Carmen as spectacle

This video shows Rinat Shaham from the OperaAustralia mainstage poduction, a production full of "authentic" Spanish flavours, with flamenco dancing and period touches. Last night's rehearsal I attended showcased the same marvellous singer as Carmen, but much of the rest was very different.

First of all, I have to say, beforehand, I was wondering was it fair to even review a dress rehearsal, even if it was the last before opening night. Well, by the time of interval, I had no doubt it was appropriate. The only things I had found to complain about was some of the audio levels as they worked to adjust the sound levels for various singers, and some curiously non-choral sounding chorus work, which sounded like only some singers' microphones were working. That appeared to be less noticeable by the end, so it may have been just some were not turned on, or similar. Minor teething pains tho, for what was a great performance.

So, as you can see, great seats for a big show.  And, yes, there was lots of colour and movement. The full chorus of Opera Australia, a large group of dancers, and supernumeries besides. And yes, the Carmen at the back of the set is backwards, precisely to declare to the outside world what is going on. We in the audience all know its Carmen. You can probably make out some of the outline of the bull that gets lit up in the last act. What is not so obvious is the fact that the back of the stage is effectively a scaffolding, that is used to good effect at times, especially at the bullfight, as people crowd it, looking into the (unseen) arena that is beyond. Also, the 2 cranes on either side that are used to fly in several set pieces, (a tank, a truck, a shipping container, and even, a cast member)

There are numerous places at the back of the stage to exit, and there is a large ramp that descends from the centre of backstage at various times, to represent the entry to the cigarette factory, and the entrance to the bullfight arena. Not to mention, of course, you can also enter and exit via the walkway that extends to the front on either side. The orchestra are located under the stage, and are not seen until the end, when they come up for air, err, come up for their bows.

So, Gale Edwards has put together a production that plays to a non opera experienced crowd. There is (as mentioned) lots of colour and movement, and the story is played out with broad strokes, going for a literal telling, even if the costuming and staging make it clear we are talking Carmen set in the 1950's, not the 1830 of the novella by Merimée. Working with the designers Brian Thompson and Julie Lynch, an image of Spain has been created, albeit one that is definitely viewed through French eyes, as both Bizet's music and the original French novella were.

And what glorious music it is. The habanera, the seguidilla, the flower song, the smuggler's quintet, the card trio, the toreador's song, Michaela's aria, the grand chorus scene that opens the final act. This is an opera that everyone knows the big numbers from, and they were all delivered brilliantly. Under Brian Castles-Onion, the music was well served with that Gallic-Spanish mix we all know so well. Yes, some of the first act lacked some cohesiveness in a few spots, not helped by the mic issues mentioned before, but that was cleaned up before the next act.

 And the singers you say? Well, funny you should mention that. As per the video above, we had the stunning Carmen specialist Rinat Shaham in the lead. As expected, her earthy toned mezzo was used to great expressive effect, giving a performance that was by turns devil may care, vengeful, spiteful, coy, seductive, all those things that make a great Carmen. Yes, some of the tonal variations may have been lost, and some of the subtleties of her performance, but,  singing mic'd also gave her a lot more freedom of expression, allowing a broader range to be painted, rather than a more focused one.

As her lover Don Jose, Dmytro Popov brought a glorious tenor voice to the role. To be honest, I am not sure this is a voice that is ready to sing Don Jose in a normal production, but amplified, without having to force his voice over the orchestra, he brought a beautiful sweet tone to the role. Normally a role sung by dramatic tenors, he made a good case for a more lyrical voice to sing the role. He certainly did not lack dramatically, but this was a voice for melting hearts, not a voice to make you fear.  Having said that, there was no doubting the passion he sang of, or his desperation as he realised Carmen was never his.

Here he is singing Che gelida manina from La Boheme. Its a glorious voice, but not what you would expect for Don Jose, but, strangely, it worked.

As Michaela, we had the lovely Nicole Carr, bringing her lyric goodness and determination to the role. I also have to give her full points for singing her big act 3 aria, perched high in the air. I would not have felt comfortable up there, let alone sing one of the bigger arias in my repertoire on my knees, while up there. But, she did, and did it convincingly. She brought that moment of calm in the storm of emotions convincingly, our one touch of normality.

And that leaves Escamillo, sung by Andrew Jones, to bring up the rear of the big four leads. This role forever will be associated with Robert Merril for me, so needless to say, it is hard to find a singer who can do it justice today to my ears. That said, he was not bad, just its hard to find a Robert Merril! Escamillo arrived via a car driven to the stage front, with full movie star treatment. It really captured the feel of the adored toreador, bringing it to life in a way the audience can relate. It was both effective and entertaining.

Of course, there were also the other four gypsies who all sang their fiercely difficult quintet with Carmen, tossing out the masses of words as if they were the easiest thing in the world, not a nightmare of timing and precision. All four sang with great diction, bringing them to us as larger than life figures, used to hiding in shadows.

So, to sum up? A lavish night's entertainment, sung very well, and brought to life vividly. No, it won't change the world, but it might change the way some people think about opera. And for me, that sounds pretty fantastic!

 Rinat singing the Seguidilla in a production in Israel (with Neil Shicoff as Don Jose)

4 fantastic singers? 5 pretty good ones

So Il Trovatore, that opera where we have to believe that a mother threw the wrong baby in the fire, and then raised her enemy's son to destroy his biological brother. Well, yes, it is an opera, so there is always a certain amount of disbelief required, but, that's opera for you.

First of all, I have to say, this was a surprisingly even cast. There were no stand out bad performers the whole night. That also means of course, there were no stunningly good ones either (like Monserrat Caballe at the top) . Instead, we had a night of well sung, well acted, if not always thrilling opera.

This production was the Elke Neidhardt production that is shared between the various state opera companies here. It resets the opera to the Spanish Civil war, but never really tells you which side who is on. All you know (indeed, all you really need to know) is that Di Luna and Manrico are on opposite sides.) The sets consist of a series of grey walls that get rearranged from time to time. They all show signs of war damage, and get moved to indicate changes of location for each scene. They worked very effectively, especially coupled with the very effective moody lighting.

There were no obvious "regietheatre moments" that made you scream "what the?" but a mostly sensibly directed opera, that focused on telling the story clearly. Ok, so maybe the moment of gratuitous total male nudity with the arrival of the new recruits was not necessary, but it did lighten up the scene (and the supers were very pretty)

Now, to the performers, because, as is mythologised, this opera stands or falls on the four leads (I would argue five, but hey, who says singers can count?)

First off, when you get a notice on your seat that a singer has been swapped for health reasons, you normally sigh a little. Well, when I heard the Ruiz was swapped (admittedly a small role) I was quite pleased. My previous experience of the singer in question left me wondering why he had been cast. Instead, we had Sam Roberts-Smith, who I hope we hear a lot more of. As Ruiz, he sang only a little, but left us wanting to hear more, and liking what we heard. Why the other singer was cast in the first place still leaves me scratching my head, knowing his replacement was available at the time...

Now, frankly, Daria Masiero is no Monserrat Caballe (or for that matter, Angela Meade, or Latonia Moore) but she is a fine singer with a big voluptuous voice of the type needed. To be sure, I would prefer one both larger, prettier and better controlled, but we are talking dream casting vs affordable casting. For a company that cannot afford the A list singers, Daria is pretty good. No fluffed notes, nice even sound and plenty of power to bring to those exciting climaxes Verdi gives. To be sure, she does not sound as in control of her voice as Latonia Moore (or Angela Meade, who I have only heard via recordings) but there was nothing wrong with what she did. We are talking degrees, more the difference between something I consider acceptable, to something truly glorious. She was workmanlike would be my comment.

Likewise, Arnold Rawls. As the evening progressed, his voice definitely eased into the role, sounding less tight. Sometimes he sounded  not entirely comfortable in the role in the first act. But by the second act he was sounding truly heroic, his C on "Di quell piera" was something to behold, if a touch OTT for the purists. I say, if you have it like that, use it!!!!

The surprise of the evening for me was Michael Honeyman as the Count di Luna. This was the fourth time i have heard him recently, so you can understand why I was shocked when I heard him. I have always liked his voice, but I long to hear the voice that he has yet to become, instead of the smaller sound we have been getting. Well, somewhere between last year and this production, he has found that big sound. WOW! Suddenly, its like he had a big break through in vocal technique and the sound is much fuller, richer and just plain bigger. Im really looking forward to hearing what happens in the future now.

Our bass for the evening was of course, the reliable Richard Anderson as Ferrando. Quite why the captain of the guards became a priest in this production, I am not sure, but it did not detract too much from the story. Indeed, it only occurred to me later that he is not normally a priest. Too many Italian operas have priests that do everything they shouldn't I guess..

And finally, we had Milijana Nikolic as Azucena, the mother who threw her son on the fire by mistake, intending to throw the Count's brother. Previously, I have not been that impressed by her. This time I was convinced. Her Strida la vampa and the scene following with Manrico were stunning. In many respects that scene became the emotional centre of the opera in this performance.

And of course, as usual, the chorus sang well, swapping frequently from being soldiers to freedom fighters and back again.Im sure there was lots of men changing back stage in the wings…

So I will leave you with our tenor. Not perfect, but pretty damn good, and certainly worth paying for.