Carmen

Bizet's Carmen is a tragic opera about a free-spirited Spanish gypsy, Carmen, who seduces a naive soldier, Don José. José abandons his duty and his sweetheart, Micaëla, for her. After Carmen tires of him and turns to a bullfighter, Escamillo, a jealous José stabs her to death at the bullring.

Full use was made of the depth of the stage with the orchestra in the pit on this occasion, under the musical direction of Garry Bailey and which provided good support throughout. The gentlemen sang a strong opening number at a square in Seville and we meet Micaëla, well played by Catherine Barrett with a very nice voice. It was pleasing to see seven youngsters from Lollipop Theatre used as young street urchins.

Shara Parry as the central character Carmen was excellent, portraying that free-spirited seducer, living life on her own terms. She is arrested for having a fight at a local factory and was to be guarded by Corporal Don José, but naïvely is seduced by her charm and allows her to escape leading to his own arrest. Mike Ferris fulfilled the role with aplomb, matching Parry’s voice and splendidly creating some strong tense moments between them.

On the Act 2 Tavern scene José released from prison, finds Carmen but ultimately is left with no choice but to desert the army to join her life. Again, it was good to see two dancers from the Translucent Dance Studio (Ella Webley and Lucas Campbell) adding to the atmosphere. Parry, Meriel Ford (Mercedes) and Hanah Morse (Frasquita) provided an upbeat opening number and soon to arrive is the bullfighter Escamillo played with clarity by Samuel Taunton. His ‘Toreador Song’ was powerful. The Quintet that followed, sung by Paul Ellis (Dancairo), Ed Kimberley (Remendado) together with  Parry, Ferris and Ford, was also very strong.

Following the Interval, in Act 3, Carmen loses interest in the possessive José, falling instead for the toreador Escamillo. There was good use of projection during the ‘Card Song’, sang well by Morse,  Ford and Parry, as they read Carmen’s fate and I thought Barrett’s solo ‘Air’, was very strong when she appeals to the Lord for protection. There is high drama, well handled, when José is told his mother is dying.

In Act 4, outside the famous bullfighting arena, (good looking set) Escamillo appears in a magnificent costume and Carmen is warned that José is nearby. When they meet and José tries to get her back, there is an intense scene well played, when he stabs Carmen to death.

Throughout there was good support from Tim Cranmore (Zuniga – José’s senior officer, also obsessed with Carmen ) and Phil Joseph (Morales – a soldier / officer), and the ensemble, who were always engaged with the action. With a couple of exceptions, I felt the costumes were of the period, and the set and props were in keeping. I was impressed with the overall effort in and quality of the singing and acting, with overall production direction by the experienced Anthony Ravenhall.

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