|
Bizet - Carmen / Jordan, McVicar, von Otter, Haddock, Glyndebourne Festival OperaRating:
Release Date: 18 March, 2003 Retail Price: $39.99 OUR Price: $35.99 You SAVE: $4.00! Cast: Complete Cast (5 total) |
Bizet - Carmen / Jordan, McVicar, von Otter, Haddock, Glyndebourne Festival Opera Reviews
Fascinating, these provincials & gipsies.
The original story, "Carmen," is a typical bit of upperclass romantic slumming among exotic, not-too-intelligent underclass outsiders. Compared to the story, the opera is a nice bit of stage-Spanish exoticism, but the implied superiority of all concerned, including the audience, to the characters of the narrative is still an essential part of it. To understand the inflection of this Glyndebourne production, it's necessary to realize that Romantic slumming is still with us, except that the modern slummers wouldn't be caught dead looking for a touch of the exotic, or--Lord save us--the beautiful among the grit, dirt, and so forth that they encounter on their travels. What WOULD a real gipsy think of it all!
Anyway, I give the production two stars for good orchestral playing. The vocal side of things is undistinguished. Von Otter has moments when one remembers that she can really sing, but in this production her singing takes second place to a lot of pretty bad acting. Her portrayal of Carmen as a cold, depraved, rather ugly manipulator is a real puzzler. Was it her idea or the director's? Surely even a man as stupid and naive as Haddock's Don Jose would run a mile from her? But I'm forgetting: it's a premise of these Romantic plots that given a choice between a nice girl and a nasty one, Romantic heroes choose the nasty one--That's how we know they're stupid.
The real Carmen
I feel I have to comment after reading some negative reviews
of this most recent video recording of this Opera.
They must understand that Carmen was a gypsy slut!
Not a sweet young thing.
The Opera Bastille version has the same kind of scenery as the Glyndebourne. re bars across the whole stage
This is not flowery scenery, that these detractors want. It is dirty gritty and earthy!
I first saw a live performance of Carmen about 50 years ago when I was in my teens. To experience Carmen in those days was to see a live performance........that Was the only way.
The Carmen of that time at the Opera Comique in Paris was Solange Michel. The best of Carmens for many years. She was The Carmen as best as they were allowed in those days, censors being what they were.
That performance, together with the performance of Grace Bumbry at Covent Garden were permantently fixated in my memory as true Carmens which Bizet had envisaged, and is now on stage in Glyndbourne.
Ewing's performance at Covent Garden is top notch, but she doesnt project the true Carmen across the auditorium
Beatrice Uria-Monzon I feel was the true Carmen until Von Otter
brought her role into the 21st century.
If operagoers dont like true down to earth opera, perhaps they should keep watching clean cut sterile performances of other operas that seem to grace out US opera stages these days. and leave the Carmens to those who appreciate good Opera/Theatre.
More Customer Reviews (7 total)
You like Bizet - Carmen / Jordan, McVicar, von Otter, Haddock, Glyndebourne Festival Opera?
|
© 2004, 2005, 2006 DVD Booty | Don't Plunder Our Cache of Booty, Matey!
Hosting made possible by donations from Become Debt Free, Debt Counseling Hotline, and cash loan
