Carmen – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Bizet’s Carmen was first performed on March 3rd, 1875 at the Opéra-Comique, Paris. Now the very same company brings a modern, super-sensual version to Edinburgh from 4th – 8th August, co-produced by Opernhaus Zürich.

On Opening Night in 1875, several morning papers published vitriolic letters. One claimed: “Carmen presents most unsavory characters, in such bad taste that the work might very well be ill-advised.” Yet, go ahead it did, to healthy box office takings. Bizet, unfortunately, died of a heart attack at the very moment the curtain fell on the 32nd performance on June 3, 1875. Soon after it was closed in Paris, but it was soon to be a hit in Vienna and Brussels.

When you go to see a world class, flamboyant and colourful opera like Carmen, you expect (and take for granted) that the music will be played with flair, gusto and sensitivity as required. Thank you Louis Langrée and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for delivering on this score. Further, you are sure the voices will be flawless. And so, it was with the cast of Théâtre National de L’Opéra-Comique’s Carmen at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre last night.

However, imagine you are the luscious character, Carmen: perfect skin, entrancing eyes, hair glinting in the Spanish sunlight but, oh dear, for the moment you have a boil on your nose, and it’s been a bad-hair day. All your charm and allure is overshadowed. All you can focus on are those perceived flaws. And so, it was for me – not with leading lady, Gaëlle Arquez’s unquestionable beauty, but with the set, costumes and Ms Arquez’s icy character interpretation.

Arquez was tightly bodiced with a full bosom. This reflected her corseted emotional range in terms of body language, compensated for by the fullness of her vocal rendition. The words, emotional content and the acting were not necessarily swimming in the same direction.

This reimagining of Bizet’s ever-popular opera time-travelled without the excitement or purpose of the TARDIS. The time changes, indicated through drab costuming, were purposeless and confusing. Traditional vibrant colourings were replaced with muted shades of brown and grey. Even Escamillo’s costume (a role powerfully rendered by Jean-Fernand Setti) was more muted than a traditional matador. Why would you want to mute an opera whose central focus is vibrancy, freedom and vitality?

Overall, the characterisation was good with the exception of the central character. Arquez was watched by 1.5 million viewers in a televised version of Carmen, so I may be alone in my criticism. I feel like Craig Revel-Horwood on a bad day, here. This version of Carmen was about as sexy as a cornflakes box. A lot of the interactions were performed with Arquez’s back to her fellow performer, Saimir Pirgu (Don José). He did brilliantly to maintain his, by now incomprehensible, adoration for this flawed character. And yet, I have believed that obsessive possessiveness in other productions where Carmen was physically lusty, deliberately tempting and very seductive. I bought into the tragedy of our complicated relationships, our humanity and our flawed weaknesses.

Elbenita Kajtazi, playing Micaëla, brought an emotional range with her which was splendid. By the end, I simply wanted José to walk off with her and let the whole charade go to the dogs. Carmen wasn’t worth it.

From early on, I wanted to close my eyes and listen deeply to the magnificent, uplifting Bizet score and the beautiful voices rather than spoil my own mental and emotional response to this awesome music with tacky, overly swagged, tassled, chintz curtains juxtaposed with stark, brutalist columns of concrete at the rear of a vast, empty black stage. In addition to this uncomfortable set there were just a few kitchen chairs dragged about occasionally. In the second half we were treated to an enormous pile of ugly grey “loot”.

The only redeeming visual aspect was the colourful ticker tape when that hideous curtain was briefly lifted out of sight. Carmen’s final outfit was, finally, beautiful. Yet, her character had not developed or altered throughout. It was as it began. There was no character arc.

I could not see Carmen’s death as a tragedy in this setting. I could not care less. Yet, judging from the rapturous applause, I may have been alone in my disappointment.

The last time I saw Carmen on stage rather than TV was in the Sydney Opera House. I left enthralled. I carried that expansive memory into the theatre last night, full of expectation and enthusiasm. Opera is the most visceral of all dramatic art forms and I expect emotional, rather than intellectual, connection. I expect to have goosebumps and a range of emotional responses.

Apologies to the wonderful voices, the fabulous musicians and the vast amount of hard work that goes into such a collaborative project. It is with disappointment that this show only gets a three-star rating from me.

Reviewer: Kathleen Mansfield

Reviewed: 5th August 2024

North West End UK Rating: