Carmen

Carmen

chor. Davide Bombano  (2006, 2009)

National Ballet of Canada

with Greta Hodgkinson (Carmen), Piotr Stanczyk (Don José), Jiří Jelinek (Escamillo)

on 8 June 2013 (evening)

Carmen is a standing colourful favourite of opera, perhaps less so as ballet, though still familiar. This version is much darker and almost mythic, entirely premised on passions and sex, ultimately in tragedy. A band of thieves provides at times some intense movement on stage while occasionally projections on screen distract. When Escamillo as minotaur appears he is accompanied by a surprise, and certainly amusing drag chorus of four tall guys wielding huge fans. The piece overall is highly dramatic and powerful, and to-night performed exceptionally well.