This is not to say that the audience lost the sultriness of Carmen. Kanen Breen and Luke Gabbedy’s spivvy smugglers were oily delights, well matched dramatically by Jane Ede’s purple-beehived Frasquita and Margaret Trubiano’s fur-coat-no-knickers Mercédès. His warm characterisation is more sympathetic than many Josés, playing more of the emotional introvert than the suppressed psychopath. Opera on Sydney Harbour: Carmen opera sydney harbour - See 73 traveler reviews, 44 candid photos, and great deals for Sydney, Australia, at Tripadvisor. A committed actor, he’s hampered by being dressed like an Edwardian dandy and he’s short on the vocal or physical stature to fully convince as a red-hot lover. Until August 12 ★★★★½ . In this he’s ably abetted by Michael Scott-Mitchell’s monumental plaza, all sun-soaked burnished stone and crumbling balconies, where every detail reeks of stylish decay and every window blind is missing at least a couple of slats. Congratulations must be given to the energetic gymnastics and urban popping and locking of the Opera Australia’s Children’s Chorus who played a gang of young hoodlums. Elsewhere, Carmen and José’s wedding complete with selfies is a nice nod to Mérimée, while the focus on Zuniga as the hapless military head honcho gives the first half a clear dramatic focus.One interesting directorial choice is the prominence given to Kelley Abbey’s excellent choreography. Although that gives him access to mod cons like Michaëla’s carry-on hand luggage and plenty of cell phones, the retro atmosphere of a city like Havana means he can offer sops to the ‘modern staging averse’ with plenty of nods to timeless fashion and furnishings. It appears Sydney cannot get enough of Georges Bizet’s Carmen. The act three quintet is also excellent, thanks to fine physical turns from the smugglers and their molls.Making her Opera Australia debut, French mezzo Margaine is a rising star who brings the perfect combination of musicality and physical voluptuousness to the central role of I’d describe Yonghoon Lee’s Don José as a work in progress. The Welsh superstar demonstrates both artistry and a sense of play in latest Australian outing.Save 50% on a digital subscription and get full access to our paywalled content and digital magazines.Read our writers’ selections of highlights and critical insights in the project supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.Get the latest round-up of arts, culture, news and reviews delivered to your inbox every Saturday.Enter to win tickets to the latest productions around Australia and films on the big screen.A number of organisations provide support for musicians, artists and arts workers. The Aystralian Opera and Australian Ballet version of Carmen was enchanting, delightful, and entertaining. Marvellous orchestra and people to match. In director John Bell's Carmen, Cuba is the … Opera Australia’s production of Carmen © Keith Saunders Bell’s steamy plaza provides a convincing location for a grubby world of crooks, pimps and whores who mingle and with the local military presence – a lazy, semi-dodgy soldiery that prefers to loll around on steps and only stands if it absolutely has to. ★★★★☆ John Bell’s ‘Cuban’ take on Bizet offers a lot to sing and dance about.As in many of his successful Shakespeare stagings, Bell has opted for a contemporary setting, in this case a country something like (but not exactly) Cuba.
Pavone looked noticeably pleased with her execution; it took her a few moments to come out of the trance-like state that she had fallen into. Perhaps Badea could have been more attuned to the singers’ needs for pause between various phrases during the arias in order to provide the necessary lingering Spanish rubato. There’s a strong feel of musical theatre here in the regular recourse to dance, and if professional dancers put alongside an opera chorus doesn’t always feel fully integrated, in other places it injects a great sense of fun. Well worth a look for all sorts of reasons, not least of which are Clémentine Margaine and Bell’s insightful direction.In his final column, Clive Paget recommends Glass at the Met, OA's Turandot, and a handful of European gems.Clive Paget recommends an Australian Butterfly, a resurrected Austrian miracle and six of the best from Belgium.For week two, Clive Paget travels from his living room to New York, London, Berlin and back to Oz.How the Belle Époque saw Bizet’s free-spirited heroine.Despite a lack of success in his own lifetime, notably with Carmen, Bizet soon became hailed as an operatic master, as George Hall explains.Impressive singing, but the storytelling leaves something to be desired.Growing up, the Armenian-Australian soprano wanted to be the next Celine Dion. It must be said that this performance was the first in the opera where the singer truly immersed themselves in the plight of the character.