By Lee Teply
Virginian-Pilot correspondent
©March 26, 2014
At last Friday’s opening night of the Virginia Opera’s production of “Carmen,” the mix of strong casting and high production values gave fresh life to the oft-told story.
The company set Georges Bizet’s work – about a beautiful Gypsy woman who seduces a man and proceeds to ruin his life – in the 1950s, a time when form-fitting fashion accentuated the female figure, and leather jackets added to the male macho aesthetic. The costuming is an almost insignificant break with tradition, but the set design is striking, making the notoriously shallow Harrison Opera House stage seem spacious.
It certainly helped that mezzo-soprano Ginger Costa-Jackson was a nearly ideal Carmen. One might have wished for a slightly bigger voice to strengthen her impact, but that is a very small issue in view of her highly polished musical interpretation and devastating dramatic portrayal.
The slightly dark quality of Costa-Jackson’s voice suited the dangerous Gypsy and added richness to her wonderful high notes. In ensemble situations, of which there were many, she shined through as the constant focus of nearly every scene.
Tenor Dinyar Vania was Don Jose, the upper-class military man whose fatal attraction to Carmen leads to his downfall and her death. Strong as both singer and actor, he had a particularly impressive Act 2 aria. But here and occasionally elsewhere, some of his high notes tightened and wandered a bit off pitch.
As Micaela, the sweet young maiden who might have saved him, soprano Corinne Winters had a voice to match her character’s pure spirit with radiant high notes that were like a halo protecting her in the dangerous mountaintops of Act 3.
Bass-baritone Ryan Kuster took charge in that act as the bold, fearless matador Escamillo. If his voice seemed just a bit small for the role, he made up for it with great energy and a particularly strong sense of rhythm.
“Carmen” has an unusually large number of secondary characters that, in this case, were filled by members of the Virginia Opera’s Emerging Artist program. The fine performances given by these cast members are a sign of that program’s quality.
All of the musical proceedings were well under the control of veteran conductor John DeMain, whose sense of pacing allowed the music to unfold naturally. His keen ear for orchestral color and balance drew a polished performance from the Richmond Symphony players.
An unusually large chorus, prepared by Adam Turner, sounded great with clean, balanced singing that was particularly dramatic in the cigarette brawl of Act 1 and Escamillo’s entrance in Act 2.
This production benefited enormously from the use of sets designed by David P. Gordon with backdrops that seemed to reach into the distance, giving such a feeling of depth that even the large cast did not seem cramped.
Director Tazewell Thompson’s staging was effective, if at times a bit static. But he did give the final scene, which can be hard to believe as Carmen misses chance after chance to escape, more tragic impact to go with the powerful music.
The Virginia Opera’s “Carmen” has already thrilled two sold-out houses at Norfolk’s Harrison Opera House. After another performance there tonight, the company moves to Virginia Beach’s Sandler Center for the Performing Arts for two more shows.
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if you go
What Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” presented by the Virginia Opera
When and where 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, 201 Market St., Virginia Beach.
Cost $19 to $114
More info 866-673-7282, www.vaopera.org