I couldn't help but
think
after having gone through all the features of this wonderful 2-DVD
set that this should be the way opera on DVD should be presented.
The attention to design of the cover of the DVD-case is superb; it
comes in a single slim case despite containing 2 DVDs, the 31-page
booklet is in full colour. The DVDs themselves are tastefully
designed as well; indeed production values for this DVD set are
very high and they reflect the same high production values of the
opera.
Every performance of Carmen is underpinned by the
conductor and his orchestra and
the London Philharmonic, making their trip to the Glyndebourne as
their resident festival orchestra, provide a suave accompaniment
under the dynamic baton of the young Swiss Philippe Jordan (right, son of Armin).
The Overture to Act I bristles with excitement and Jordan's
ebullient, theatrical direction (you'd think that he was
bull-fighting rather than conducting - strangely apt in this
music) is reflected in the enthusiastic playing of the London
Philharmonic. Throughout the rest of the opera, they play with a
natural elegance and Jordan's choices of tempi are always musical
and his accompaniment attentive. He is seen at the start of each
Act and is truth to tell quite fun to watch.
Nothing much is ordinary about this production of Carmen, and the curtain
raise for Act I reveals the first brilliant
touches - the set design involves two levels and these are made
use of to great effect. This allows the play of an additional
dimension to the opera instead of a plain two-dimensional
blocking. David McVicar's direction is one of the best things
about this production. The Glyndebourne Festival Chorus clearly
relish acting out their roles in the opera and their interaction
with each other is a joy to watch.
Take for example the cigarette girls as they fight it out in Act I
- every person has a part to play; also, everyone's reaction to
Carmen's entrance is different, which is precisely the kind of
thing that one might expect. The result is a startling realism.
It's these little things which make the direction so special - the
attention to detail in planning out the fight scenes, particularly
the one between Escamillo and Don Jose, is another. The singers,
from chorus to soloists, are all willing parties in McVicar's
grand scheme. A lot of work obviously went into the planning of
the blocking and still more into scenes such as the Act II gypsy
dance, which is very sensual. The chorus manage this all on top of
remembering their music, a feat in itself. The children's choir,
here mixed rather than made up solely of boys, is put to admirable
use and the ragamuffins really brighten up every scene they are
in.
Costumes for the entire production are detailed and appropriate
and the Glyndebourne obviously spared no expense in decking their
cast out in the very best. Lighting for this production was
strategically placed, but this is quite a dark Carmen, with many
of the scenes played out in relative darkness.
And so finally we arrive
at our principals. Carmen on video has been rather lucky vocally;
the principals here cannot hope to compete with the best there
are, I'm afraid, when it comes to sheer vocal opulence, but in
delving into the characters they succeed stunningly in their
portrayals.
The main attraction in the
cast of this Carmen is the title character herself, here played by
the Swedish mezzo Anne Sofie von Otter (left). There were fears when this production was
being staged that she might be a trifle cold and distanced; from
her very entrance such fears are laid to rest. Carmen as played
von Otter is earthy, comfortable with her sexuality (indeed some
might find her too comfortable) - sometimes vulgar,
perhaps, but always her own woman and fiercely independant -
something that Carmen is all about.
What some viewers might have problems with is that with her
brunette wig and the limited makeup (as far as I can tell), Carmen
looks disappointingly plain, to the extent that a friend of mine
watching the DVD with me commented that many of the cigarette
girls look much better than her - he wondered what the fuss was
all about. Perhaps the fact that von Otter is pushing fifty years
of age has something to do with this, but many of the camera shots
are very close up and the wig, with its really dry looking hair
isn't flattering to her at all. Still, von Otter is vocally quite
satisfying. Her Carmen is rather cat-like, vehement and vicious,
even, and she colours her voice, snarling, spitting but still
managing to bewitch. Something I would have liked would have been
for her to really perform a dance during the Habanera rather than
the somewhat vague sensuality that served instead. Her smoking the
cigarette and in the process interrupting one of the lines of her
music was something I would rather have done without, but it was
still quite amusing rather than annoying.
The
American tenor Marcus Haddock as Don Jose portrays a multi-faceted
man full of insecurities. His is a much less "heroic" version of
this unheroic character than any other version I've seen (or
heard). In fact his Don Jose is deeply unattractive - truly a man
tied to his mother's apron-strings and unsure as to what he wants
in life - and a bit of a brute by Act III. Marcus Haddock's
appearance - portly and never at all glamorous, makes you wonder
if Carmen does indeed fall in love with him. His interactions with
Carmen when they come about make for great interplay, but
strangely you can't help but feel sorry for him, which is
definitely one valid point of view of this opera. His
characterization develops throughout the length of the opera and
you do feel that there is a huge change in character, so that when
he kills Carmen at the end it's not a sudden development. His Don
Jose is painfully ungentlemanly; in fact I had the thought while
watching this that he came very close in some scenes to resembling
a Wozzeck, visually that is. Vocally he manages the role with no
strain but his voice is not an inherently beautiful one; instead
he uses it intelligently to portray Don Jose.
The
toreador Escamillo (left) is a more conventional piece of casting
- Laurent Naouri plays him suavely but he's hardly dashing, but if
I were Carmen and I had to choose a man from one of the cast I'd
rather go with one of the dancers. Of the leads, his voice is
probably the least distinguished, lacking the depth and reasonance
in the lowest notes but it's still satisfactory.
Micaela,
played by Lisa Milne (right), is pure and chaste as you might
expect the role to be. The director obviously saw fit to dress her
as unattractively as he could and this helps shift the balance in
Carmen's favour. She sings with an attractive, lyric voice.
It is the interplay between the leads that proves to be more than
the sum of the parts, and the direction again proves telling -
even small facial expressions play a big part in showing what they
think of each other and the camera does them justice by panning
and zooming whenever appropriate, highlighting and making the best
of their facial expressions - something that would have been
impossible in the theatre.
Overall I give very high marks to the acting, and somewhat less to
the singing, in this opera production, but as I said earlier, the
high dramatic tension and the attention to detail in the direction
add a whole different dimension to this and more than make up for
any deficiencies. The opera is above all theatre and theatre is
very visual. This production is a feast to the eyes and I
must say that I enjoyed every moment of it. The extra features,
each about ten minutes long, show how the costume design,
choreography and fighting were planned out and another segment on
the Glydebourne gardens rounds up the DVD - a Carmen to watch and
cherish.
