So…I did go to see Seattle Opera’s Carmen last night and, in general, it was good.
As usual, the chorus (including the youth chorus) was great and the overall presentation was great and all the dancing was wonderful.
Carmen was okay…a mezzo who had plenty of sound and energy, and carried herself well on stage. She was not the most graceful person for the part and her movements were a bit choppy and mechanical at times but I really have no serious complaints about her Carmen portrayal. (I do prefer the soprano, Cecilia Angell as Carmen.)
Don Jose, early on, seemed a bit weak in the voice but strengthened later on. There was one odd thing about his singing, however…when I was learning how to sing French arias, I was told that they should be sung with an Italian type of pronunciation. (Apparently, this originated as a result of Italian tenors singing the French with a certain arrogance that their way was the only correct way.) Specifically, the letter ‘R’ should be pronounced with a rolling ‘R’ rather than the pharyngeal (?) French norm, from the back of the throat. This Don Jose sang with the pharyngeal ‘R’ pronunciation…sometimes. Other times, he rolled his R’s. First, it was a distraction (and almost an offense) to hear the ‘R’s” coming from the back of his throat instead being rolled. Second, it was an even greater distraction to hear them pronounced differently from time to time. Another distraction of his was the unusual pronunciation of most vowels. They seemed to be neither French nor Italian and most were totally different than I was taught. (I should mention that, although I learned to sing a lot of the Don Jose role, I am more of a shower singer than a real performer!) All that said, although this Don Jose was not the most powerful tenor I’ve ever heard, he certainly was better than most tenors I’ve heard at Seattle Opera. I just didn’t like the pronunciations of so many things that it was a distraction and detraction from my personal enjoyment. It occurs to me that this Don Jose’s native language is probably Spanish and I noticed that many of his vowel pronunciations were to similar to Placido Domingo ‘s. Okay, one more minor complaint about Don Jose…he over-acted at times…especially in the ‘flower song’.
Escamillo was fair. His voice was the weakest of all, especially in the lower register, and it surprised me that he was even cast for the role. Craig Nim would have been a far better choice and would have probably acted the role as well or better.
Zuniga was adequate with a strong enough voice.
Micaela…was as wonderful.
Frasquita and Mercedes were perfect.
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