Carmen

Carmen has always been one of my favourite and I do consider it the quintessential French opera. It is also one opera that is well-served on DVD and record. While this Liceu production is not the best Carmen I've seen, that's between the 1984 and 1967 films, it is a good production and doesn't disgrace the opera in any way. Strictly speaking, I have yet to see a Carmen on DVD to properly do that. I'll be honest that I did miss the authentic sunny backdrops I associate with Spain, where Carmen is set, and that the minimal settings weren't particularly appealing to me. The costumes are better though and are in good keeping with the production's concept. The video directing is crisp and clear though the close ups are not always very flattering, and the sound is great. Calixto Bieito is never going to be everybody's cup of tea, especially if you are a traditionalist, which I am sort of though I don't mind concept productions when done well.

His stage direction here though wasn't so bad. Admittedly, some of his ideas are on the predictable side and feel as though he was incorporating too much of his own style that it swamps everything else. And some of the dramatic scenes do feel a little undercooked as a result, I think the final scene could have sizzled a little more. However, the good news is that, even though some may not like what he does here, this is the most subtle he's ever been- coming from somebody who is notoriously controversial- and he succeeds in keeping the characters intact and not changing them significantly. Credit should be given also that he does something that few other stage directors have done, which is make a dull character like Micaela seem more interesting than she actually is. The production is violent, but considering that there is a violent nature in Carmen that was hardly inappropriate.

Musically, it is just wonderful. The orchestral playing has so much life to it, the energy, verve and character of the score- and there is lots of those in Carmen- are conveyed thrillingly and with a freshness that I have not heard in any other opera production for a fair while. The chorus blend beautifully and do show a strong connection with the drama, which generally on stage is compelling and passionate save the occasional undercooked moment. The conducting is efficient and dynamic, and does nothing to seriously compromise the performers. Of which are of a high standard. Zuniga, Morales, Frasquita and Mercedes are very well characterised and sung with involvement and appealing vocals.

Erwin Schrott has the right charisma and swagger- if not as commanding as Samuel Ramey- for Escamillo, and has a very sturdy and well-produced bass-baritone voice. Thankfully there is none of the attitude of "I only have one aria, then I'll slum it for the rest of the production", which is in a way what the role reads of. Marina Poplavskaya is a very moving, without being timid, Micaela. While her French diction is not the best(though not as problematic as her Marguerite in the Met's Faust), she sings with a beautiful timbre and her Act 3 aria is sung with heartfelt pathos. Roberto Alagna in one of his best roles gives one of his better performances in recent years. The sympathetic, pained and menacing aspects to Don Jose's character are very well met with Alagna, and he sings with great ring and passion as well as better control of pitch. Beatrice Uria-Bonzon is a very sensual Carmen who is full of lust and free spirit, and while she is not as youthful vocally as in the 2004 Orange production- also opposite Alagna- there is evidence of a plummy richness quality.

Overall, a good production if not a first choice. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox

There are plenty of daft opera directors in the world but Calixto Bieito has to be the daftest. In this 2011 production of Carmen he strips out everything that gives the opera its unique character. Instead of a wild gypsy in 19th century Seville we get a middle-aged factory worker dressed in a grey overall in a more-or-less modern setting. The stage is almost bare throughout, no tobacco factory, no Lillas Pastia's taverna, no mountains no Seville. Act I uses a bare stage apart from a telephone box and a flagpole. In Act II instead of a tavern we have a car. Act III features more men in cars. Is Bieito taking the title too literally? In Act IV Seville is represented by a circle drawn on a bare stage. I say more-or-less modern because Carmen is seen having a heated telephone conversation in the phone box on her first appearance. The same lack of mobile phone technology is seen later when Jose and Michaela take a selfie. They use a camera with a film in it which gives Jose the opportunity to rip out the film later when he unaccountably gets angry over something.

Ah, I hear you saying, Bieito has stripped the opera down to its essentials to lay bare the human conflict. I don't think so. This is a director who knows nothing about stage drama. He bungles scene after scene and cannot handle the most rudimentary stage business required to make the action plausible. Why, for example, does the Lieutenant take off his own belt at the end of Act I and hand it to Jose so that he can restrain Carmen? Why don't his trousers fall down?

What does Bieto bring to the party? The opera starts with a man running round the stage in his underpants. At the end of the first Act a woman, I don't know who, is hoist up a flagpole. A fat man wanders round in a string vest. Lillas Pastia looking for his taverna, perhaps? There is some fellatio and the final act starts with a man taking off all his clothes and dancing. So far so yawnworthy. I was more bothered though by a sexualised little girl dancing at the start of the second act.

Béatrice Uria-Monzon's Carmen lacks colour and characterisation. This is not surprising since she has to sing her habanera in a grey overall. The, normally reliable Roberto Alagna as Don Jose seems to be straining a bit in his upper register. Don Jose is supposed to be a broody character but most of the time Alagna looks as though he would rather be somewhere else. He is at his best when duetting with Marina Poplavskaya's lively Michaela. Erwin Schrott is a vocally effective Escamillo although he is not allowed to do much in Bieito's production. The production ends anticlimactically as neither Alagna nor Uria-Monzon can create sufficient tension in their final fatal confrontation.

...exciting singer in the title role. I've seen so many now: Ewing, Bumbry, Garanca, Migenes, the choices are vast. Beatrice Uria-Monzon really looks like a gypsy factory worker; you can practically smell the sweat wafting from that voluptuous body. It's a pity therefore that she's the only remarkable thing in this lacklustre Barcelona production. Gyran has pointed out the many flaws in Calixto Bieito's stage direction; it's one of the worst I've ever seen. The Mercedes-Benz dealer in Barcelona must have supplied the cars used in the smuggler's scenes, they add the only note of elegance in the show.

Roberto Alagna has sung his part better, at the Met in 2010 for example. The lack of chemistry between this Don Jose and Carmen is noticeable. Schrott and Poplavskaya do well as Escamillo and Micaela. Carmen is my favourite opera: it is a shame therefore that it's been given such a forgettable production save for BU-M's contribution.