United States Bizet, Carmen: Soloists, Chorus, Children’s Chorus and Orchestra of San Francisco Opera / Benjamin Manis (conductor). War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, 13.11.2024. (HS)
Carmen is the fourth most-performed opera in San Francisco Opera’s 102 years, exceeded only by the Puccini trifecta of La bohème, Madama Butterfly and Tosca. Truth to tell, in my 40-plus years attending the company’s performances, on the ten occasions that the company mounted it this popular piece often seemed routine rather than exceptional. Against that history, the current offering was, well, par for the course.
The brightest aspect of the opening performance was the thrilling singing and passionate stage presence of Chilean-American tenor Jonathan Tetelman. In his first time singing this iconic role, he commanded all vocal aspects. He delivered moment after moment of shaded phrasing, musically appropriate control of volume and tone, attention to the words and, yes, powerful climaxes.
One especially fine moment came in the final measures of the ‘Flower Song’, where he rose to a gloriously rich top note before deftly shading it back into a subtle pianissimo, letting the sound diminuendo gradually. The audience held its breath, awaiting the final ‘je t’aime’. He lavished the same care on every scene, down to a perfectly shaped final phrase as the curtain fell at the end.
The chorus sang lustily and was a big asset. So was the children’s chorus, which got things off to a crisp start with its cheeky tune at the changing of the guard in old Seville. Francesca Zambello’s production, first seen in 2008 at Royal Opera Covent Garden and repeating here from its 2019 revival, populates the big, busy scenes with plenty of color and frames the tangle of love and lust among the principal characters with gaudy flair. It does not reach for innovation, but this performance staged one of most vital dance numbers I have seen in the Lillas Pastia’s tavern scene. Credit choreographer Anna Maria Bruzzese and a troupe that invested the dance with a bracing dose of Flamenco flavor.
Alas, the rest of the principals did not show as much vigor and savvy as the tenor did. French mezzo-soprano Eve-Maud Hubeaux never came close to delivering the sultry magnetism the title role demands, neither vocally nor dramatically. London-born soprano Louise Adler sang louder than most Micaëlas. She looked convincing as a fresh country lass, but the weight of her voice did not fit the character well. Both singers, regulars in German-speaking Europe, were making their U.S. opera debuts.
American bass-baritone Christian Van Horn, a familiar presence with this company, swaggered zestily as the matador Escamillo, who upends the ill-fated Don José/Carmen love affair at the center of the dramatic arc. Van Horn gave the well-known ‘Toreador Song’ a full-throated and dashing ride astride a magnificent white Gypsy Vanner horse.
Some of the best singing came from the quartet of smugglers who added color to the tavern scene and mountain camp scene. Soprano Arianna Rodriguez (as Frasquita) and mezzo-soprano Nikola Prinz (as Mercédès), both current Adler Fellows in the company’s Young Professionals program, sounded great individually and spun gold in their ensemble singing. Tenors Alex Boyer (Remendado) and Christopher Oglesby (Dancaire) completed the ensemble numbers with distinct presences. Baritones James McCarthy (as Zuniga) and Samuel Kidd (as Moralès) held their own too.
Conductor Benjamin Manis, who has been associated with Houston Grand Opera and Utah Symphony, favored tempos that were slightly slower than usual and sometimes let balances within the orchestra go astray, but he kept out of the way of the vocalists and never let things drag.
Harvey Steiman
Production:
Director – Francesca Zambello
Choreographer, Associate Director – Anna Maria Bruzzese
Production designer – Tanya McCallin
Original lighting – Paule Constable
Revival lighting – Justin A. Partier
Fight director – Dave Maier
Chorus director – John Keene
Cast:
Carmen – Eve-Maud Hubeaux
Don José – Jonathan Tetelman
Micaëla – Louise Alder
Escamillo – Christian Van Horn
Zuniga – James McCarthy
Moralès – Samuel Kidd
Frasquita – Arianna Rodriguez
Mercédès – Nikola Printz
Dancaire – Christopher Oglesby
Remendado – Alex Boyer