July 29, 2003: Carmen in Verona

2003-07-29 Carmen (G. Bizet), Arena di Verona

Carmen = Marina Domashenko
Micaela = Hei-Kyung Hong
Frasquita = Cristina Pastorello
Mercedes = Milena Josipovic
Don José = José Cura
Escamillo = Samuel Ramey
Dancairo = Marco Camastra
Remendado = Antonio Feltracco
Zuniga = Dario Benini
Morales = Roberto Accurso

Alain Lombard, conductor

Arena di Verona
29 July 2003 - 21.15

Carmen


Dramma lirico in 4 acts by Georges Bizet
Libretto by Ludovic Halevy - Henry Meilhac


PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR Alain Lombard


DIRECTOR Franco Zeffirelli
Assistant Director Marco Gandini


SCENOGRAPHER Franco Zeffirelli
COSTUME DESIGNER Anna Anni
CHOREOGRAPHER El Camborio
Assistant Choreographer Lucia Real


CHOIR MASTER Marco Faelli
Director of the Corps de Ballet Maria Grazia Garofoli
Light Designer Paolo Mazzon
Director of stage design Giuseppe De Filippi Venezia


...
Visiting lead dancers Lucia Real - Belen Lopez - Jose' Triguero - Joaquin Mulero
JCuraPhotos
2003-07-29 Carmen (G. Bizet), Arena di Verona

Carmen = Marina Domashenko
Micaela = Hei-Kyung Hong
Frasquita = Cristina Pastorello
Mercedes = Milena Josipovic
Don José = José Cura
Escamillo = Samuel Ramey
Dancairo = Marco Camastra
Remendado = Antonio Feltracco
Zuniga = Dario Benini
Morales = Roberto Accurso

Alain Lombard, conductor
José Cura on horseback in the arena, twice. First alone on the horse, leading the garde montante, then with Carmen on a horse in the mountains. Photo. We even saw donkeys and carriages onstage. Dancing almost all the time on both wings of the performance, except in the last duet, when José kills Carmen.

Recitative version. I have heard this before, but it was really dull recitatives in Verona. José Cura is a wonderful Don José, Hei-Kyung Hong is great as Micaela, Samuel Ramey as Escamillo sounds like he is at the end of the road (painful to hear SR sing, great man, Ramey). The Carmen is really enjoyable when she sings, but when she talks... it is not beautiful, nor seductive, just irritating. And when Marina Domashenko came out after Carmen, she just went straight through the crowd, talk to a friend/fan, and off she went, maybe somebody would have wanted her autograph, or to take a photo. José Cura, on the other hand, was really tired, but was backstage a long,long time, it was, I think almost 02.30 when he left. He was tired, hungry, and a real gentleman.

The 4th act started with A dos cuartos, and then it was a shout "Gitana!" and at the music of the Entr'acte music to usually starts the 4th act, was great Spanish dancing (sevillana or flamenco like).

An absolutely thrilling "C'est toi? C'est moi!" And a lot of applause. Marina Domashenko who had really danced and used the castagnettes in the 2nd act of "Je vais danser en votre honneur" also danced on the at the end, with the Spanish dancers enjoying it, like "Olé!" and José Cura danced, too. It was just simply a really fantastic Carmen.

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