Bizet: Carmen

Bizet: Carmen
by Francesca Zambello

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Anna Caterina Antonacci, Antonio Pappano, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Jonas Kaufmann, Norah Amsellem
Director: Francesca Zambello
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: French (Original Language); Chinese (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); German (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Classical, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 152 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-10-28
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Decca

Movie Reviews of Bizet: Carmen

Movie Review: Passionate, vibrant performance, highly recommended
Summary: 5 Stars

"Carmen" is one of the most popular operas ever written. Its tunes are instantly recognizable even to people who have never heard any opera. Yet, be honest ... when was the last time you ever saw a good performance of Carmen? Partly it is because the title role of "Carmen" is so difficult (nearly damned well impossible, actually) to pull off successfully. It's hard to make her seem like a believable character rather than a caricature of a vampish femme fatale. Her two most famous arias ("Habanera" and "Seguidille") establish her character but little else. I think of the role as a great painting if one took away all the paint and color and was only left with the black-and-white outlines. The singer must fill in the color and vibrancy herself. Don Jose is also a difficult role -- if one thinks hard about it, his actions border on psychotic, yet he is given some of the most heart-rending music ever written.

This performance, filmed at the Royal Opera House, is finally a video of Carmen that I can call an unmitigated success. I am fond of the old film with Miguenes and Domingo but that film is lip-synched to a pre-recorded track and thus has a certain artificiality to it. This video has all the frisson of a live performance. Anna Caterina Antonacci is simply spellbinding in the title role of Carmen. Antonacci is a soprano rather than a mezzo, but her voice is dark and rich enough to sound right as Carmen. I wouldn't say that she blows anyone away with her "Habanera" or "Seguidille," but it's the overall impact of her performance that counts. She makes Carmen sexy, dangerous, cruel, beautiful, someone who uses her sexuality to manipulate men. Even when she's the most seductive, one can sense a hardness and cruelty.

Jonas Kaufmann gives a demented performance as Don Jose. He enters the opera with a permanent frown on his face. He is clearly a moody and disturbed young man from the start. What is most unique about Kaufman is his timbre. It's dark and almost baritonal sounding. "La fleur que tu m'avais jetee" is heartrending, and he's one of the few tenors to observe the marking and attack the climactic high B flat softly. As with Antonacci, his is a fully rounded portrait, never more so than in the final duet. Just the way he desperately sings "Carmen" as he pleads for her love will give you the chills.

Ildebrando D'Arcangelo is a name I had not heard before this performance but he makes a fine Escamillo -- his role is very brief but he is handsome and sings well. If the performance has a weakness it is Norah Ansellem's Micaela. She does nothing to make Micaela interesting and is often woefully under the pitch. To be honest every time I was onstage I just couldn't wait for her to leave.

The costumes of the production are colorful and evocative of the era. The only thing I did not like was the sets. It is one of those "box" productions that are so popular nowadays -- the same three-cornered box serves as Seville's town square, the tavern, the mountains, and then the final scene outside the bull ring. Changes of scenery are marked by changes in lighting and stage props. I can understand why directors like how convenient the "box" is but I wish they had been more imaginative.

But these are minor flaws. Antonacci and Kaufmann are both demented and they sing their hearts out. Highly recommended.

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Summary of Bizet: Carmen

Jonas Kaufmann and Anna Caterina Antonacci bring rare erotic intensity to the drama of Don Jos? and Carmen in this darkly passionate reading of one of the most popular operas. Kaufmann uses his burnished tenor and smouldering good looks to portray the man undone by Carmen's love. As the object of his desire, Antonacci gives a physical and compelling performance.

This Covent Garden production of Bizet's Carmen, makes a vivid musical and dramatic impression. Director Francesca Zambello creates a properly Spanish atmosphere, filling the stage with a profusion of detailed characters. In Act One's town square each of the many soldiers, strollers, cigarette factory girls, and children are individuals, so there's a bustle of continuous, realistic activity. That attention to detail carries over to the rest of the opera, involving viewers in the action. Tanya McCallin's sets are a perfect foil for the direction: simple, movable panels that serve as lightly sketched backdrops for the town square, a tavern, the smugglers' mountain hideaway, and the final scene in front of the bull ring. But what makes this Carmen special is the singing and acting of the principals. Carmen is Anna Caterina Antonacci, a soprano known for the intensity she brings to her performances. Without taking anything to excess, her Carmen is a fiery temptress, sexy, insistent on setting her own terms for love and personal freedom. She sings all the set pieces well and, with tenor Jonas Kaufmann as her besotted lover, Don Jos?, makes the final scene a hair-raising experience. If anything, Kaufmann trumps her with a beautifully sung, rounded portrait of the village boy turned soldier ensnared in a world beyond his experience. Kaufmann conveys the complexity of the character and etches his slow descent into obsessive madness. His rendition of the Flower Song is extraordinary for beauty of tone, phrasing and the soft singing essential to make this aria's full impact. The toreador, Escamilio, is finely sung and acted by Ildebrando D'Arcangelo. He makes his entrance on horseback, sings the Toreador Song with brash arrogance, and projects this haughty, self-absorbed figure to perfection. And Norah Amsellem, as the village girl who loves Don Jos?, uses her attractive soprano to depict her purity and innocence. Smaller roles are well done, with special mention due to bass Matthew Rose as Zuniga, the lieutenant of the guard. The vibrant conducting of Antonio Pappano is a big plus here; pacing is perfect, rhythms vibrantly precise, and melodies shaped with care. Under his baton, the Royal Opera House chorus and orchestra complete a rich, well-detailed performance of Bizet's masterpiece. Lighting designs of Paule Constable add to the atmosphere of each scene, while television director Jonathan Haswell's cameras always seem to be where they should be. --Dan Davis

Carmen is an all-regions disc in 16:9 ratio. Sound options include PCM Stereo and DTS 5.1 Surrdound. Sung in French, subtitles include English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese.

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