Royal Opera Carmen: slicker, but still a mountain to climb

By Stephen Pritchard, 01 December 2018

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“a sort of Bob Fosse meets vaudeville style”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 30 November 2018

Bizet, Carmen

The Royal Opera

Keri-Lynn Wilson, Conductor

Barrie Kosky, Director

Katrin Lea Tag, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Gaëlle Arquez, Carmen

Brian Jagde, Don José

Alexander Vinogradov, Escamillo

Eleonora Buratto, Micaëla

Jean Teitgen, Zuniga

Dominic Sedgwick, Moralès

Haegee Lee, Frasquita

Aigul Akhmetshina, Mercédès

Germán Enrique Alcántara, Le Dancaïre

François Piolino, Le Remendado

Otto Pichler, Choreography

Royal Opera Chorus

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Richard Jones’ clunky Samson et Dalila returns to Covent Garden

Dominic Lowe, 13th May

With Aigul Akhmetshina and Seokjong Baek in the title roles, there are reasons to be optimistic, but The Royal Opera’s revival of Richard Jones’ production is a mixed bag.

***11

Peter Grimes drops anchor again at The Royal Opera

Christopher Woodley, 5th May

Allan Clayton and Sir Bryn Terfel lead a strong cast in a revival of Deborah Warner's dark staging of Britten's signature work at Covent Garden.

****1

Two funerals and a bedding at the Linbury Theatre

Eleanor Knight, 1st May

Tales of love and loss as operas by Elena Langer, Charlotte Bray and Elizabeth Maconchy form a varied triple bill in this showcase for The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Artists.

****1

The Turn of the Screw at RBO Linbury: Darkness and denial

Eleanor Knight, 26th March

Natalie Abrahami’s mesmerising new production of Britten’s ghostly tale of sexual abuse is very dark indeed.

*****

A riveting Rigoletto revival at the Royal Opera House

Dominic Lowe, 25th March

Sir Mark Elder celebrates 50 years at Covent Garden by returning to his first opera there in 1976 – Verdi's Rigoletto – in a revival of Oliver Mears' excellent 2021 production.

****1

Siegfried at the RBO: Kosky and Pappano surprise and delight

David Karlin, 17th March

A revelatory orchestral performance and a cast led by Andreas Schager, Christopher Maltman and Elisabeth Strid make this a Siegfried for the record books.

*****

More reviews...

Stephen Pritchard

Stephen Pritchard began singing as a treble at the age of eight and progressed to become a tenor in Portsmouth Cathedral Choir, the Gibbons Consort and now the English Chamber Choir. Writing about music has been at the core of his 40-year career in journalism, chiefly at the Observer. He has been known to play a pretty mean jazz double bass.