Carmen at the Royal Albert Hall

Carmen at the Royal Albert Hall

05 March, 2009
by: Joe Harrod

In all probability, yes. Carmen is, after all, an opera comique and there's much that's deliberately amusing about this moody heartbreaker and her punch-drunk suitors. But the English translation presented by Raymond Gubbay has a few unintentional comic highlights as well. For instance, the wobbling trees in the forest, and the moment when Carmen sees Don José stab Zuniga fatally in the back, and sings ‘that wasn't very nice'.

Overall, this production is exuberant, exciting, a treat. Cristina Nassif is a powerful Carmen, alluring, passionate and droll. Louise Poole as the wronged woman Micaela has less to do but really raises the rafters with her mezzo-soprano moaning. The rest of the cast sing well, with the best moments coming in ensemble scenes like The Gypsy Song and the Toreador's Aria.

One of the structural problems that applies to the original Bizet score is a slight front-loading of the best bits, although this is counterbalanced by recurrent Toreador strains. The production is smart, a revival that packs a lot of punch, setting the action in Primo de Rivera's 1920s Spain and using on and off ramps and a circular stage to create a flowing show that draws the crowd into the action.

The Albert Hall is a magnificent jewelbox setting, of course. Even if during the intervals it has the atmosphere of a fractious Christmas party thanks to the innumerable, incredibly badly organised bars. The acoustics also pose unique problems for opera. They are almost too strong and this requires the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to give a rather muted, rarely explosive performance under Peter Robinson. Or at least, I think that's why they sounded like a perfectly executed backing track. And of course, the singers get microphones which can be disorientating when they disappear into the crowd.

Good acting is important in opera, particularly when you are in the posh seats (thank you, Spoonfed!) and this production is both well-paced and convincing. There are hundreds of details, from badly-drilled soldiers, to gymnasts in the bullfighting entourage via dancing drunks that sustain the dramatic interest, but of course, the music comes first. It's a visually rich, perfectly played and beautifully sung show, but if I could have one wish, I know this is perverse, I'd stick it back in French.

I know, what a snob. This is opera for the masses, in a popular venue, with affordable tickets, and sung in English! That's the point. However, it is as regrettable as it is indubitable that ridiculous lyrics elicit laughter at all the wrong moments. Especially during the fatal denouement, which is otherwise a dramatic highlight as bulls, acrobats and fire jugglers share the stage with a magnetic gypsy queen.

So, Carmen is not without flaws, the most serious being the slightly dampened orchestra. However as an evening it is the most electrifying of the year so far. A story both wryly humourous and tragic, grandly organised and entrancingly executed, with magic music. A triumph: we remain as excited as children all the way home.


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Joe Harrod