Young women show off in their hot pants and read their fate from the cards. Listless men in police uniforms sweat, drool and dominate. At the Royal Opera House, Spain CarmenNewly staged by Damiano Michieletto and directed by Antonello Manacorda, the film is a semi-urban wasteland at the end of the General Franco era. A country long steeped in God, Bullfighting and the family encountered modernity. Girls bare their bellies and demand freedom: a cry more urgent and convincing in this mid-1970s update than when Georges Bizet’s masterpiece was new (and failed) a century ago, in 1875.
Starring world-class Russian mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina, ROH has captured the Carmen dream. (The second casting will be directed by another Russian, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, starting May 12.) At just 27 years old, Akhmetshina, a former ROH Jette Parker performer, takes on this role with all its nuances. She displays vulnerability, is vocally athletic and physically attractive. His manly but hapless Don José is Piotr Beczala; They sang the same roles together in Carrie Cracknell’s new movie. Carmen at the New York Met. The Polish tenor’s gilded top notes match Akhmetshina’s in energy and brilliance: with his gestures and stance, he is adept at evoking a man firmly bound by duty and desire.
The ROH Youth Opera Company choir, consisting of children ages nine to 13, sang with enthusiasm and captured our hearts
Akhmetshina, who is now Carmen’s choice all over the world, is too cunning and fireball to fall into habit. There’s no doubt that when he portrays the role at Glyndebourne this summer (directed by Robin Ticciati, with Diane Paulus), he’ll create a completely different character, just as Barrie Kosky did when he burst onto the ROH scene in late 2018 at the age of 22. Kosky’s radical adventure was a tour de force of steep stairs. Not everyone loved him. I did. His ROH life, like the title character, was short, maddening, and provocative. He could never last long.
Designed by Paolo Fantin, with costumes by Carla Teti and lighting by Alessandro Carletti, Michieletto’s production looks durable. On an almost empty stage, a cabin that doubles as a police station, a nightclub, or a pre-bullfight dressing room sets the action. A grid of 100 small lights shines, adding to the constant air of monotony and confinement. The use of spin reflects the same creative team’s successful ROH double bill cavalleria rusticana And Pagliacci.
There are clever touches. It was not like that to bring the woman who was strong because of her absence, that is, Don José’s mother, on the stage in a black shawl with the death card in her hand. It was also unwise to portray poor, brave Micaëla as a saddo wearing a cardigan and glasses. Or perhaps this visual cliché has now come full circle and become a novelty. The extraordinary and lyrical Ukrainian soprano Olga Kulchynska triumphed no matter what in her ROH debut.
Music standards ensure this Carmen will increase its edge and excitement and make it worth watching in future theatrical releases. Manacorda explored the fire and detail of the score with the ROH orchestra, especially the solo strings and woodwinds, alert, subtle and expansive. Inevitably, the spoken dialogue – always a problem, and here in unconvincing French – gave the performance a stop-start feel. This wasn’t Manacorda’s fault. The sense of tempo and momentum was impressive. Kostas Smoriginas as Escamillo, unappetizing in his lime green raw silk suit, Sarah Dufresne as Frasquita and Gabrielė Kupšytė as Mercédès led the large and admirable supporting cast. The ROH choir was also joined by the ROH Youth Opera Troupe, a group of children ages nine to 13 who sang with enthusiasm and captured our hearts.
Some of these young musicians may one day aspire to join the National Youth Choir or its smaller offshoot, the National Youth Choir. National Youth Chamber Choir: There are about two dozen talented young people aged 18 to 25, and many are starting professional careers. As part of the London Handel festival, NYCC performed Handel’s Four Coronation Marches with the Age of Enlightenment Orchestra, interspersed with relevant works by living composers such as Héloïse Werner, Anna Clyne, Ben Nobuto and Roderick Williams. Starting from Handel’s Priest Zadok, the night continued with songs and masterful performances under the direction of Sofi Jeannin.
The contrasts between the new studies have been exciting. (All except Clyne’s 2021 film In Thy Beauty were world premieres.) Werner’s Rejoice! It created five minutes of musical ecstasy and verbal rupture, with sounds and syllables merging into recognizable words: everyone, people, rejoice. Nobuto’s Hundred Marches! It had a dance-like sampled energy, powerful and impactful. Williams’ Exceeding Glad! His song was seductive in its joy, including hand clapping, finger tapping, and a vivid impression of bells ringing.
The exhibition started with a moment of silence in memory of Hungarian composer Péter Eötvös, who passed away last month. London Symphony Orchestra He opened the latest LSO Futures/Panufnik Composers Scheme concert with Eötvös’ own Per Luciano Berio: short, beautiful, atmospheric, new for the UK. Since there is no room to say more here, I can only encourage you to check out the latest composers that François-Xavier Roth conducts with clarity and empathy. They are: Christian Drew, Donghoon Shin and Stef Conner.
From slushy, reverb-heavy doo-wop (I quote), to a virtuoso solo cellist (LSO’s Rebecca Gilliver) journeying through an exquisite aural nightscape, to a brutal but harmonically sparkling wild bullet of death metal-inspired sound, this , was a feast for curious ears. The concert ended with a dazzling concert accompanied by Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra. I swear it will remain a mystery how the second violins got to the fugal finale so quickly without moving their bows.
Star ratings (out of five)
Carmen ★★★
National Youth Chamber Choir/OAE/Jeannin ★★★★
London Symphony Orchestra/Roth ★★★★★
•Carmen There will be a live cinema broadcast at London’s Royal Opera House until 31 May, with a live cinema broadcast on 1 May at 18.45, and repeat screenings on 5 May from 14.00.