Carmen

Bizet's ever-popular warhorse about the tragic romance between the titular gypsy seductress and besotted soldier Don José has largely escaped Eurotrash revisionism, but Calixto Bieito's 2010 production at Barcelona's Gran Teatro del Liceu rectifies that omission, updating the piece to what appears to be the last years of Franco's rule in the early 1970s (although among the items the smugglers carry are microwave ovens and flat-screen TVs), opting for starkly minimalist sets—except for banged-up cars that are frequently driven or dragged onto the stage. Bieito also freely ignores the text, as when the children's chorus accompanying Don José's squad in the first scene is changed into a group of female beggars, turning what they actually sing into utter nonsense (the civilian crowd is also replaced with soldiers engaged in military exercises). Still, even despite these arbitrary alterations, the performance itself boasts musical merit: Roberto Alagna is a virile Don José with a ringing tone, and even though Béatrice Uria-Monzon is a bit matronly for Carmen, her vocalism remains strong, and both leads literally throw themselves into the suggestive poses Bieito demands of them. Marina Poplavskaya is too sophisticated for Micaëla, and Erwin Schrott displays fine swagger but a wobbly voice as the bullfighter Escamillo, though Marc Piollet secures firm, sensitive playing from the orchestra. Presented in DTS 5.1 (DTS-HD 5.1 on the Blu-ray release) and PCM stereo, this Carmen is worth watching once, but a more traditional staging—such as the 2002 Glyndebourne production reviewed in VL-7/03—is preferable. An optional purchase. (F. Swietek)