Carmen - opera in four acts (1873-4) [141:00]
Carmen, a gypsy girl - Rinat Shaham
Don José, a Corporal of the Dragoons - Dmytro Popov
Escamillo, a Toreador - Andrew Jones
Micaëla, a village maiden - Nicole Car
Frasquita, a companion of Carmen - Ariya Sawadivong
Mercédès, a companion of Carmen - Tania Ferres
Remendado, smuggler - Sam Roberts-Smith
Dancairo, smuggler - Luke Gabbedy
Zuniga, Captain of the Dragoons - Adrian Tamburini
Moralès, Officer of the Dragoons - Samuel Dundas
Opera Australia Chorus
Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra/Brian Castles-Onion
rec. live, Mrs Macquaries Point, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Harbour, 2 and 4 April 2013
Sound: 2.0 LPCM, dts-HD Master Audio 5.1
PIcture: 16:9/NTSC
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Korean
Region: 0 (worldwide)
OPERA AUSTRALIA BLU-RAY OPOZ56043BD [141:00]
Sydney Opera House? No, this is a Carmen filmed outdoors in the location
as shown above. It is distinctive in that it is produced on a huge circular
stage surrounded on its periphery by a red ring - presumably to ensure
the singers do not drop off the edge. It is a minimalist production: props
few and huge: Act 1 has cranes lifting a tank and an armoured car onto
the stage. In later acts there is a huge port container on top of which
the artists strut or sing or cower (Micaëla). For the final act there
is a huge red neon-lit outline of a bull. Costumes and lighting are striking.
Rinat Shaham is a most voluptuous Carmen, raunchy and smoky-voiced but
curiously not as seductive, taunting or dismissive in her tone as some
other DVD Carmens have been - notably Grace Bumbry and Elina Garanča.
Dmytro Popov presents us with a rather weak-chinned Don José. There’s
not much of the violence suggested by the story prior to the action of
this episode in his life. This weakens the build-up of tension in Act
IV. Nicole Car’s Micaëla is a sweet but insipid girl-next-door
with little character but she is appealingly honey-voiced. Andrew Jones’
Escamillo struts proudly and with self-assurance. It’s not surprising
that this Carmen falls heavily for his manliness.
If you want the best DVD of Carmen go for the venerable 1967 Karajan
recording that has the outstanding partnership of Grace Bumbry and Jon
Vickers with Mirella Freni as an outstanding Micaëla. Elina Garanča
is another flashy Carmen opposite Roberto Alagna’s Don Jose in the
more recent 2010 DG
DVD conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Ian Lace
A most voluptuous Carmen, raunchy and smoky-voiced.
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