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OPERA REVIEW:
A Pale Production June 8, 2002
Photos by Ken Friedman
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By Olivia Stapp
Who knows how much is left of the original staging of Jean Pierre Ponnelle's 1981 production of Carmen — certainly the blocking designs are still available, but these indicate only a skeleton and not the visceral spirit of what the first performance probably was like. After all, it has been twenty years. It is hard to believe that a master such as Ponnelle, known for his insistence on "real" portrayals, intensity, bizarre touches, and above all beauty, would approve of the generally bland revival of his production of Carmen at the SF Opera. Only some vestiges remain.
As its backdrop there is a harsh towering stone wall before which the unfolding of Prosper Merimee's novella about a brazen gypsy girl and her violent lover begins to take place. A blinding sunlight startles the viewer as the curtain opens, revealing a squad of soldiers enervated by the sweltering heat, lounging on the stairs in front of their caserne. With two simple theatrical tools, brilliant light and scenic austerity, Ponnelle creates the impression of suffocating torpor in a space where brutal passions will erupt between the two protagonists, Carmen and Don José.
From this beginning however, it is a slow build: we have a very long way to go in this three-hour-and-thirty-five-minute version of Carmen. Instead of the traditional Carmen (trimmed down and with sung recitatives), Ponnelle chose to revive Bizet's original Opéra Comique edition, with only a few measures excised from the third act. It probably seemed like a good idea at the time. A great French director pays homage to the "complete" big French opera. However, in this version the long-winded spoken dialogues, which the mostly non-French cast struggles to make sound authentic, halt rather than propel the action. Things get bogged down quickly, the energy slackens after twenty minutes of filler, and we become eager for some plot. We crave the divine intervention of a sensational Carmen who can pick it up, and get some momentum going.
Viewing street urchins, choirboys, soldiers presenting arms and strutting about, loosely garmented factory women, and the "great unwashed," was fascinating and even shocking to the opera-goers of 1875 Paris (no television), but today's public may find it overly-long. Not even Ponnelle's genius can rescue these parts of the French opera style from itself. For Carmen to be successful as grand opera, no matter what version, three titanic presences on stage are required. Without a Don José whom we can accept as a powerfully straightforward male force, and a Carmen who has magnetic femininity wrapped in feline mystery — archetypes to be sure — there can be no mythic heroic clash, no great tragedy. Carmen as "coquette" can never bring to this work the needed dramatic tension intended by Bizet, nor can a "nice sensitive" José (here Richard Berkeley-Steele) be a big enough counterfoil. Unfortunately, this is what was offered Saturday at the SF Opera. The Toréador, (Denis Sedov) who should have had the swagger of a fearless warrior, was very sick (or scared), and seemed to be reeling and staggering around on stage. His concern about his errant voice virtually incapacitated him. Unfortunately he could hardly sing, much less portray. This triple failing devitalized the opera from a theatrical standpoint. No raging hormones here. On the musical side however, we were fortunate to have some great operatic voices on stage. Certainly Marina Domashenko, as Carmen, possesses a magnificent contralto voice — dense, huge, and fascinating in its color. An important instrument. Micaela, as portrayed by Maria Bayo, was nuanced and heartfelt, disclosing a voice of fine operatic quality in the third act. Marsielle Martinez's (Mercedes) lustrous voice was outstanding. We need her in major roles. Raymond Aceto brought excellence to both his singing and characterization of Zuniga. The tenor Berkeley-Steele (Don José) had a secure voice and solid high notes, more suitable for the German repertory. Several of the musical and theatrical highpoints were those provided by the lively quintet: the excellent Philip Horst (Dancaire), Brian Anderson (Le Remendado), Donita Volkwijn (Frasquita), Carmen and Mercedes. The chorus was excellent, especially in the last act. Bravi tutti! Maestro Viotti conducted assertively and was sensitive to the needs of those on stage. Grisha Asagaroff, long an associate of Ponnelle, restaged the work, recreating the superb images. The third and fourth acts were visually splendid.
(Olivia Stapp is an opera director, formerly artistic director of Festival Opera (1995-2001), has had a major international career as a soprano.) ©2002 Olivia Stapp, all rights reserved |
