Divamensch
Susan and I saw Carmen at the Met on Jan 27, 2024. This was Susan's first visit to the Met so it was a thrill for both of us.
I was skeptical about this new production of Carmen because I knew it had a contemporary setting. I was not at all pleased with the Rust Belt Lucia di Lammermoor a couple seasons ago, I was afraid this would be a similar stinker. Whadya know, it was very good and I was happy.
It was directed by Carrie Cracknell in her Met debut. The setting was somewhere in the US, maybe Texas? This was the first time Carmen had been directed by a woman at the Met and you could tell. Carmen wasn't a sexpot, she was a strong independent woman in charge of her own fate. In a program note Cracknell wrote that when Carmen and her posse dance at the start of the second act it isn't for the benefit of the men in the room - - there were no men in the room! They were in the back of a long truck speeding down the highway, smuggling goods. They were dancing for their own amusement.
The story has always been like this but this female-centered production highlighted the delight of seeing a man obsessed with a woman, the woman getting tired of him and moving on to someone else, and the man careening down a shame spiral of desperation and anxiety. We so often see that narrative in the other direction.
One other note about the production. Each act started with a sort of shadow play film projected onto the screen covering the stage, produced by rocafilm/Roland Horvath. I'm often not a fan of using film at the opera - - I'm still groaning over the tempest-tossed boat we had to watch during the prelude to Tristan und Isolde. It made me think of Gilligan's Island, which is not what Wagner had in mind. In the case of Carmen the films were hugely effective. The images were haunting, they were tied to the story in a useful way, and with the repeating images, they gave a continuity to the whole show.
I have a friend in the Met Orchestra. We met during intermission and she told me they loved the conductor, Daniele Rustioni, she said he was a lot of fun. The overture bristled with energy - - the opening bars were heavy on percussion, making it seem a little rough, vulgar, show biz. An entirely valid choice, especially for this production. But then two minutes later the big toreador theme was unusually elegant and languid. This conductor had his own way of doing things.
Carmen was sung by Russian mezzo Aigul Akhmetshina. This was her first leading role at the Met and at 27 she's the youngest Carmen to open a new production. She was very good. Her voice is tangy, she knew what she was doing, she was completely committed to the concept of the production. I'll quibble with her French - - the quintessentially French U (as in "perdu") was never really tight enough for me. And I felt like her singing was often a tiny bit flat. Not quite a quarter tone but on its way there. She needs to work on that.
Don José was sung by Polish tenor Piotr Beczała. I've heard him probably about ten times at the Met and I'm worried about the direction in which he's headed. His voice has gotten thicker and meatier and as a result he's lost the sparkle and a lot of the suppleness in his voice. But still he's a great singer and gave a splendid performance.
American soprano Angel Blue played the sweet young thing, Micaëla, I heard her as Bess at the Met a few years ago and was excited to see her again. She's a wonderful young singer, very confident and with a creamy, lovely voice, perfect for this role. I've posted this video before but it's so priceless I want to share it again:
My favorite member of the cast was bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen as the toreador, Escamillo. Susan heard some grumbling from the guy behind us, he was angry that the Met had changed the text in the Met Titles (the translation that feeds into the bar in front of the seats). Escamillo is a matador/toreador in the original and in this production, with its contemporary American setting, he was changed to a rodeo star. That makes no difference to me but this dude behind us was angry that they had changed the text to reflect this. #splitthosehairs
Anyway, Ketelsen has a delicious voice and is sexy as hell, both of which are entirely welcome in this role. He was the knockout in the Met's Pelléas et Mélisande a few seasons ago, in a role that requires no sex appeal. He sang so beautifully and gave an unforgettable performance in a complex role.
But the real reason I have my eye on him is because he's the friend of a friend. I first met him at Jamie Schmidt's engagement party (Jamie is a good friend from college). I saw Kyle at the Met a few times and then in December of 2022 I was on the 1 train with Richard and there he was sitting across from me. He was in town playing Richard in The Hours. There weren't too many people on the train so I moved across the aisle, confirmed that he was Kyle Ketelsen, and talked with him for about ten minutes. He couldn't have been more friendly and charming.
To be honest, the biggest thrill of the afternoon was before the show! Susan and I had lunch at our favorite Italian place down the street, a slightly dressed up pizza joint with a full menu. There were two older Asian ladies at the next table and one of them kept turning around and looking at me. Not in a rude way, in a curious way. This woman came over to our table on their way out and said, "Excuse me, but do I know you?" I thought maybe she thought we had met and asked if she had any connection to MSKCC. She said no, she thought maybe I was someone famous? Maybe a newscaster who works across the street at ABC? That was a new one! I have to say I was looking pretty damn sharp - - I was wearing a black turtleneck and a beige and black checked sport coat. My husband told me pretty soon after we got together, enviously, that I have the right neck for a turtleneck. Clearly I need to wear them more often.