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Carmen (Kirstin Chávez) rejects the love of Don José (Adam Diegel).

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October 27, 2016 There are good reasons why Georges Bizet's Carmen (1875) is a perennial favorite of opera audiences everywhere: It has a wealth of colorful music, the gypsy Carmen is one of opera's most fascinating, complex characters and the plot line is unfailingly interesting. Opera San Antonio opened its new season Oct. 27 in the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts with a production of the piece that was generally entertaining and well-received, but this observer found it oddly disjointed – very good in most places but in others, not so much. Sung in French with English supertitles, this version includes a portion of  the spoken dialogue that was often used in works presented at the Parisian Opéra Comique. Set in Seville, the story deals with a seductive gypsy who lures a young officer, away from his regiment to join a group of smugglers, only to drop him for a dashing toreador. The emotionally unbalanced young man follows her to the bullring where he begs her to return to him. When she refuses, he stabs her to death just as the crowd inside the arena cheers the victorious bullfighter. Based on costuming and props, it appeared that stage director Conor Hanratty set the action in the period between the two world wars. From the opening scene in the plaza, it was clear that his very static staging is built on tableaux, groups often all lined up and facing forward to “stand and sing.” In the plaza, for example, all soldiers were in a clump at stage right, cigarette factory girls were bunched in the center and civilians and others were similarly gathered at stage left. There were additional oddities, such as characters routinely climbing onto tables or chairs to stand or make love or whatever, or ambling on stage in response to some outcry or struggle instead of rushing in. Mezzo-soprano Kirstin Chávez showed why Carmen is one of her signature roles. She is both fiery and sultry, plainly narcissistic yet she projects a sense of dignity. The voice is richly shaded, generally well controlled and agile. After portraying Pinkerton in last season's Madama Butterfly, tall, handsome tenor Adam Diegel returns as the soldier, Don José. His instrument sounded brassy and forced, and he tended to lunge at top notes (alas, not always succeeding). Dramatically, however, he was convincing as a man ruled completely by passion and emotion. Petite soprano Andrea Carroll sang radiantly as José's former sweetheart Micaëla. Her two arias are among the score's most beautiful, and she more than did them justice with her gleaming, multi-hued instrument.Bass-Baritone Ryan Speedo Green is the subject of a recently published biography about his unhappy youth in a trailer park and juvenile detention facility and the turnaround that led to his becoming a finalist in the 2011 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. As the egocentric toreador, Escamillo, he revealed a well-focused, majestically resonant voice that should serve him well when he portrays Colline in La Boheme at the Metropolitan Opera. Carmen's four cohorts, Frasquita (soprano Raquel Suarez-Groen), Mercedes (mezzo Kristen Choi), Le Remendado (tenor Daniel Curran) and La Dancaire (baritone Isaac Bray) are all capable singers who made a strong well-balanced ensemble, especially in the tricky, tongue-tangling Act II quintet. Members of the Children's Chorus of San Antonio were delightful as grubby urchins who mimic the soldiers in th first act and cheer the toreador parade in the final one. Houston-born conductor Garrett Keast and the San Antonio Symphony provided responsive, vibrantly-played accompaniment. Scenery, consisting of bleak “stone” flats, simple furniture and a curtain drop to make the Lilas Pastia tavern, was quickly and efficiently shifted by cast members. It and the costumes were originally created by Glimmerglass Festival for its 2011 production. Alan Burrett's excellent lighting design, especially the Act III smugglers' camp shadow play, was unobtrusive and competely natural.Audiences love “Carmen” for many reasons, but perhaps one of strongest is that it invariably touches the heart and inspires the imagination. (We imagined those stiff clumps of people actually moving about and interacting.) Diane Windeler The performance repeats Oct. 29 at 7:30 at the Tobin Center's HEB Performance Hall. Call 210-223-8624. 

Opera San Antonio / Carmen

No bull – love hurts

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Above: Kirstin Chávez as Carmen (center) with Kristen Choi as Mercedes (on ground) and Raquel Suarez-Groen as Frasquita (on chair). Below: Ryan Speedo Green as Escamillo. Photos by  Lynn Lane  

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