Reviewed by James Karas
The Royal Opera House is rounding off its current season with a revival of Bizet’s Carmen, by all descriptions one of the favourites in the repertoire. Judging by the applause, the production must be counted as a success and vocally it was. Director Damiano Michieletto adds numerous personal touches that may attract some and be questioned by other fans.
Mezzo-soprano Anna Goryachova leads the cast in the title role and all eyes are peeled on her. She has a lovely voice, not big but fine. She is slender and attractive, but we want a Caremn who is more dramatic and demonstrative. She does not try to dance and that is fine but surely, she can move her arms, her body, and feet, give us some kinetic energy. We want to see a Carmen who is a sexual magnet. Ms Goryachova does not fulfil those attributes.
Tenor Charles Castronovo is an excellent Don Jose. He is a decent man who feels guilty about not visiting his mother and he develops genuine affection for Micaela (soprano Selene Zanetti), the country girl sent by his mother. Unfortunately, he lacks the strength to resist the sexual magnetism of the gypsy Carmen and ruins his life. Castronovo’s strong, resonant voice draws us to his side, but we give up on him personally as a Don Jose but not vocally as a singer.
Don Jose’s competition is the playboy bullfighter Escamillo (bass-baritone Christian Van Horn). With the unforgettable “Toreador” Escamillo expresses the ultimate in machismo, and Carmen falls for him. He expresses his manliness again when he drops by the thieves’ lair to see her again and invite her to the bullfight. Love triumphs, so to speak.
Micaela is sent by Don Jose’s mother to give him a kiss and ask him to visit his mother. She does affectingly and Don Jose does fall in love with her, and we should too. But Michieletto dresses her up like a frump and she wears glasses. Villages produce attractive girls, and some effort should have been made to make Micaela more appealing instead of working in the other direction. The costume designer is Carla Teti.
Anna Goryachova as Carmen. The Royal Opera ©2025 Marc Brenner
Michieletto adds another character whom we recognize as Don Jose’s mother. She appears a few times from the start as a silent character (is she a ghost, a figment of the imagination. Don Jose’s conscience?) When Don Jose abandons Micaela and runs after Carmen, the mother tosses a rose that she held in her hand at him. She appears at the end when her son strangles Carmen. Interesting?
He changes the occupation of Don Jose and his regiment into policemen instead of soldiers. They occupy a small building on a revolving stage, and it simplifies their uniforms to dull grey instead of officers’ attire. The children in the first scene do not march but they sing the march song. Policemen do not march but what is gained by changing the soldiers to cops?
The one-room police station stays on the stage throughout the performance including on the mountain where the thieves are waiting for victims to rob. We have a scene in a room that could be found in a small apartment, but we are supposed to be in the open-air freedom of the mountains. The set was designed by Paolo Fantin,
Even the final scene where Don Jose is begging Carman to run away with him, the two are supposed to be outside the bull-fighting arena. Instead, they are in a deserted area in the middle of nowhere.
This is a modern dress production that pays little attention to who wears what or where. We get street clothes of all kinds and colours. In a criminal den there should be some indication of where they are.
No one can complain about the performance of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House conducted by Ariane Matiakh. It gave a superb performance as did the Royal Opera Chorus, William Spaulding, Chorus Director. Much of the applause may have been for them.
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Carmen by Georges Bizet played until July 5, 2025, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, England. www.roh.org.uk
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