Carmen

Opera Theatre of St. Louis

According to a New York Times article from a couple of years back, Bizet’s Carmen is the fourth most-performed opera in North America, exceeded only by La Boheme, La Traviata and Madama Butterfly (see www.coldfury.com/Sasha/archives/002902.html for the complete list). And why not? It has drama, it has some of Bizet’s most memorable and therefore most popular melodies and last – but most definitely not least – it has sex.

No, it’s not the rolling around, full frontal, direct-to-video type of sex, but when Carmen sings the famous “Habanera” while sinuously gyrating around Don Jose, there’s not much room for doubt what everybody is thinking of when they’re singing about l’amour. I’d even to so far as to say that the theatrical vitality of a production of Carmen hinges on whether or not the mezzo in the title role can convince the audience that she’s so utterly irresistible that she can entice a straight arrow like Don Jose to abandon the military life and become the 18th-century Spanish equivalent of a street thug.

Happily the Opera Theatre production has Jennifer Dudley, who sings like an angel but glides around the stage like Lilith. She’s utterly convincing as the most desirable woman in Seville and her chemistry with Kyle Ketelsen’s dashing Escamillio is palpable. For his part, Ketelsen brings a strong baritone and just the right amount of swagger to the part. He completely dominates the stage during the familiar “Toreador” song in Act II.

The supporting cast is also impressive. Lauren Skuce, who made such a strong impression in Hippolytus and Aricia back in 2001, does so once again. She brings a remarkable degree of emotional depth and sympathy to the often unmemorable role of “good girl” Micaela. Kate Lindsey and Alyson Cambridge are also quite compelling as Carmen’s fellow bad girls, Mercedes and Fasquita.

As Don Jose, John Bellemer is vocally solid but a bit of stick in the acting department. Granted, the character as written is almost painfully prim, but too often he comes across as merely stiff and his despair in the final act seems more petulant than passionate.

Dean Williamson conducts with verve and precision and, with the exception of a couple of minor opening-night fluffs in the brass section, the orchestra responded well to his baton. Chorus master Sandra Horst has done a splendid job getting her singers to enunciate and project. They were largely incomprehensible during their offstage moments in Act III, but I blame director Tim Ocel for that one. When you place your singers behind a massive wooden fence and have them face away from the audience, you can hardly expect them to be easily understood.

That wooden fence dominates Erhard Rom’s set and sometimes pushes the action too far downstage, but in general it works well and allows for rapid and fluid set changes. Gay Howard’s costumes are right on the mark, especially the black, slinky Act I number for Carmen.

The bottom line is that Opera Theatre’s Carmen is a hit both musically and theatrically. Performances continue through June 26th [2004] at the Loretto-Hilton center in Webster Groves; call 314-961-0644 for tickets.

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