I have to own up to a prejudicial stance: I do not like Carmen. Bizet’s renowned opera was received rather poorly when it debuted in 1875, but my reasons differ from that of the contemporary Parisien operatic community. The pacing and story are frankly abysmal. I know there are plenty of people who do not engage with opera on a narrative level but the point of opera is that it is a performance art fusing music with drama. Neglecting the narrative so utterly undermines the point of the endeavour. Opera does, of course, tend to pace slower than other narrative forms – that’s a compromise between the formal conventions of the music and the storytelling – but when you have at best two acts worth of story scraped across four acts, it really does test the patience. And whilst hardly alone in this regard, Bizet’s use of the arbitrary, unjustified and immediate infatuation with a fundamentally unlikeable character to propel the drama is lazy and bland. In short, I find the whole affair less than compelling.

Rant aside, clearly the popularity of Carmen indicates that mine is not a universal opinion. My qualms with the conception of the piece do not reflect on a given production or an audience’s ability to enjoy it. So, how does Russian State Opera’s staging shape up? Quite good really.

I have known Russian State Opera to deliver powerful central performances but somewhat weaker work in the chorus or supporting singers. Not so here, where we have a robust cast all round and the expected excellence from the soloists. Liubov Dobrynina and Dmitry Smekin were both on form as Carmen and Don José, respectively, but it was Valeriya Balandina’s Michaela who seemed to win the most profuse appreciation from the audience.

A note, as usual, on the aesthetics of Russian State Opera. In terms of staging and costume, their productions tend towards a very dated and somewhat hokey look. Costumes evoke rental party versions of what they are meant to convey, and the sets have pantomime qualities about them. I think this look might have some appeal to those less versed in the quality that touring opera productions can bring to the stage and don’t mind things so bluntly theatrical. In my case, it’s something the music and performance has to work to overcome.

All told, I think this a strong production. The subject matter is not my favourite but there’s no denying the musical and performative talent on display. Carmen has to work to overcome some garish staging but fundamentally it does put the work in.

★★★☆☆   Fenton Coulthurst     21^st September 2018

LA TRAVIATA continues the season on Friday 21st.