Georges Bizet: Carmen, Ellen Kent Opera International, New Theatre, Oxford, 27 February, 2016.
Ellen Kent with her Opera and Ballet International was in town again as part of her overcrowded tour of England and Ireland with Tosca, Die Fledermaus, Carmen, Aida and La Bohème. Apart from Carmen. all these productions have been reviewed previously, together with Madame Butterfly, Rigoletto and La Traviata (two productions, one in 2005, the other in 2015).
The production of Carmen dating back at least to 2013 is directed by Kent herself assisted by Ruslan Zinevych. A combination of two Moldovan Orchestras is conducted by Vasyl Vasylenko. The cast of ten singers is augmented by Caspian, a white stallion, who makes dramatic appearances at appropriate points in the action, as a mount for the Toreador and ending with a dramatic dash across the stage during the curtain calls, and a placid donkey Tracy whose main purpose is to lend authenticity to the smugglers’ scene.
Such is one’s admiration for Elle Kent and what she does to widen the audience appeal of opera that one is tempted to lower one’s critical standards. This I shall resist.
Whatever its faults, this is an extremely enjoyable production, with a solid, musical accompaniment. Unfortunately, the exuberance of the orchestra occasionally takes control, resulting in some sloppiness, notably at the beginning of the overture. The opening scenes, with the changing of the guard with the children’s mimicry and the factory girls’ emergence are well-handled, though why the last are dressed in virginal white is hard to understand when they live double lives as gypsy smugglers. In general, the staging of the extended crowd scenes tends to lose impetus after a time and something went awry with the scene of Carmen’s release from José’s custody. But particularly enjoyable were the flamenco dancers at the beginning Act 2, though we missed the sound of castanets. These were reserved for Carmen’s dance for José on his release. The card reading scene in Act 3 was handled well dramatically.
The male singers made a good sound, particularly the tenor Vitalii Liskovetskiy as Don José, Iurie Gisca could have been a little more flamboyant as Escamillo – he was almost up-staged by the horse. But, as with the OperaUpClose production reviewed recently it was the Micaela of Maria Tonina who stole the show and gained most applause. (We remember her Gilda in Rigoletto.) Carmen was sung by Liza Kadelnik. This singer graduated in choir conducting in 2005, followed by a Masters Degree in 2007, perhaps not the best preparation for one of the most difficult roles in the repertoire. Sad to say she failed to convey fully the destructive power of Carmen’s magnetic attraction.
I hope I have not failed to convey that, with all its faults, this was a most successful production, enjoyed by a nearly full house.
The production of Carmen dating back at least to 2013 is directed by Kent herself assisted by Ruslan Zinevych. A combination of two Moldovan Orchestras is conducted by Vasyl Vasylenko. The cast of ten singers is augmented by Caspian, a white stallion, who makes dramatic appearances at appropriate points in the action, as a mount for the Toreador and ending with a dramatic dash across the stage during the curtain calls, and a placid donkey Tracy whose main purpose is to lend authenticity to the smugglers’ scene.
Such is one’s admiration for Elle Kent and what she does to widen the audience appeal of opera that one is tempted to lower one’s critical standards. This I shall resist.
Whatever its faults, this is an extremely enjoyable production, with a solid, musical accompaniment. Unfortunately, the exuberance of the orchestra occasionally takes control, resulting in some sloppiness, notably at the beginning of the overture. The opening scenes, with the changing of the guard with the children’s mimicry and the factory girls’ emergence are well-handled, though why the last are dressed in virginal white is hard to understand when they live double lives as gypsy smugglers. In general, the staging of the extended crowd scenes tends to lose impetus after a time and something went awry with the scene of Carmen’s release from José’s custody. But particularly enjoyable were the flamenco dancers at the beginning Act 2, though we missed the sound of castanets. These were reserved for Carmen’s dance for José on his release. The card reading scene in Act 3 was handled well dramatically.
The male singers made a good sound, particularly the tenor Vitalii Liskovetskiy as Don José, Iurie Gisca could have been a little more flamboyant as Escamillo – he was almost up-staged by the horse. But, as with the OperaUpClose production reviewed recently it was the Micaela of Maria Tonina who stole the show and gained most applause. (We remember her Gilda in Rigoletto.) Carmen was sung by Liza Kadelnik. This singer graduated in choir conducting in 2005, followed by a Masters Degree in 2007, perhaps not the best preparation for one of the most difficult roles in the repertoire. Sad to say she failed to convey fully the destructive power of Carmen’s magnetic attraction.
I hope I have not failed to convey that, with all its faults, this was a most successful production, enjoyed by a nearly full house.