WHEN Peter Brook’s reduction of Carmen was first staged in 1981, critics proclaimed it put the savagery back into tragedy.
More than 25 years later, English Touring Opera’s production has the same affect. This was a violent, fervent 90-minute whirlwind show of bare flesh, blood, and impassioned singing.
It was a very different experience from Bizet’s lavish original - It is set in 1939 post-Civil War Spain; Carmen’s husband Garcia makes an appearance; and the famous overture is played near the end in the form of a recording - but Leah-Marian Jones’ Carmen was still a temptress, balancing a playful zest for life with a fatalistic obsession with danger, and Don Jose’s powerful portrayal of jealousy was absorbing.
The image of Jose (David Curry) on his knees, pleading with Carmen to love him again, will stay with the audience for some time.
Smoke, spotlight and shadow played a major part in creating a thick atmosphere, and the chamber orchestra was superbly led by Gareth Hancock.
La tragedie de Carmen runs, alongside Rusalka, until Saturday, October 18.
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