Christopher White nailed the night with an exquisite performance of the orchestra
It was a little unusual to watch Carmen at the Royal Academy of Music, where most of my operatic and musical experiences have tended toward the avant-garde, contemporary, or rarely performed repertoire. Carmen feels almost too “safe” as a box-office choice, instead of something bolder and more unconventional – just like the title character. However, that very unexpectedness is what drove me to witness this Royal Academy Opera production.
The cast showcased some of the most incredible students at the Academy. Charlotte Clapperton’s Carmen was in a way both conventional and unconventional. She’s the Carmen everyone expects to see: bold, self-possessed and with a faint vibe of gen Z feminism. The casting of Woogyeom Kim as an Asian Don José can be an apt choice as he dutifully reflected a “good boy” that inevitably turned into an intimidating man by the end. Astonishingly just in their first and second year, both showcased their vocal abilities as promising, while baritone Harrison Robb gave an uncompromising performance as Escamillo. His deep, soulful voice lingered on your mind even after the show.
Production wise, director Harry Fehr gives the production a modern touch, but I felt uncertain about some of the creative choices. While Yannis Thavoris’s minimalist design tackled the practical needs of Carmen‘s scene changes, I was perplexed by the intention of Matt Powell’s projections. They seemed to indicate multiple “what-ifs”, but these what-ifs appeared as unclear. For some projection clips, they may lead the pair to an alternative happy ending instead of its current tragic end if the pair could have been more open and franker, but some others just indicated Carmen stabbing Don José rather than vise versa. The disco movement (Victoria Newlyn) didn’t fit the music of Lillas Pastia’s tavern, and I was also not convinced by the decision of turning the final corrida into a social-media inspired press night as overtly cheeky.
What really awed me the night, far beyond my expectation, was the performance of the Royal Academy Sinfonia. Unified, precise and delicate, conductor Christopher White lavished on Bizet’s romantic antiquity with some brightness and lightness of chamber music. This worked especially well with Madeleine Perring’s Micaëla when she was singing her famous aria in the latest Act. To my surprise, she nearly stole the entire show, not as the innocent “foil” set contrast to Carmen, but as the girl with determination and resilience. Perring’s voice was mellow, gentle but firm – her voice watered your eyes with genuine emotion.