Carmen came to town reaping romantic havoc in some style.
And the alluring femme fatale Liza Kadelnik had plenty of help in her scheming from the committed cast drawn from the Chisinau National Opera.
Mezzo-soprano Kadelnik acted and sang well , with a nice touch of vibrato, and looked every inch the sexual temptress.
Alyona Kistenyova had a difficult role, a grown woman playing Micaela the maiden, not always nailing Micaela’s mixture of sexual innocence, pure love and curiosity.
The sometimes mournful singing tone of Ruslan Zinevych gave Don Jose a weak rather than attractive persona, though he excelled in the dramatic later stages.
Iurie Gisca was a convincingly strong rival physically and vocally for Carmen’s flirty affections as the bold Escamillo, while Valeriu Cojocaru captured the bluster of Zuniga, the lieutenant of Dragoons.
The musicians from the Chisinau National Opera brought out some nice detail from Bizet’s ravishing and catchy score, sympathetically supporting soloists in sensitive arias as well as putting plenty of swing into engaging dance scenes.
Scarlett was one of several rescue donkeys used in the tour in memory of producer Ellen Kent’s mother, who ran an animal rescue centre in Spain. She did not disgrace herself.
Four stars
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