Carmen, English National Opera review — red-hot revival with fiery singing

Now we know English National Opera’s immediate future. Sufficient funds are available for the company to present a 2023-24 season, but whether there will be performances in the following two years remains uncertain. The long-term plan is still for a new base outside London, but with a continued presence at the Coliseum.

In the meantime, the company needs all the support it can get. The second half of this season has just opened with a revival of its tried-and-trusted Carmen. Contemporary and rarer operas being staged by ENO for the first time promise a sense of adventure later on.

Calixto Bieito’s production of Carmen first graced ENO’s stage more than a decade ago and has barely aged since. Bieito expunges any hint of picture-postcard Spain and the result is a contemporary, minimalist show that works without a hitch, now that his more interventionist ideas have fallen by the wayside.

Ginger Costa-Jackson plays Carmen as a modern girl, no vamp or caricatured gypsy. Although her voice is only just big enough for this theatre, it is keen, bright and has fire in the lower notes, which she is inclined to overplay. Sean Panikkar returns to the production with the vocal challenges of Don José well sorted and builds the role to a heat of passion. ENO is lucky to have him.

Carrie-Ann Williams, making her ENO debut, rose impressively to Micaëla’s aria and Nmon Ford brought flair to his suave, smiling Escamillo. With so much dialogue cut, the conductor, Kerem Hasan, has no trouble keeping the show on the move. The last scene is red hot, as it should be.

★★★★☆

To February 24, eno.org

At the Royal Opera, a more problematical work has returned in revival. The Victorians loved Wagner’s Tannhäuser for its seemingly clear moral choice between lascivious excess and religious piety, but 21st-century attitudes, especially towards women, have moved on.

The opportunity to explore Wagner’s psychological dilemma was resisted by Tim Albery in his production from 2010. It dabbles with the idea that Venus’s domain of endless pleasure is unreal, like a performance in an opera-house, contrasted with the bombed-out wasteland of the real world outside, but otherwise offers little to look at and even less to think about.

The headline attraction is today’s must-have young Wagnerian, Lise Davidsen, in the role of Elisabeth. As in Bayreuth last summer, her mighty voice has taken on some shrillness at maximum volume, but at anything less than blazingly loud she sang with beauty and dignity.

Even better was Gerald Finley’s Wolfram, exceptionally eloquent in his blend of words and music, a class act. Ekaterina Gubanova was an effective, but not voluptuous-sounding Venus and Mika Kares a fine Landgrave. Stefan Vinke, the advertised Tannhäuser, pleaded illness and acted the role, while Norbert Ernst sang from the side of the stage, never an ideal solution. The much-bolstered chorus sounded tremendous. Although musical standards under Sebastian Weigle were decent, this was overall an on-off performance.

★★★☆☆

To February 16, roh.org.uk