Now and then his singing seemed slightly effortful, but his insightful interpretation and passionate delivery more than compensated. Portraying Don José at the Met for the first time, the tenor Marcelo Álvarez was robust and ardent.
In the Zeffirelli staging principal performers are called on to convey turbulent inner passions against a backdrop of Disneyesque constructions, while competing with milling crowds, cavorting children, flamenco dancers and a mobile menagerie of horses, donkeys and dogs. One of Bizet’s goals was to inject dramatic depth into the frothy entertainment of the opéra-comique genre. There is an element of truth in this opposition. The Metropolitan Opera’s current production of “Carmen,” which was revived on Monday night, offers another kind of tension: between the essential actions of the story, mostly intimate and frequently disturbing, and the gaily bustling pageantry of Franco Zeffirelli’s 1996 staging. On the other, its main characters are at an increasing simmer that breaks into a full boil by the end. On the one hand, Bizet’s miraculous score offers a parade of seemingly effortless, showstopping arias and ensembles.
Tension is the central characteristic of any production of Bizet’s “Carmen,” because it is the central characteristic of the work itself.
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