Met’s Gala ‘Carmen’ Stars Franco’s Thugs, Latvian Diva: Review
Zinta Lundborg - Bloomberg
4 janvier 2010

A modern Carmen strode across the stage of the Metropolitan Opera on New Year’s Eve as the company presented a smart new production starring Elina Garanca.

Latvia’s young diva made her entrance as the insolent, free-spirited gypsy by kicking the woman ahead of her and spitting orange peel at the captain of the guards outside the cigarette factory in which she toils. After that, she relished washing the sweat from her face and feet using a handy bucket.

Even at her most seductive, Garanca’s Carmen had a snarky quality. Wounded in a catfight, she coolly flashed a bloody inner thigh at tenor Roberto Alagna, who shared the stage as the uptight Don Jose. He was a lost puppy by the time he applied the bandage.

Director Richard Eyre has moved Bizet’s opera to the 1930s of the Spanish Civil War, which ended with the bloody victory of General Franco over the left-wing Republicans. It’s a familiar idea, but credibly refreshed with energy and imagination. The story unfolded vividly, though poor Seville has lost some of its scenic charm what with all that fighting.

Act I is a ruin with a chain-link fence enclosure for Franco’s bored soldiers. They get their kicks by harassing the hapless Micaela, who has come bearing a letter from his mother for Don Jose.

Home Depot Sale?
Brick walls seem to be the scenic design of choice at the Met these days -- was there some fire sale at Home Depot? Designer Rob Howell offers various combinations of walls, though the last scene at the bull ring bears a strange resemblance to the Guggenheim Museum. At least the sets are evocatively lit by Peter Mumford.

Eyre’s “Carmen” replaces Franco Zeffirelli’s 1996 traditional production with its horses and ponies and excessive population. Unlike his grandly conceived “Tosca,” it was ready to be retired, and the curtain calls on Thursday provoked none of the hissing and loud booing that greeted Luc Bondy’s repellent production earlier this season.

Aside from a very few brickbats directed at the production team, the gala audience cheered happily. Those patrons paid as much as $6,250 for the performance, then headed for a Spanish- style dinner of ceviche, paella and tarta de manzana.

Alagna looked trim in his uniform, but sounded tight in his upper register and even cracked a little during the “Flower Song.” He improved as he spiraled down, bringing real power to his pathetic attempts to regain the love of a woman who’s moved on.

Tight Dress
That became very clear in the last act when Garanca paraded in on the arm of her new lover, the toreador Escamillo. Dazzling in a tight black dress crowned with a high mantilla, she seemed literally beyond Don Jose’s reach.

This being an opera, what could he do but kill her?

Barbara Frittoli sounded much too ripe for Micaela; Mariusz Kwiecien needed more dash as Escamillo.

Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, making his house debut, elicited a peppy, detailed performance from the stalwart orchestra. Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon created youthfully sexy dances that were actually fun to watch.

Zinta Lundborg