Carmen again? Yes!

I love Carmen with as much passion as I usually dislike productions of it...or even audio recordings. For such a well-known and (supposedly) well-loved piece, making it work as a whole is too often like a dog chasing its tail: you know what they're after, but they never seem to get it. Why? Many complicated reasons, but first and probably foremost is the history of the title role. Carmen is complicated, mercurial, passionate, lustful, beautiful, willful, taciturn, and (finally) resigned. (She is not, however, a wounded animal...or any kind of animal other than human. Let's bury that stupid idea once and for all.) And she has to sing all these famous pieces that everyone assumes they "know" and expect to be sung a certain way. Getting someone who can be all those things and still sing the damn thing is extremely hard indeed, even without audience prejudice. Everyone knows the right voice for it, the right physique, the right costume. They compare each knew Carmen to the "right" way in their minds. At best, you usually get one or the other: the actor who can't really sing the notes well enough or the singer who has all the notes (or well enough) but can't act it. Carmen was conceived as a work with dialogue in it--strong acting was obviously expected. Even with the recits, the acting challenges do not go away. And it's a HUGE part. And it may be considered the mezzo role supreme, but there is less "mezzo" there than a full-range. High (quite often), low (less often) and everything in-between. Just because someone can "hit" the notes does not mean they should be singing this. The very smart Frederica Von Stade said early and often that she was not meant to sing Carmen. And she was right: she could have sung it beautifully and been completely wrong. (Another wonderful mezzo did not heed the warning and now it's on video forever.) And so many people who have sung it--including that wonderful mezzo--are just "wrong." Too shrill or too wobbly or two vocally forced (they most common pitfall, sad to say) or too polite or too hammy or too "fake" sexy or just too everything but what is required. Young singers should not flock to it, they should run! Unless they are the rare bird that can deliver all of it. And the MET found one. Elina Garanca. She sang it magnificently, beautifully, powerfully, even subtly when required. She has all the notes and at all the dynamics. The coloring of the voice is just right. And she is one of the most believable Carmens I have ever seen (and I've seen my share.) Not a moment seemed fake. And if that were not enough, she was singing with a Don Jose that was actually convincing as a (failed) lover driven mad. Hearing the recording of Roberto Alagna singing Jose, I expected the worst: vocal fatigue and over-acting. What a surprise he was onstage. Yes, the beauty that was once in his voice is mostly gone. But he had everything else--characterful singing, musicianship, dynamics, diction, variety--including convincing, emotional acting. For once, the fight was not an embarrassment. That alone is a triumph of sorts. Even his attempt at a pianissimo scale at the end of the Flower Song was emotionally right, even if it wasn't his best vocal moment. And I never worried that he might not make it to the end. (God, how many times have a cringed when the Fourth Act gets underway.) What a pair they made. And I only saw it on TV! I'm kicking myself for not grabbing a ticket.

This riveting pair were surrounded by a capable cast with no weak links (the Escamillo, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, was actually quite handsome and fit and sang with panache!) in a mostly traditional production that did many more things right than it did wrong. As in almost every production I have seen, the chorus was routinely handled (some of that is Bizet's fault) and the set was more functional than inspired (but certainly not distracting). Micaela is a one-note role, but Barbara Frittoli sang her one note well and didn't try to over-act to compensate. And last but certainly not least, Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducted a performance to treasure. He gave the singers everything they needed but kept the tension going until the shattering end. You felt like he LOVED the music--all of it--and could translate that to the orchestra, the singers, and the house. The interludes were more than decoration for a change. The dances during two of them representing the battle between Carmen and Jose were a nice touch which helped. By all means, buy the DVD when it comes out. If anyone says it isn't wonderful, do NOT listen. Get it! And as for the hoopla that surrounded the production, with its "quittings" and "public announcements, all I have to say is: Gheorghiu who?