Carmen, Wiener Staatsoper, Wien 6. May 2010

Tonight it has been the second performance of the classical Franco Zeffirelli's production of Georges Bizet's "Carmen" at the Wiener Staatsoper, starring Nadia Krasteva in the title role, Massimo Giordano as Don José, Anna Netrebko as Micaela and Ildebrando d'Arcangelo as Escamillo. The conductor was Andris Nelsons.

The performance has been broadcast by ORF2 and BR-Klassik and streamed on ORF TVthek (it was announced that for legal reasons it was only available in Austria, but later on it was also available outside Austria) and on BR-Mediatek Live (where it was available since the beginning).

Carmen
Music by Georges Bizet
Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée

Wiener Staatsoper, Wien 6. May 2010

Production
Inszenierung: Franco Zeffirelli
Bühnenbild: Franco Zeffirelli
Kostüme: Leo Bei
Choreographie: Rafael de Córdoba
Chorleitung: Thomas Lang

Cast
Carmen: Nadia Krasteva
Don José: Massimo Giordano
Micaela: Anna Netrebko
Escamillo: Ildebrando d'Arcangelo
Frasquita: Anita Hartig
Mercedes: Zoryana Kushpler
Zúñiga: Alexandru Moisiuc
Morales: Adrian Eröd
Remendado: Herwig Pecoraro
Dancaire: Tae Joong Yang

Conductor: Andris Nelsons
Chor und Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper

Reviews
Herbert attended the performance live at the Wiener Staatsoper. This is an edited version of the review he wrote.

Tonight I attended Carmen at the Wiener Staatsoper, and I am afraid the press reviews were not wrong. On the whole the performance was "solid average", but thanks to Anna it had its highlights, too. But the rest of the cast was far away from her class.

Nadia Krasteva's singing and acting were "alright", but as a Carmen she seemed old-fashioned and not very convincing. When she came to the stage door I watched her for some time and listened to what she was saying to her fans (not many of them were there). She was tired and nervous because of the bad press reviews after the opening night and she really needed some comfort by people who like her. She was very nice and friendly with her fans, but I think she lacks some self-confidence. She even said that all the TV cameras tonight made her nervous. "I felt to be watched from each angle."

Massimo, too, lacked passion, and his acting was stiff and not very convincing. His singing... became better in the final scene.

And Ildebrando D'Arcangelo? Well, I have seen him doing better than tonight.

Anna, Massimo and (some time later) Ildebrando appeared at the stage door together for autographs, but when Nadia turned up, they left the room. This might be a coincidence, but it looked strange.

Let's turn to Anna. Her performance in act 1 was "short and brilliant" as ever - and when she sang her aria in act 3, she got the biggest applause of the whole evening. It was FANTASTIC, her voice was clear and shining, her acting perfect - and so she was undoubtedly THE STAR of the performance. Anna showed us what the production could have been without all these cancellations and replacements.

The setting etc. was not bad, but there was no organisation among the people on stage. As one of the reviewers wrote: Everybody played his or her part the way he or she thought it was appropriate - but this didn't create any atmosphere. No passion, no fire on stage - apart from Anna, of course.

Something funny happened, when the people were waiting for Anna at the stage door. A tall man with dark hair, a beard and a funny suit came out from the backstage area, and I thought: Who is he??? - Then, when I watched the latest video in your blog, I realized that this was the Russian pop star, with whom Anna had sung at the Wiener Stadthalle!!!!

Photos

Nadia Krasteva, Massimo Giordano, Anna Netrebko and Alexandru Moisiuc at the curtain call at the end of the first act. Photo: Herbert

Anna Netrebko at the final curtain calls. Photo: Herbert

Ildebrando d'Arcangelo and Anna Netrebko at the final curtian calls. Photo: Herbert

Andris Nelsons, Anna Netrebko and Massimo Giordano at the final curtain calls. Photo: Herbert

Anna Netrebko at the final curtain calls. Photo: Herbert

Anna Netrebko at the final curtain calls. Photo: Herbert

Anna Netrebko at the final curtain calls. Photo: Herbert

Anna Netrebko at the stage door of the Wiener Staatsoper after the performance. Photo: Herbert

Videoclips
Carmen, 1. Act: L'amour Est Un Oiseau Rebelle (Habanera) - Nadia Krasteva (Carmen) - Wiener Staatsoper, Wien 6. May 2010


Carmen, 1. Act: Duo: Parle Moi De Ma Mère - Anna Netrebko (Micaela), Massimo Giordano (Don José) - Wiener Staatsoper, Wien 6. May 2010


Carmen, 1. Act: Séguidille: Près Des Ramparts De Séville - Nadia Krasteva (Carmen), Massimo Giordano (Don José) - Wiener Staatsoper, Wien 6. May 2010


Carmen, 2. Act: Couplets Du Toréador; Votre Toast, Je Peux Vous Le Rendre - Ildebrando d'Arcangelo (Escamillo) - Wiener Staatsoper, Wien 6. May 2010


Carmen, 2. Act: Air De La Fleur: La Fleur Que Tu M'avais Jetée - Massimo Giordano (Don José) - Wiener Staatsoper, Wien 6. May 2010


Carmen, 3. Act: Prelude - Wiener Staatsoper, Wien 6. May 2010


Carmen, 3. Act: Je Dis, Que Rien Ne M'épouvante" - Anna Netrebko (Micaela) - Wiener Staatsoper, Wien 6. May 2010


Carmen, 3. Act: Final Scene - Anna Netrebko (Micaela), Massimo Giordano (Don José), Nadia Krasteva (Carmen) - Wiener Staatsoper, Wien 6. May 2010


Carmen, 4. Act: Final scene - Massimo Giordano (Don José), Nadia Krasteva (Carmen) - Wiener Staatsoper, Wien 6. May 2010


Carmen: The Making of - Wiener Staatsoper May 2010


Carmen: The Making of - Wiener Staatsoper May 2010