Opera directors like to reimagine the classics. Take Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” which San Francisco Opera opened on Wednesday. While there have been a Nazi-era Carmen, a 20th-century Brooklyn “Carmen” and even a rodeo “Carmen,” San Francisco’s current staging is solidly traditional, much like the Opéra Comique premiere in Paris in 1875.
The production directed by Francesca Zambello (last seen in San Francisco in 2019) is set in and around Seville, Spain, and if the town square seems overstuffed with personnel—and the white horse on which dashing toreador Escamillo makes his entrance seems at times bewildered—it works somehow to the advantage of Bizet’s rapturous music and the novella by Prosper Mérimée on which the opera is based.
The singers explore and add musical dimension to their roles. Swiss mezzo-soprano Eve-Maud Hubeaux in her American debut is a Carmen with a difference. Hubeaux’s heroine doesn’t overdo the dark or tawdry; rather she portrays the striking Roma Gypsy as a woman with a lust for love and life in bright, high-flying colors, unleashing vocally to show a manic side that speaks directly to her defiance.
Chilean-American tenor Jonathan Tetelman is a Don José with a difference as well. He addresses the character not as the usual clueless soldier who falls for Carmen, but as the dark obsessive who would kill to possess her. His muscular, honeyed voice and his elegant onstage presence make for a fine pairing with Hubeaux.
The Toreador Song is rarely sung as forcefully as American bass-baritone Christian van Horn as Escamillo sings it here. Even though there is often a hooded quality in the low register, he holds his own as Carmen’s lover.
Last but not least is the stunning performance of British soprano Louise Alder as Michaëla, who loves Don José and has the unlikely commission of bringing a letter to him from his mother. She sings with ravishing high lines and with an unusual bit of defiance in this often-thankless role—and why not? She has come a long way to carry out her mission, and the kiss she bestows on Don José is much more than a token of affection.
Conductor Benjamin Manis draws a fast-paced and fiery performance from the orchestra, with some ragged tailings and occasionally covering the singers; the chorus, directed by John Keene, sings superbly.
“Carmen” is a gold-coin opera that insures large audiences in hard times. This one is well sung and staged, with engaging dance interludes and a lively children’s chorus. It’s a joy to hear French so well-pronounced on the big stage; kudos to French diction coach Patricia Moy.
San Francisco Opera’s “Carmen” continues at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15, Nov. 19, Nov. 22, Nov. 26 and Nov. 29, and 2 p.m. Nov. 24 and Dec. 1 at the War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. For tickets ($28-$426; $27.50 for the Nov. 19 livestream), call (415) 864-3330 or visit sfopera.com. In addition, the “Carmen” Encounter at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21 features the first act of “Carmen” with Nikola Printz in the title role followed by a party in the War Memorial House lobby.
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