Review: CARMEN Sizzles with Akhmetshina Heading Stellar Cast at the Met

From her first appearance on stage, it was clear that mezzo Aigul Akhmetshina was no flash in the pan when she gave us a scorching Carmen when this production of the Bizet-Meilhac/Ludovic opera was new just two years ago. The program describes the title character as “a force of nature” and that’s certainly what we got at the Met, in such arias as the Habanera (“L’amour est un oiseau rebelle”), the Seguidilla (“Pres des ramparts de Seville”) or in the opera’s Finale with Don Jose.

Oh, we’ve seen the singer since then, but there’s no comparing the great comic rhythms of her Rosina in Rossini’s BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA with the kind of take-no-prisoners portrayal and earthy singing that brings Bizet’s factory worker/all-around ‘bad girl’ to life. This was a star performance. Period.

I wonder what she’d be like in a more traditional production: this version is not by any means what we expect from the usual repertoire CARMEN. (She no longer works in a cigarette factory, e.g., but for a munitions manufacturer.) But Akhmetshina’s done at least a half dozen stagings, in various styles, in other parts of the world, to similar approval and it’s become her calling card role.

This take was envisioned by Carrie Cracknell in her 2023-24 Met debut and, frankly, I found it a pretty uninspiring then. (The credits for the original production were sets by Michael Levine, lighting by Guy Honare, sets and projections by rocafilm/Roland Horvath and costumes by Tom Scutt. None were given for the revised revival.)

Surprisingly, it seemed better this time around, though I think some of the improvements might have come from the restaging by Melanie Bacaling. Whatever the reason, the current revival was highly enjoyable, well sung and acted.

Tenor Michael Fabiano, as the soldier Don Jose, was a fine foil for Carmen to play off and, in many ways, his characterization made more sense for the role than it often does. He doesn’t immediately go crazy for her (though who among us hasn’t done that!) but eases into his infatuation.

This interpretation also works well with his interactions with Micaela, soprano Janai Brugger, the young woman who arrives unexpectedly from “My town. My home…,” who has come bearing a letter for him from his mother, though this “momma’s boy” persona makes him less appealing to Carmen, who would prefer “a man’s man.”

By the time Carmen makes it clear that she’s had enough of him and is ready to move on, his amour fou (mad love) is in full bloom and the loss of control over his emotions makes sense. His singing in the great aria usually called “The Flower Song” (“La fleur que tu m’avais jetee”) was thoroughly appealing, as it was elsewhere.

One of the changes in this version is that there’s no bullfighting motif, leaving this opera’s famous “Toreador Song” (“Votre toast…je peux vous le rendre”) somewhat at bay. No matter. Instead, the setting becomes a rodeo, and the star a rodeo performer, here bass-baritone Christian Van Horn.

His entrance—now with motorcycle rather than the red sportscar in Cracknell’s original—offers a challenge to the singer, who has no time to warm up and was short some low notes. (This was not an issue in I PURITANI, where he also had a major part.) By the time he reappeared in the last act, his singing was back to its usual suavity and it was easy to see and hear his appeal for Carmen.

The last of the principals was the previously mentioned Micaela, arriving with rolling suitcase, who soprano Brugger played with full voice and great warmth toward Jose. (But even she seemed to be losing patience with his lack of action as she practically throws herself at him.) She did a fine turn on her aria “Je dis que rien ne m’epouvante,” as she did in her duet with Jose ("Parle-moi de ma mere").

Two more, though smaller, roles must be mentioned: Carmen’s BFFs, mezzo Briana Hunter as Mercedes and soprano Susanna Burgess as Frasquita, who were indispensable, notably in the Act II quintet as the smuggling plans gel, “Nous avons en tete une affaire.”

The Met Chorus, under Tilman Michael, was in its usual fine form.

Conductor Pier Giorgio Morandi’s performance in the pit started out quite disconcertingly, however, with the overture taken at such a breakneck speed it was puzzling to listen to and put the orchestra at a disadvantage—an unlikely position for this flexible ensemble to be in, though he did recover later in the performance and was better serving the needs of the singers.

Caption: Tenor Michael Fabiano and, as Carmen, mezzo Aigul Akhmetshina.

Credit: Evan Zimmermann/Met Opera

CARMEN will be on stage at the Met through January 23, including the Saturday Matinee Broadcast tomorrow, January 17. See the Met’s website for details and information about tickets for the remaining performances.