especially of the protagonist Carmen. This wild figure appears repeatedly, and both appropriately and inappropriately, and tediously throughout the performance. It does nothing to enhance Carmen's appeal. Moreover, Rhaeann Bryce Davis fails to express Carmen's subtle seductive play or her fatal love. She is presented far too crudely and without nuance. An absolute missed opportunity, especially since she barely manages her part through her vocal performance. Mostly marred by an ugly vibrato (a flaw that also afflicts Escamillo!) and above all very poor French diction. An absolute miscasting then. And yes, what do you do with an opera like Carmen when you have a poor lead actress? One who in the final scene displays a kind of identification with the repeatedly performed "beast" of the bull symbol?
It is clear that the local atmosphere of both "on the plaza, everyone passes by", nor that of the arena scene at the end ("Two cuartos" ) comes across much. A pity. The more intimate passages also barely shine, such as Michaela's first aria or her confrontation with José in the third act with the smugglers. Maeve Höglund is too weakly drawn to move us as Michaela.
The choreography dominates too many scenes and usually in an overly violent manner. Fortunately, the choir passages here and there can still save the atmosphere somewhat—also thanks to the ever-beautiful performance of the choir and children's choir of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen.
Conductor Keren Kagarlitsky inspires the orchestra to an altogether impressive performance, but had too little control over the vocal performance of the soloists.
