Carmen by Georges Bizet at London Coliseum | Review

Someone famously remarked about a performance of Hamlet that it was full of quotes. Well, I felt the same about Carmen. It’s full of famous tunes and memorable songs. Not surprising as it’s the world’s favourite opera and has been mined by artists, composers, filmmakers, writers, advertising agencies and a hundred others seeking to exploit its riches. Everyone knows a tune from Carmen even if they couldn’t name it. English National Opera is quite rightly engaged in a mission to reach new audiences for opera. Carmen is the perfect entry point and this production is engaging, entertaining and exhilarating. A cross between Romeo and Juliet and Fatal Attraction this production has the lot: smouldering sexuality, visceral violence, lascivious lust, cynical cruelty and the destructive unstoppable power of love.

This production of Carmen has a compelling vision of the Opera. It is seen as a space in which everyone is trapped. It is a circular space from which there is no escape. No matter how hard the protagonists try they are in effect condemned to walk in ever-decreasing circles. This is brilliantly captured in the first scene. Here we see a soldier being punished by running around and around the exercise yard, wearing nothing but his underwear until he drops. This circular image of confinement is iterated repeatedly throughout the performance. It can be the ring Carmen wears, or the bullring where Escamillo swaggers, or the circular line in the sand that marks out the space in which the Don Jose confronts Carmen. It’s a powerful image that gives the production both artistic and dramatic unity. Calixto Bieito’s interpretation, again and again, finds contemporary analogies to make Carmen come alive for us now. To give just one example Mercedes cars replace Gypsy wagons, giving a whole new take on CARmen.

The chorus is excellent throughout, bringing a welcome uplift and surge of energy so that the production is never in danger of sagging. Carmen’s friends Frasquita (Ellie Laugharne) and Mercedes (Samantha Price) are both raunchy in your face don’t mess with me good time girls, all cowboy boots, tattoos and bras stuffed with cash. To use a football analogy both Ellie and Samantha are homegrown players who have come through the ENO academy.

Congratulations to them. Nardus Williams gives an emotionally precise rendition of Micaëla, the girl who loves Don Jose and pleads with him to return home to see his mother. This is a difficult role to play but Nardus gets it just right by avoiding the trap of sentimentality. Ashley Riches excels as Escamillo and is especially good at goading Don Jose. Also, watch out for him doing his morning toreros drills naked!

The heart of Carmen is the relationship between Don Jose the young soldier and the gypsy Carmen. Sean Panikkar is absolutely superb as the besotted young lover. He convinces totally as he moves from naïve young Romeo to enraged jealous Othello. His acting is strong and compelling. His singing is even better. Every word is clearly articulated and emotionally charged. He is every bit as trapped and doomed as Carmen. Justina Gringyte makes for a sexually alluring Carmen. I personally would have preferred her in a black wig. A blonde Carmen I found a bit kitsch. Justina captured Carmen’s zest for life in every move she made. The matter of fact way she removed her knickers and put them back on again, to name but one example of her insouciance. Is she living life to the full? Or does she have a death wish? That is for you to decide.

Review by John O’Brien

Carmen is a searing depiction of a woman who craves love, but creates obsession and jealousy based on the infamous novella by Prosper Mérimée.

Creative Team
Valentina Peleggi – Conductor
Calixto Bieito – Director
Jamie Manton – Revival Director
Alfons Flores – Set Designer
Mercè Paloma – Costume Designer
Bruno Poet – Lighting Designer
Christopher Cowell – Translator

Cast
Justina Gringytė – Carmen
Sean Panikkar – José
David Butt Philip – José
Ashley Riches – Escamillo
Nardus Williams – Micaëla
Keel Watson – Zuniga
Alex Otterburn – Moralès
Ellie Laugharne – Frasquita
Samantha Price – Mercédès
Matthew Durkan – Dancairo
John Findon – Remendado

Georges Bizet
Carmen
She creates a hunger in men.
But will it now consume her?
Running Time: 2hrs 50mins
Booking to 27th February 2020