The house is sold out this evening for the revival of Andreas Homoki’s production, which plays with a mise en abyme of theatrical representation.
A living, breathing performance, driven by numerous curtain drops, to the point where reality and performance begin to blur.
Few artists today can fill a hall on the strength of their name alone. Elīna Garanča as Carmen is obviously one of them.
Domingo Hindoyan conducts the Zurich Orchestra with great dynamism, bringing remarkable vitality to the score without neglecting its dramatic weight.
The local chorus is also in excellent form, delivering high-quality French. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of a few of the soloists, a small blemish on an otherwise strong evening.
The male supporting roles offer fine performances: Johan Krogius as Remendado and Grégory Feldman as Dancaïre form a convincing duo.
Guram Margvelashvili’s Moralès is authoritative, as is Stanislav Vorobyov’s Zuniga.
On the female side, special mention should be made of Yewon Han’s fine Fraquita, whose French was very good, and of Mercedes, attractively sung by Siena Licht Miller.
In her role debut as Micaëla, Olga Peretyatko succeeds in moving us. Her two major arias are well judged, never excessive. One might hope for improvement in pronunciation, but this is a convincing beginning.
Ildebrando d’Arcangelo portrays a highly charismatic Escamillo. The Toreador Song is delivered effortlessly, and his scenes with Carmen establish him as a true rival to Don José.
Stanislas de Barbeyrac is a tormented Don José, whose gradual descent into murderous madness we follow closely. His acting allows the character to fully unfold. Vocally, the French tenor’s voice has gained density and expands progressively through the acts, culminating in a superb finale. There is no doubt that this role will continue to mature, but it is already among the very best interpretations of the part today.
Finally, Elīna Garanča dazzles in a role whose every facet she seems to master completely. Total sensuality is combined with an infinite palette of nuances. The voice remains as rich as ever, and the lower register is of absolute beauty. It is a marvel of interpretation.
This is therefore an excellent performance with a strong cast, elevated to the heights by one of the greatest Carmens of our century.
Musical Director:Domingo Hindoyan
Production:Andreas Homoki
Production:Arturo GamaSet
Design:Paul Zoller
Costumes:Gideon Davey
Lighting Design:Franck Evin
Chorus Master:Klaas-Jan de Groot
Dramaturgy:Kathrin Brunner
Carmen: Elīna Garanča
Micaëla: Olga Peretyatko
Mercédès: Siena Licht Miller
Frasquita: Yewon Han
Don José: Stanislas de Barbeyrac
Escamillo: Ildebrando d’Arcangelo
Le Remendado: Johan Krogius
Le Dancaïre: Gregory Feldmann
Moralès: Guram Margvelashvili
Zuniga: Stanislav Vorobyov
Orchester der Oper Zürich
Chor der Oper Zürich
KinderchorSoprAlti der Oper Zürich
Statistenverein am Opernhaus Zürich
