Carmen La Cubana is the most uplifting and enjoyable show on anywhere in London. Beg, borrow or blag a ticket. But just get down to Sadler’s Wells and experience this all-singing, dancing extravaganza for yourself. It’s what life is all about. Mixing African, Cuban, Spanish and classical styles Carmen La Cubana has it all: Salsa, Bolero, Danzon, Cha-Cha-Cha, Contradanza, Congo, Palo and Makuta all blended with contemporary dance. What is truly exhilarating about Carmen La Cubana for me is that it just brushes aside as irrelevant the tiresome high culture/popular culture distinction. Here everything is seamlessly blended into the most life-affirming cultural mix. And it’s more fun that way, more entertaining, more enjoyable, how do you like it? more, more, more…
Based on Bizet’s opera Carmen of 1875 this new production has been created by Christopher Renshaw (We Will Rock You, Taboo, Zorro) and set in Cuba in 1958 just prior to the Revolution. And of course, now he’s made that analogy it seems obvious. It works terrifically well. With an all-Cuban cast, a 14 piece Cuban band, Spanish lyrics and book, musical orchestration and arrangements by Alex Lacamoire of Hamilton fame and to top it all choreography from Roclan Gonzalez Chavez (Lady Salsa and Ballet Revolution ) this show is irresistible.
Carmen is 27-year-old Luna Manzanares Nardo who is absolutely stunning. Colour coded in her red dress, red shoes, red fan ( which she uses as a weapon to swot men like flies), red lipstick and jet black hair she owns the stage. A young woman who won’t compromise and insists on her independence Renshaw’s Carmen embodies sexual, social and political freedoms. Her voice is a rich as Barcardi Gran Reserva. She displays the sexual charisma of a hypnotic intensity as she sashays, sings and wraps a rope around the besotted Jose.
Tom Piper’s set evokes 1950s Cuba with paint peeling off walls and the Cuban flag painted across the façade which when opened reveals Lilo’s Bar and the 14 piece band. Saeed Mohamed Valdes excels as the hopelessly conflicted Jose. In his white suit, fedora and spats Joaquin Garcia Mejias steals every scene he’s in.
Sadly Bizet died of a heart attack just three months after the premiere of Carmen and Carmen La Cubana will not be seen in Cuba. So thank your lucky stars and make the most of this wonderful opportunity. You can’t miss it because Rosebery Avenue is decked out in the Cuban flag.
Review by John O’Brien
Carmen La Cubana is a sizzling new musical featuring Bizet’s classic score flavoured with authentic Cuban styles.
Inspired by Oscar Hammerstein II’s Broadway hit Carmen Jones, Christopher Renshaw (The King and I) directs this UK premiere, with new orchestrations by Tony Award winner Alex Lacamoire (Hamilton), mixing opera with salsa, mambo, rumba and cha-cha-cha and including musical favourites such as Habanera.
Featuring a large company of singers, dancers and musicians, Carmen La Cubana is a sultry take on one of the most famous operas ever created, set against the simmering turmoil of Revolution in Cuba, 1958.
Carmen La Cubana
1 – 18 Aug 2018
Sadler’s Wells
Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R
