But the greatest surprise of this production may be the 35-year-old French Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, whose enthusiastic baton makes the Met orchestra, as fine as it is to begin with, sound like an ensemble of 35-year-old polished prodigies. His vitality is infectious and, between him and director Richard Eyre, a youthful chemistry locks orchestra and stage in a joyous musical and visual embrace.

”The conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, making his Met début, finds the suppleness and heat amid the melodic richness of Bizet’s score.”

Bizet: Carmen
Metropolitan Opera
January 2010 (HD Screening)

On this repeated viewing I again was impressed with Roberto Alagna's moving portrayal of Don José and with Yannick Nézet-Séguin's conducting. When you read about a conductor's pliancy and expressiveness, you may think those are code words for slowness and for indulging singers' egos. Not so in this case. Listen, for example, to the steady build-up from the quietness of the Flower Song to the conclusion of that act when José joins Carmen and the chorus on the ringing high Cs of "la liberté!" It's a beautifully-calibrated, ten-minute dramatic crescendo.

A compelling new Carmen

“ The Metropolitan Opera's new Carmen has three outstanding elements - its Carmen, its Don José and the conductor - and their relative importance may well be in reverse order.”

“ Let's start with Yannick Nézet-Séguin in the pit. The 34-year-old French-Canadian makes a strong company debut and he does so in a counterintuitive way. His is not in the dominating, forceful manner that calls attention to the conductor's interpretation. He is not imposing like a Toscanini, Karajan or Muti. Instead, Nézet-Séguin shapes his concept around the vocal subtleties of each duet and ensemble as he encourages each singer to express his or her feelings. The result is an intimate, personal expression of emotions from the characters.”

“ The preludes and entr'actes were gems, with Nézet-Séguin encouraging sensitive solos from the first-chair bassoon, oboe, flute and piccolo. He gave the same delicate attention to the instrumental accompaniment of the vocal sections. An experienced conductor of symphonic music, Nézet-Séguin obviously knows that opera is a different form and it is built around the human voice.”

Fresh take on Carmen is spellbinding

“Rave reviews from all the major publications have greeted the efforts of the stellar cast, director Richard Eyre and – with a little surge of nationalist pride – Montreal conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin.”

“To say that I was blown away would be an understatement.”

“Eyre, Nézet-Séguin and their cast have connected with Bizet's work on a fundamental, almost primal, level, returning to its original roots as a saga of both the catastrophic nature of sexual desire and the fact that the gods have plans for us that nothing we do can ever change.”

“After Nézet-Séguin has led the orchestra through the opening ``Prelude'' with the blistering pace of a man racing to embrace his doom (which is just what Don José does)...”

AT LAST! A “CARMEN” TO FASCINATE THE EYE AND EAR

“Canadian Yannick Nézet-Séguin, in his Met debut, could easily be seen as the star: From a big, fast opening prelude he moved to a far more intimate, textured, indeed, very French approach: The chorus of cigarette girls and admiring men in act one is normally a moment one waits through until Carmen emerges; here, we heard a languorousness, a sensuality, that rarely comes through. The second-act quintet was spotless; the brief, slashing commentary from the low strings when Carmen is taunting José added a fine bitterness. There are dozens of small details to relish and for once, the last act prelude does not sound like cats knocking over trash cans.”

“Yannick Nézet-Séguin led a spirited, clean-cut account of Bizet’s marvelously melodic score, full of delicate colors and always sensitive to the demands of the drama as well as the needs of the singers.”

Canadian conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin gives a spirited reading of the score, including what may be the fastest version of the prelude ever performed.

“Nézet-Séguin's speedy tempos rescue the opera from spirit-killing poshness.”

“As the final notes of the Met’s new staging of Bizet’s Carmen rang out in the full swell of an orchestra that had run the musical equivalent of a marathon under the thrilling direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, director Richard Eyre pulled the focus from Don José cradling the lifeless body of his lover to a tableau of matador Escamillo defeating yet another bull.”

“His (Roberto Alagna in Don José) fiery take on the role matched beautifully with Yannick Nézet-Séguin's glittering conducting. In his Met debut, the young Canadian maestro drove the orchestra almost to its limits in a frantic Overture, then relaxed into a witty, buoyant reading that highlighted the work's roots in popular musical theater.”

“Young Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who made a most auspicious debut in the pit, managed to sustain high-velocity verve without slighting introspection. He also enforced chamber-music sensitivity wherever possible and accompanied his singers with reassuring sympathy.”

Carmen Electrified

“Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, making his house debut, elicited a peppy, detailed performance from the stalwart orchestra.”

Met’s New “Carmen” Triumphs

“Bizet lays on the Spanish local color in Carmen with a determination that foreshadows Puccini's Orientalisms in Turandot. But to his credit the rising Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, in his Met debut, kept the score sounding quite French, insofar as that is possible, especially since the Guiraud recitatives are used in lieu of spoken dialogue. Nézet-Séguin began with a prelude that was almost disturbingly fast, yet it served as an apt point of departure for a vivacious reading that helped keep the proceedings lively.

That Daring Gypsy Strikes Again, and Anew

Met stages dark, powerful new 'Carmen'