Opposites may attract, but is the infatuation sustainable? Can a man bound by rules and regulations be satisfied with a wandering life? The premise of Carmen is simple: the corporal Don José (Rosario La Spina), governed by law and order, falls in love with the gypsy girl Carmencita (Pamela Helen Stephen). Passionate and fiery, yet selfish and manipulative, Carmen convinces him to join her in the mountains. Don José’s love turns into a jealous, obsessive need to control the impetuous Carmen, even if it means sacrificing his own life. The constant presence of (Micaëla Hye Seoung Kwon), a young country girl, serves as a reminder of the ordinary, simple life that the corporal has given up. It is an opera that enjoys a good attendance rate, attributed to the popular musical score which is familiar even to non-opera goers.

Director Francesca Zambello, who has previously worked on Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and The Love for Three Oranges, explains that her vision of Carmen was to “capture the heat, the cold of the mountains, the sense of the society, the range of the classes of the people, the gypsy girls versus the Spanish girls, and the sense of the elements – fire, water, wind, rain. I wanted to do a realistic Carmen.” However, Australian Opera’s staging of Carmen seems to have relied too heavily on real animals and real fire to create atmosphere rather than theatrical imagination. After the initial awe of seeing a live donkey and horse onstage, the lack of finer details – such as smoke machines creating mist or emblems indicating the Seville setting – makes the set even more unbelievable.

Although the two leads have amazing voices, there is no physical chemistry. An awkward-looking Don José is found between Carmen’s legs, rather than a love-struck man overwhelmed by lust and desire. Passionate embraces are replaced by constant quarrels, which only confirms the sentiment that their love isn’t love at all, but rather, an obsessive infatuation with the unattainable.

Meanwhile, Hye Seoung Kwon is cast wonderfully as the innocent Micaëla, whose attempt to bring Don José back to a society he understands is combined with her naïve hope that she can save him. The festival, colourful village scene at the beginning of Act IV – featuring acrobatics, confetti and a horse trot – is a stark contrast to its ending. There is neither a foreboding atmosphere to suggest the inevitable tragedy, nor a public discovery of the two bodies. The focus is on Micaëla as a helpless witness to Don José’s and Carmen’s deaths.

The strengths of the opera are its timeless songs such as “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” and its romanticisation of gypsy life, which Australian Opera’s performance capitalises on immensely. Carmen’s determination to live and die passionately, rather than be trapped by circumstances, is an admirable trait despite her many flaws. Australian Opera’s Carmen is a comfortable escape for audience members with a restless heart, without the need to set foot on the wild, uncertain path.

CARMEN

Venue: State Theatre, Arts Centre

Date: 9^th April-10^th May

Tickets: $52-$220

Time: 7:30pm evenings, 1:00pm matinees

Bookings: Ticketmaster, www.ticketmaster.com.au

Photo by Jeff Busby