St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Wed 11 Nov
One of the world’s most popular operas, Carmen is known the world over for its tragic tale of love, jealousy, violence and betrayal, featuring Habanera and the Toreador Song, two of the most famous operatic arias.
Written by the French composer Georges Bizet, Carmen tells the story of soldier Don Jose’s fall from grace as he abandons the military and his sweetheart to be with Carmen, a fiery gypsy woman, who soon leaves him for the renowned toreador Escamillo.
All roles were beautifully performed when I was lucky enough to see it at Cardiff’s St David’s Hall, managing to get the opera’s delicate mix of comedy, realism and tragedy just right, and most importantly, it captured the passion that makes the piece such an important work. The mix of the realistic replica of Seville’s main square, the cast, and the orchestra spirited the audience away to the warmer climes of the Andalusian city, and they complimented each other perfectly, which is important when it would have been so easy for one aspect to overshadow another. Don Jose’s tormented anguish was well captured, while Carmen herself was faultless on the evening; temperamental, unpredictable, beautiful, and tragic. A triumph of a production of one of the best loved operas, and of course Charlie the donkey was superb.
words LUKE OWAIN BOULT