Renee Fleming again hosted Met’s LIVE broadcast, Carmen with Elena Garanca and Roberto Alagna. What is it about loving somebody with a gypsy heart that brings each to their knees? That is, when they are not dancing the Sequidilla on table tops. Slideshow below. Encore broadcast February 3.
Renee Fleming again emerged as the host of the Metropolitan Opera’s LIVE HD broadcast worldwide at Carmen Saturday, with Elena Garanca and Roberto Alagna as Carmen and Don Jose respectively. Alagna has made the role his own although he is a Frenchman to begin with.
Renee wore an electric blue shirt with an open collar, no necklace, turquoise and large pearl drop earrings, simple black skirt and big rings. She described Carmen’s bold sensuality and as a brazen heroine.
Blond Elena Garanca of Latvia debuted in the role wearing long black curls after performing Cinderella or La Cenerentola in 2009, also simulcast worldwide.
La Cenerentola sings pardon my family, let kindness prevail
La Cenerentola (Cinderella) with Elina Garanca broadcast live by Met May 9: Slaves to love
Note the encore of Rosenkavalier with Renee Fleming and Susan Graham plays Wednesday evening, January 27.
Met's Der Rosenkavalier with Fleming, Graham and Sigmundsson
Dancing the seguidilla in the pit
With that it was “maestro to the pit”, a phrase that always sends chills up my spine. The young man exuded energy and the magnetism of a magician, virtually spiriting the music out of the seasoned musicians. To mix my metaphors, he seemed so sensual in his spell casting gestures and eyes in a trance that he seemed to massage the notes out of the pit at times. He practically danced the seguidilla on his podium. Nick McGegan would have been proud.
It would be a physical performance with the camera enhancing the lurid and lascivious gypsy gestures. The camera caught her lolling her tongue in defiance and torment when captured, glaring and licking the back of her own hand like a panther as she was taken away.
He’s just a corporal, not a captain, but he’s enough
Yet she would not be above seducing a lesser more God fearing man in a uniform. Carmen sings pointedly, this certain soldier is not of high standing; Really his rank is quite low. To tell you the truth he’s a corporal. But why would I be demanding? I’ll be happy with him, I know. Basically the subtitles read, he’s just a corporal not a captain but he’s enough.
We see her ankle bracelet and her bare tanned gypsy foot. The soldiers chase her through this fantastic revolving set which reveals her hiding on the outside facing the audience as the soldiers seem to get turned around inside the set piece, in the back, on the outside. We see the crew set up the tavern between acts, putting up little round café tables with shot glasses.
Elena dances a number to compete with the dance of the seven veils, yet the sarong around her gypsy hips becomes a bullfighter’s cape in her hands, which she spins and wields deftly. Eventually she would command with contempt at her conquered beast, “get out soldier boy”.
Blood brothers
The HD cameras shot a wide scene in a weird blue blurred background with the principles looking three dimensional out front. The camera also caught the blood-brother knife close up. The theater audience got to see the blood squirt out of the palms of the blood brothers, it was sensational if not enough to make one queasy. Even Roberto seemed proud of this in the way little boys like bugs and dirt. He emerged backstage for the intermission and Renee immediately asked him about such a physically intense Carmen, to which Roberto replied with breathless enthusiasm, “lots of blood, see?”
Some productions want more sex, more freedom, says Elena in the same breathless and elated tone, speaking excitedly like the Frenchman. They seemed exuberant together. She’s like a tennis ball, says Elena. Changes all the time. You can never grab her.
Gypsy hearts on fire: The Habanera mantra
Renee remarks that is Carmen’s mantra.
Even the chorus sings, love is free as the wayward breeze, etc. L’amour est un oiseau rebelle. Isn't that the truth though? One magical evening it's just you and him falling in love, having the best time you have had in a long time . . . then before you know it Match.com sends you his profile and he's looking for younger women and wants to have children and she has to be making over a hundred grand a year.
Habanera. It’s a song which bears reciting.
Love is free as the wayward breeze. It can be shy, it can be bold.
Love can fascinate, love can tease. It’s whims and moods are a thousandfold.
All at once it arrives and lingers. For just how long can’t be foretold.
Then deftly slips through your fingers, for love’s a thing no force can hold.
That’s love for you, that’s love for you.
. . . . she goes on: Wait for love and you wait forever, don’t wait at all, it comes to you.
Try to grasp it, it’s far too clever. It flies away into the blue.
Love has so many forms and shapes, each day it wears a new disguise.
Think you’ve caught it and it escapes, to catch you later by surprise.
A persuasive couple: Garanca and Alagna backstage
Renee asks Alagna, who has made the role of Don Jose his own, how do you bring new things to this role? A lot of temperament, he says. He also says he has new experiences in his life continually so he brings that to the stage. Renee asked him if some chemistry between Elena and himself developed in London. We know each other very well, he said. Elena though said you can create chemistry up to a point . . . and Renee finished Elena’s sentence: but then it has to be real.
Renee ran through the roster of divas who played Carmen in bygone eras, including recent Kennedy Center Award winner Grace Bumbry, who also performed in San Francisco as Carmen. Big shoes. Inspiring or daunting? Elena said Elena is of a different generation so she brings something different.
Renee asked about the dancing. Christopher Wheeldon is patient, Elena said. Carmen is flexible. Renee remarked on how the chorus carries Elena in their hands, over their heads.
In closing Roberto said he wanted to say hello to all the French in the audience, without waiting for Renee to invite him to. Elena chimed in with a greeting in Latvian.
Maestro Yannick Nezet-Seguin
Renee presented the young maestro next. Yannick Nezet-Seguin. Looks like you are having fun. He said he wanted to preserve the French spirit, intimate, but at the same time project it. Renee asked him how does he earn the respect of seasoned musicians with his youthful exuberance? Sincerity, he answered. Love and passion. Renee added he seems so prepared and even knows the words. He also said Elena and Roberto are a persuasive couple. Renee said incredibly believable. Yannick said Elena and Roberto wanted to go back to the score, a conductor loves that. The orchestra too wanted to go back to the score, purity. He said his role is to also guide the director as to what is best for the singers.
The Met put on a preview of the next and final three LIVE broadcasts for the season, Simon Boccanegra with Placido Domingo, Hamlet with Natalie Dessay, Armida with Renee Fleming. Walking to the lobby an elderly woman asked an elderly man as she patted him on the back affectionately, Have you ever seen anything so sexy in all your life. Laughter followed.
The sound needed to come up on Renee’s microphone as the camera switched from the interviews to a full shot of Renee speaking. The audience responded immediately with a groan, “auggghhhh” but stopped as soon as the sound picked up in a second. Perhaps the audience is a little apprehensive.
This interview though had no laughter every time Renee spoke as during her Aida interviews.
I went to the lobby for my free refill of Starbucks Verona with two packets of honey. I haven’t switched yet to the nonfat milk from cream.
Barbara Frittoli and Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Micaela and Escamillo
Renee returned with Barbara Frittoli and Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Teddy filling in for an ailing Mariusz Kwiecien. Teddy learned at ten a.m. that he would be singing Escamillo. He got the phone call as he finished breakfast, he said in his New Zealand accent, a tall, lean, blond young man with fair skin. He has a tattoo, one can see it under his arm. I thought it was just to say “where will you be, the green room?”
Renee said good thing you found out in the morning so you got a good night’s sleep. Renee always interjects an anecdote of her own, saying this time she made her Met debut by such a call.
Barbara Frittoli, who sings Micaela, talked of how one must be scared to be brave.
This is the first time she didn’t have to fight for her Micaela, she said, regarding the director Richard Eyre. Richard Eyre directs films and theater, including Notes on a Scandal with Judy Dench.
Teddy said the key to his role is
don’t overplay.
Everybody around the torredor makes the torredor. They make you adored. Don’t play him sexy, it’s there. It was also his instruction.
Barbara mentioned how she is not young anymore but returning to the Met stage, she remembers her first feelings and feel young.
Renee asked Teddy about his unusual way into opera. He was a 31 year old accountant.
Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon
Christopher Wheeldon, formerly of the New York City Ballet, spoke of the difference between ballet and opera, with his English accent. Dancers have to tell the story in Carmen. Pure dance in the abstract doesn’t have those restrictions. The two dancers warmed up behind him, the ones who represent aspects of Carmen and Don Jose, fate and true love. Dramatic sturn und drang says Christopher. It’s Maria and Martin of the New York and London ballets, respectively, Martin performing in Dirty Dancing currently.
Christopher said Elena is self effacing and says she is not really a dancer but she is.
Renee again with an anecdote as she relates or elaborates. I had ten years of dance as a child and it lets me walk a little (laughter in the theater).
Christopher goes on to say he learned the language of Flamenco from his sister. It’s not a pastiche but it fits into opera when combined with his choreography.
He wants the gypsy dance persuasive so he worked with the maestro. All of a sudden one could hear a hush at the Met and Renee lowered her voice to a whisper and announced the Smugglers’ Lair and cards foretelling of darkness.
The darkness would come in a stunning climax in Act Four, with a dead bull looking stunned with it’s glassy eyes wide at the same time Carmen expires in Don Jose’s arms, he pushing his ring back on her dead finger. Indeed, over her dead body.
The red slashed so boldly in her dress fabric also made up the backdrop during the pas de deux depicting Carmen and Don Jose's love story. You see the red slash played out in the palms of the hands during the blood brother ritual between the gypsies and Don Jose as well.
Applause
The applause went on and on in the San Francisco theater, just as at the opera house. The audience applauded each performer during the bows. The woman behind me remarked on Barbara Frittoli, “I liked her, I thought she played it well.” Then Alagna bowed, “I loved him” she went on.
Exiting the theater another woman remarked on the long running time and how it went just like that, and snapped her fingers. Three and a half hours? It was about 1:30 after starting at ten. Gary Halvorson directed the production live for the theater. No glitches. None of that nauseating camera in the pit aimed up the nostrils of each principle taking a bow. No aerial shots. Some delicious close ups, especially on Elena where the gypsy determination on her spectacular face shows twenty or thirty feet high. You could see the handcuff mishap when one cuff stayed locked and Don Jose couldn’t cuff Carmen’s other hand. Alagna gallantly tries to work it into the scene but it stays stuck and he just ropes her to the gate.
It’s a shame, though, she’s such a wildcat.
For she has spirit and wit!
But we must tame her just a bit.
Tie her hands behind her back!
To buy tickets: Met broadcast tickets.
Theaters around San Francisco.
Simon Boccanegra, Saturday, February 6
Hamlet, Saturday, March 27
Armida, Saturday, May first
If you have a gypsy heart or want to put somebody under your spell, Teatro ZinZanni in San Francisco still presents “Under the Gypsy Moon” through January: "Under the Gypsy Moon" steals your heart and feeds your soul: Love, chaos and dinner.
For more on world class choreography appearing in theater or opera, The Tosca Project at A.C.T.
Hearts on Fire with the Mexican Elvis, El Vez and disco diva Thelma Houston starts February
La Cenerentola (Cinderella) with Elina Garanca broadcast live by Met May 9: Slaves to love
Met's LIVE broadcast of Verdi's Aida: Captain loves a slave
Dessay and Juan Diego LIVE awaken love in La Sonnambula
Juan Diego Florez to sing La Fille du Regiment at SFO; wins Best DVD
Natalie Dessay's CD and Jeremy Galyon's debut, believing in the fairy tale
Natalie Dessay CD Part One, ladies do we still want the fairy tale?
Met LIVE HD broadcasts enlivened by backstage interviews, Renee Fleming
Anna Netrebko's "Souvenirs" of restless hearts (duet with Garanca from Hoffman)
Anna Netrebko sings Violetta in June's La Traviata
SF opera examiner starting theater column with Teatro ZinZanni, Cirque du Soleil
Music therapy for children in hospitals via iPods from AIDAAN.org
Met's LIVE broadcast of La Cenerentola with Garanca: Pardon my family
Met's live broadcast of new "Tales of Hoffman" with Netrebko, encore January 6
PBO conquers "Handel's Wicked Queen, Athalia"
Cirque du Soleil's "Ovo" lovebugs
Puccini's "Turandot" live in HD with host Patricia Racette
The Audtion broadcast from the Met
SF theater column at: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-30274-SF-Theater-Examiner
Cirque du Soleil's "Ovo" evokes color, tenacity and audacity of Brazil with Olympian performances
Cirque du Soleil's "Ovo" promises world of biodiversity, color and ladybug love
Getting butterflies at Cirque du Soleil's "Ovo": backstage interviews with Spider Woman and Ladybug
Comments