Carmen alla Scala '09 - III - Carmen, elle-même la Star de la soirée

(Anita Rachvelishvili, mezzo-soprano georgiano, como Carmen)

Para o The New York Times, o triunfo desta Carmen deveu-se, justamente, à protagonista, Anita Rachvelishvili! Se o equilibrio reinou, vocalmente, já no tocante à mise-en-scène...

«In a country where the prime minister may soon be facing actual criminal charges, that remark, like many of Mr. Zeffirelli’s own extravagant opera productions, was over the top, although Ms. Dante did lay it on too thick with the Roman Catholic symbolism. Religious processions and mourners roamed the stage as if having wandered in from the cathedral a block away, and a priest wearing a big, black Father Guido Sarducci hat held Mass and followed around the chaste Micaëla like a lawyer with his client. This was all interjected to drive home some already obvious point about the opera’s pitting conformity versus liberty.

But by the loopy standards of Europe, where directors seem to feel almost obliged to rewrite classic operas from scratch, Ms. Dante wasn’t particularly far out. She defended herself afterward, saying “maybe there are ideas that have not been understood, because they are not to be found in the libretto, but I have not forced things,” which was half true. Her direction didn’t undermine or contradict the score, and it often helped propel the music forward. Meanwhile the staging gave the drama an unusual, concentrated focus, a fresh gravity, in which women were notably strong figures.

Who knows? Maybe some of the complainers felt uneasy about seeing men so clearly cast as the weaker sex. Or perhaps this is just an opera that can’t ever quite live up to anyone’s expectations. It inhabits our imagination too completely by now. Even as we await the Habanera and Seguidilla, we’re wondering whether our dreams will surpass what we’re about to experience. We’re girding for disappointment. That’s Bizet’s genius, ultimately, and also an analogue to the plot itself, which is about thwarted love.

Aside from Ms. Dante, La Scala’s other big gamble was on the 25-year-old Georgian-born mezzo, Anita Rachvelishvili, in the title role. She triumphed. A product of the company’s own vocal academy, she turns out to have a big, remarkably even voice, high to low. It’s velvety and agile. She sounded totally at home as opera’s female Don Giovanni, cocky and reckless, taking her independence all the way to the grave. This wasn’t an introspective or animal Carmen exactly, but a seductive one with a natural, easy lyricism — and great hair too. Whenever Ms. Rachvelishvili tossed her long dark locks, which she did often, smitten Spanish soldiers fell onstage like dominoes.

Jonas Kaufmann was her helpless Don José. A singer of exquisite taste and complete control, he lived up to his billing. His mounting despair gave the opera its central dramatic arc. His delicacy in the “Flower Song” stuck in the throat. He was superb, heartbreaking.

Erwin Schrott, the young Uruguayan star, shone too. He showed off his dusky bass as the strutting Escamillo, a cocky counterpoint to Mr. Kaufmann’s tortured suitor. Daniel Barenboim conducted and drew glorious sounds from the Scala orchestra and later defended Ms. Dante as a groundbreaker. Clearly they had developed a theatrical rapport that came through in the music.

As for the rest, Adriana Damata made the most of her time onstage as Micaëla, and so did Michèle Losier as Fraquita and Adriana Kucerova as Mercédès.

But the evening belonged to Ms. Rachvelishvili, whom the loggionisti showered with applause and flowers, one of which bonked her in the face. Briefly flustered, she paused, brushed herself off, picked up the flower, then laughed, soaking in the adulation.

Just what a good Carmen does.»