By Taylor Breckles (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: October 22, 2014
Georges Bizet’s Carmen, called “the world’s sexiest opera” by the Vancouver Opera, played at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre early October.
A play filled with erotic passion, dance, and murder, Carmen definitely delivered!
I was a bit worried when I saw that there were two intermissions and a pause, I’ll admit. Trying to sit still for three hours, trying to not disturb the people behind you is a task, but sitting for potentially five hours is one big “nope.” Luckily, these breaks came every hour or so, which provided perfect timing to stretch when your limbs start to fall asleep.
Comfort throughout the performance, check.
The singers themselves were also good. From what I’ve found in other operas, there is always one singer that I find hard to stand. Either their tune hurts my ears, their voice doesn’t match the rest of the cast, or they just don’t sound particularly pleasant. However, there weren’t any mismatched voices in Carmen.The actress who played Carmen, Ginger Costa-Jackson, actually had an unusually deep voice for an opera singer, which was both surprising and pleasant. Carmen’s quite the seductive lady, so her deeper voice paired really well with her sexy dancing. At times, the other actors resembled stripper poles, it was that seductive.That being said, when it came time to do some flamenco dancing, she wasn’t the best.
The plot was really fun as well. Like a typical opera, the main characters fall in love for no apparent reason, jealousy ensues, and murder is the result. That being said, there were some nice twists in the show as well, although I won’t spoil those intriguing tidbits.
All-in-all, Carmen was a wonderful performance.
