Curtain Call in Bizet’s Carmen with Daniele Rustioni, Aigul Akhmetshina, Piotr Beczała 1.16.24

“A DARING NEW PRODUCTION ... TAKES FLIGHT. ... A Carmen that felt alive.” -The Washington Post
“A magnetic Aigul Akhmetshina ... TRULY IMPRESSIVE” -The New York Times
The Met begins the New Year with a vital new production of one of opera’s most enduringly powerful works. Acclaimed English director Carrie Cracknell makes her Met debut, reinvigorating the classic story with a staging that moves the action to the modern day and finds at the heart of the drama issues that could not be more relevant today: gendered violence, abusive labor structures, and the desire to break through societal boundaries. Dazzling young mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina leads a powerhouse quartet of stars in the complex and volatile title role, alongside tenor Piotr Beczała as Carmen’s troubled lover Don José, soprano Angel Blue as the loyal Micaëla, and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen as the swaggering Escamillo. Daniele Rustioni conducts Bizet’s heart-pounding score.

[@pattyPHL]

I saw this performance last night and it was fabulous! Bravo!

[@vikkilucas8897]

Thank you so much doe posting this!

[@jamesa0330]

Thanks for posting. My fears are confirmed. Good musicianship, good singing, tacky staging with poor stagecraft. Carmen singing upstage?!?! And no class in bows. Applauding each other and talking (Escamillo). They’ve forgotten that bows are to thank the audience for coming and to allow the audience to show their appreciation… NOT a high school jamboree of chatting and applauding one another, such tacky behaviour excludes an audience and is a little nepotistic show for their own egos. The days of classy opera are gone. The reviews of this production are spot on. It’s an essay / polemic on feminism and misogyny definitely not a staging! Waste of resources. Giving such a director access to this brilliant chorus and orchestra is the equivalent of giving a beginner cyclist a Rolls Royce to drive. Result? A crash.

[@jamesa0330]

@@old.not.too.grumpy. read A Misguided Attempt to Modernize ‘Carmen’ in NYT on January 18, by Cornelia Channing. She sums it up.

[@cbungaro]

I pretty much agree with what you're saying, though the bowing these days doesn't bother me at all. Having said that, this production is completely misguided. I am a long-time opera goer and have no problem with new approaches to 19th Century operas. However, to just change the setting and staging for the sake of change and shock value--as with this production---is as ridiculous in opera as it is in film or Broadway. I have seen this production twice: once at its premiere on New Year's Eve and again last night. On NYE we were with several people who had never seen Carmen before and this production not only left them flat, but laughing as well. They WANTED to see flamenco, toreadors and a bullring. But to completely move the action to the U.S. with cowboys and rodeos instead of toreadors in Spain is not some profound re-imagining. It's just silly. The good news: the singing, which matters most, was just fantastic! Maybe keeping the action in the Spain of, say, "The Sun Also Rises" or even to modern day Spain with people protesting bull fights would have made more sense. Anyway, this opinion piece in the New York Times by a 27-year-old woman who felt insulted by the new production sums it up nicely. There's a reason there would be a revolt if the Zeffirelli "Boheme" was ever replaced by some updated version. www.nytimes.com/live/2024/01/11/opinion/briefing?searchResultPosition=1#met-carmen-modern

[@canalesworks1247]

Great mezzo, good tenor...baseball bat? Not for me.