Carmen

I was watching the second episode of Yes, Prime Minister in which Bernard explains to Prime Minister, Jim Hacker, that he has not much to do; no department to run, just chairing Cabinet meetings, Prime Ministers questions, and a chat with the Queen on Tuesday evenings.

Prime Minister Jim Hacker is in his office and is extremely jet lagged, having just returned from a trip to Washington. He wished to see the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby, and Bernard shows him in. However, Hacker keeps falling asleep and Sir Humphrey leaves. When the PM snaps awake, he asks Bernard about the backlog of work that will be waiting for him now that he’s home. His Principal Private Secretary explains that there isn’t any really: as Hacker is now Prime Minister, he no longer runs a department of his own and, short of a few meetings each week, there is very little that he has to do. Hacker asks to see his Press Secretary, Malcolm Warren, about his forthcoming television broadcast but again drifts into a snooze before the meeting can take place. (Wiki)

This classic comedy was broadcast in January 1986 and things are very different now aren’t they? Well, let’s take a balanced view. Last Tuesday the Prime Minister was shopping in the menswear department at Burberry. A friend from California buying a muffler to protect him from the English winter greeted her amiably although his wife wonders if “ Hi, Prime Minister” was the correct form of address. On Friday at a matinee of Carmen at Covent Garden I sat beside the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. I did not address him.

I have quite often railed against modern opera productions here. Frankfurt Opera’s 2016 production of Carmen looks a likely candidate for the firing line. It has one set – namely a broad flight of steps, there are sixteen. However, it proved a captivating and most rewarding interpretation of Bizet’s 1875 opera. Australian director, Barrie Kosky, sought inspiration from Prosper Mérimée’s novella, Carmen, the basis for the opera. The programme explains that Carmen is “An Enigmatic Protagonist”.

Barrie Kosky’s production focuses on the personality of Carmen, exploring her enigmatic, ever-changing nature through a series of contrasting costumes and conveying her vitality through energetic dance. Rather than the usual dialogue or recitative between numbers, Carmen narrates her own story through short passages of pre-recorded spoken monologue adapted by Kosky from Meilhac, Halévy and Mérimée. This ensures that the dramatic focus – even in the opera’s final scenes – remains on her throughout. The production is unique in using musical material drafted by Bizet for the opera but not included in the opera’s premiere, particularly in the Habanera and in the final scene.

It really works and is a gripping three and a half hours, at least for those of us with seats in the centre or to the left of the stage. Kosky commits an unforgivable sin by staging three important scenes by the proscenium arch on the right hand side of the stage. Carmen is the second most performed opera in Covent Garden’s repertory. Friday’s matinee was the 563rd performance. My guess is that Le Nozze di Figaro is the most performed.